Psych review, chapter 10 - Development of the self

What is the understanding of the self (and others) in early childhood?

Early childhood (0-2 years): children cannot articulate how they perceive themselves. Around 15-24 months, the child begins to develop an understanding of the self, using the pronoun “I/me” and expressions that qualify themselves (io bravo), the emotional experiences (me scared), and possession (mine). [Rouge Test=self-recognition in a mirror around 15-24months]

• Joint attention and gestural communication (8+ months) indicate the intentionality of the child and understanding of the intentionality of others (not concurrent with Piaget)

• Social referencing (1+ year)- where the child looks to the other to gauge their own reaction in ambiguous situations

What is the understanding of the self?

The cognitive representation that a child (or adult) has of themself. This changes with time along with development and the capacity to understand others.

What is the understanding of the self (and others) in late childhood?

Late childhood (3-5 years): in this phase children imagine the self as a part of the body (the head). Preschoolers can describe themselves in concrete terms (i live in a big house). They can also distinguish themselves from others and evaluate themselves often in unrealistically positive ways (I’m never scared) which indicates difficulty in differentiating real and desired capability.

• children begin to realize that others have their own intentions and psychological states that differ from their own (concurrent with Piaget). Seen in Theory of the Mind (what would teddy think is in the crayon box?)

• Children’s ability to comprehend the mental state of others varies according to how much parents involve their children in conversations about feelings and desires

What is the understanding of the self (and others) in the school age period?

School age period (5-10 years): children tend to define themselves in characteristic terms that are psycho-relational as well as physical (i am smart, brave..). Their self descriptions include social aspects (he is a good friend), and compare their capabilities to others (i am smarter than lily). Children begin to distinguish their real self from their ideal self.

• empathy/ perspective taking increases, i.e. their ability to grasp the perspective of others and hypothesize their thoughts and feelings

• empathy is associated with social vs. antisocial behaviors

  • high levels = helping others in difficulty

  • low levels = antisocial behaviors due to the incapacity to understand others

  • EXCEPTIONS include bullies, who have high levels of empathy

What is the understanding of the self (and others) in adolescence?

Adolescence (11-19 years): Here, children start to use abstract and idealistic descriptions (I’m sensible, honest, and empathetic. This is concurrent with Piaget [formal operations]). Adolescents reconstruct the self through experiment with multiple roles in different relational contexts, creating a coexistence of different selves (I’m sweet, but bold). Adolescents can differentiate between the real, the ideal, the possible, and the dreaded self.

What is self-esteem?

the global evaluative dimension of the self, how much one believes to be worth—> also called the self image.

What is the concept of the self?

unlike self-esteem which refers to the global self-evaluation, this refers to valuation related to specific fields:

• physical aspects

• scholastic competence

• Peer relationships

• athletic competence

• occupational skills

How is self-esteem reflected in social contexts?

1) high self esteem that correctly reflects success and values of a person

2) high self-esteem that incorrectly reflects success (justificationist parents that encourage placing blame on external factors)

3) low self-esteem that correctly reflects success and values

4) low self-esteem that incorrectly reflects success and values (hyper-critical parents that diminish accomplishments)

What are values and standards?

values= conditions, principles and states that an individual considers important or desirable.

standards = qualitative or quantitative criteria adopted as a way to judge one’s own (or others) characteristics, actions o performance.

These are not invented by an individual, but are constructed within social and cultural contexts that one experiences.

• They are shared with family, passed on from school, constructed among peers, and conveyed through mass-media.

How does self-esteem change over time?

• infancy = generally high self-esteem

• adolescence = slight drop in self-esteem

• adulthood = rise with respect to adolescence

• old age = another drop

Men generally have higher self-esteem than women

What are the correlations of high and low self-esteem?

high self-esteem correlates to academic success, social competence, and happiness

low self-esteem correlates to depressive symptoms, eating disorders, self-harming behaviors/ attempts at suicide

What is self-efficacy?

The self-evaluation of one’s capacity to address a determined situation and produce desired results. This refers to future endeavors related to a specific task. Self-efficacy is influenced by the concept of the self, the difficulty of the task, and encouragement.