Identity Development

the I

the self as knower, the sense of the self as a subject who encounters itself

the Me

the self as known, the sense of the self as the object or target of the I’s knowledge and work

reflexive

idea that the self reflects back upon itself, “I” encounters “Me”

ego

observing outside reality, engaging in rational thought, and coping with the demand of inner desires and moral standards

self as social actor

sense of self as an embodied actor whose social performances may be construed in terms of more or less consistent self-ascribed traits and social roles

social reputation

traits and social roles that others attribute to an actor, actors also have their own conceptions of what they imagine their respective social reputations are in the eyes of others 

theory of mind

emerging around age 4, child’s understanding that other people have minds in which are located desires and beliefs, and those motivate behavior

self-esteem

extent to which an individual feels good about themselves or worthy

self as motivated agent

sense of the self as an intentional force that strives to achieve goals, plans, values, projects, etc

age 5-7 shift

cognitive and social changes that result in the child’s developing a more purposeful and goal-approach to life, allowing the emergence of the self as a motivated agent

narrative identity

internalized and evolving story of the self, people craft self-defining stories that reconstruct the past and imagine the future to explain how the person became who they are

autobiographical reasoning

the ability to derive conclusions about the self from analyzing one’s own experience

self as autobiographical author

sense of the self as a storyteller who reconstructs the past and imagines the future in order to provide purpose to continuity to life

redemptive narratives

life stories that affirm the transformation of suffering to an enhanced state or status

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model

explains that human development is shaped by interactions within multiple layers of environment, from immediate family to broader cultural influences

microsystem

things that have direct contact with the child in their immediate environment

ex. parents, siblings, classmates, teachers

mesosystem

person’s individual microsystems do not function independently but are interconnected and assert influence upon each other

ex. parent-teacher conferences

exosystem

incorporates formal and informal social structures such as local government, family friends, and mass media

ex. parents workplace policies may affect the child

macrosystem

focuses on how cultural elements affect a child’s development

chronosystem

relates to environment changes over a child’s lifetime

process

the core proximal processes driving development

person

individual characteristics that influence these processes

context

the environmental systems in which development occurs

time

the temporal aspect of development, including both individual life course and historical time