Ch. 11: The Self & Identity

What is the “self”?

All of the characteristics of a person

Self-understanding definition

How individuals represent their self

Developmental changes in self-understanding: Infancy (2)

• Visual self-recognition: ~18-24 mo.

• Self-awareness gradually develops: 2-3 yrs

Developmental changes in self-understanding in early childhood through adolescence

Why do young children overestimate the abilities? (4)

• They don’t distinguish between actual and desired performance

• Don’t distinguish from real and ideal self

• Less frequent or lack social comparisons

  • Social comparisons alter self-understanding by forcing a child to consider their abilities relative to others

Developmental changes in self-understanding: Adolescence (5)

• Ideal self

  • Possible self: what one hopes to be and dreads of becoming

    • Can be positive or negative

• Real self – who a person actually is

• Self-integration – self-understanding becomes more integrative, with the disparate parts of the self becoming more systematically pieced together

Developmental changes in self-understanding: Adulthood (3)

• Expanded self-awareness

• Revision of possible selves

• Life revies of older adults

Self-esteem definition

A global (general) evaluation of the self

Self-concept definition

Domain-specific evaluation of the self

Developmental changes in self-esteem

Higher in early childhood, drops in adolescence, rises through the 60s then drops off

Self-regulation

Involves the ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on others’ help

What is identity? (3)

• A self-portrait

• An understanding of oneself

• Contains many different pieces

Components of identity (8)

• Vocational/career identity

• Political identity

• Religious identity

• Relationship identity

• Achievement/intellectual identity

• Sexual identity

• Cultural/ethnic identity

• Interests, personality, and physical identity

Erikson’s view of identity during adolescence (3)

• Identity vs Identity Confusion

  • Fifth stage in his theory of development

  • Psychosocial Moratorium: Gap between childhood security and adult autonomy

Erikson’s view & Marcia’s extension (3)

• Crisis (Exploration): Period of identity development during which the individual is exploring alternatives

• Identity confusion: Unsuccessful resolution of identity crisis

• Commitment (decision): Personal investment in identity

Developmental changes in identity (6)

• Key changes in identity in emerging adulthood (18-25 yrs)

• Percentage of people in identity moratorium increases to 19, then declines

• More stable in adulthood than in adolescence

• MAMA cycle:

  • Moratorium → achievement → moratorium → achievement

• Influenced by family, peers/romantic relationships, culture/ethnicity

Marcia’s four identity statuses

Family influence on identity (7)

• Individuality

  • Self-assertion: Ability to communicate a particular point of view

  • Separateness: Ability to communicate how one is different from others

• Connectedness

  • Mutuality: Sensitivity and respect for others’ point of view

  • Permeability: Openness to others’ point of view

• Attachment likely plays a role

Personality: Stage vs trait theories (3)

• Trait – personality consists of broad dispositions (traits) that tend to produce characteristic responses

  • Trait-situation interactions – context matters, and some traits are more stable in some people than in others

• Stage-crisis view – adulthood has 3 main stages, which are surrounded by transition periods. Specific tasks and challenges are associated with each stage

Contemporary life-events approach (7)

• Emphasizes how life events influence an individual’s development

• Depends on:

  • The event

  • Mediating factors (physical health, family supports)

  • The individual’s adaptation to the life event (appraisal of threat, coping strats)

  • Life-stage context

  • Sociohistorical context

Generativity vs stagnation (3)

• Erikson’s 7^th stage of his life-span theory

• Generativity – desire to leave a legacy to next generation

• Stagnation – develops when individuals sense they’ve done nothing for the next generation

The Big Five

Personality: Stability & change (4)

• Greatest change in big five occurs in early adulthood

• Relative stability across adulthood – some characteristics change more than others

• *Less change in personality occurs when it’s assessed in smaller time frames than in larger ones

• Cumulative personality model of personality development – across time, people work with the environment in order to interact in ways that promote more stability in their personality