Chapter 11: (Part one) Self, Identity, and Personality

Learning Goals

• Discuss the main conceptualizations of the self and understanding others and their development, emphasizing the interplay between cognitive and social factors that shape individual identities.

• Explain key aspects of identity development through various life stages, highlighting how experiences, relationships, and cultural contexts influence personal growth.

• Describe personality and its development in adulthood, focusing on changes in self-perception, emotional regulation, and the impact of life transitions.

Self-Understanding and Understanding Others

• Self-understanding: Cognitive representation of oneself comprising various self-conceptions influenced by personal experiences, societal roles, and categories of membership such as ethnicity and gender. This understanding serves as the foundation for identity development and affects interpersonal relationships.

Self-Understanding in Infancy

• Rudimentary self-recognition starts as early as 3 months, laying the groundwork for later self-awareness.

• Mirror Technique: A common method to test visual self-recognition; it involves applying a small mark (rouge) to an infant's nose and observing whether they touch the mark on their reflection, indicating awareness of their own body.

  • Self-recognition signs typically appear by 15–18 months, marking a significant milestone in cognitive development.

  • Infants begin to develop body awareness around age 2, further enhancing their self-concept.

  • Early interactions with caregivers and others play a crucial role in shaping self-development, as social engagement fosters a sense of self.

Early Childhood: Self-Understanding

• In young children, self-understanding manifests through several key traits:

  • A confusion between self, mind, and body often leads to challenges in recognizing their own capabilities.

  • Children tend to use concrete and physical descriptions, primarily focusing on attributes such as hair color, height, and abilities in play, leading to active and often imaginative self-descriptions.

  • There is a tendency for children to hold unrealistic positive self-estimations (e.g., claims of never being scared or being the best at everything), as self-esteem at this stage is usually inflated.

  • Individual variations exist; some children are more susceptible to negative self-attributions, which can affect their self-esteem and interaction with peers.

Early Childhood: Understanding Others

• Children typically begin to see another’s perspective around 13 months, marking a significant developmental leap in social understanding.

• By ages 4-5, they start describing themselves and others based on psychological traits, such as kindness or bravery, indicating a growing complexity in their understanding of behavior.

  • They gradually recognize inaccuracies in belief reports and may engage in discussions about differing opinions, which reflects an emerging social cognition.

  • The debate on whether children are inherently socially sensitive or fundamentally egocentric continues; both views highlight the role of social interactions in shaping self-development and mutual understanding.

Middle and Late Childhood: Self-Understanding

• Self-descriptions evolve to incorporate psychological traits and broader social contexts. Children become more aware of their peer relationships and how they fit within social groups.

• An increased consciousness of social comparison emerges, where individuals assess themselves against peers, often affecting their self-esteem.

• Children begin to distinguish between their real selves and ideal selves, creating a more nuanced understanding of identity.

• Self-evaluations become more realistic, as experiences and feedback from others lead to adjustments in self-perception.

Middle and Late Childhood: Understanding Others

• Perspective Taking: This skill is essential for developing prosocial (helpful) or antisocial (harmful) behaviors and relies on executive functions like cognitive inhibition (the ability to control impulses) and cognitive flexibility (the ability to adapt one's thinking to new situations).

  • This ability serves as a foundation for secondary education, where skepticism about psychological traits in others increases, enabling them to analyze social dynamics more critically.

Adolescence: Self-Understanding

• As children enter adolescence, there is a pronounced shift toward abstract and idealistic thinking; this intellectual maturation is often accompanied by heightened self-consciousness.

• Imaginary Audience: A concept introduced by Piaget, it explains the heightened self-consciousness many adolescents feel, believing that they are constantly being observed and judged by others.

• Adolescents often recognize contradictions in their differentiated selves (how they present themselves in various contexts), resulting in fluctuating self-understanding as they navigate identity formation.

• The development of Possible Selves represents adolescents' hopes and fears for the future, impacting their aspirations and motivations.

Adolescence: Understanding Others

• With the maturation of cognitive abilities, adolescents become more adept at perceiving traits in others and understanding the complexity of human behaviors.

• This development underscores the importance of cognitive monitoring in social situations, allowing for better decision-making and interpersonal interactions.

Adulthood: Self-Awareness

• In early adulthood, self-awareness becomes critical, involving the ability to recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses.

• Many individuals lack insight into their psychological makeup, which can hinder personal growth and relationships.

• Attribution Error: This psychological phenomenon refers to the tendency to misjudge the causes of one’s shortcomings, often attributing failures to external factors rather than internal qualities.

Adulthood: Possible Selves

• During their 20s, adults often express a wide variety of aspirational selves, reflecting their dreams and ambitions.

• As individuals age, their portrayals of possible selves become more realistic, often shifting focus toward achievable goals and practical aspirations.

• Older adults may prioritize maintaining existing conditions instead of seeking new goals, reflecting a shift in their identity focus.

Adulthood: Life Review

• The process of life review involves evaluating past experiences, identifying both positive achievements and regrets.

• Reminiscence Therapy: A therapeutic approach that emphasizes discussing past experiences to enhance emotional wellness and foster connections with others.

Self-Esteem and Self-Concept

• Self-Concept: Encompasses an overall evaluation of oneself; deeply linked to one’s knowledge of self and self-perception, affecting various aspects of life including relationships and career choices.

• Self-Esteem: Reflects one’s subjective evaluation of self-worth, profoundly shaped by early life experiences and social interactions.

Changes in Self-Conceptions

• Early self-conceptions are largely focused on physical traits and observable behaviors; as individuals progress into adolescence, self-definitions evolve to include emotional and psychological elements, resulting in more complex conceptions of identity.

• False-Self Behavior: Involves acting inauthentically, often seen in dating scenarios where individuals present an idealized version of themselves to gain approval.

Components of Self-Esteem

• Types: Self-esteem can be categorized into global self-esteem (overall self-worth) versus domain-specific self-esteem (evaluation in specific areas like academics or physical appearance); particularly, physical self-esteem has been found to predict overall self-esteem levels.

Issues in Self-Esteem

• Experiencing low self-esteem can significantly impact life outcomes, contributing to mental health issues, delinquency, and overall dissatisfaction.

• High self-esteem, though often correlated with happiness, does not always equate to academic or professional success, illustrating the complexity of self-perception.

Developmental Changes in Self-Esteem

• Self-esteem often exhibits fluctuations over the life course: generally high in childhood, a decrease during adolescence due to transitional challenges, an increase in young adulthood as individuals often establish their identities, and a potential drop in late adulthood influenced by life transitions.

• Gender differences are notable, with research indicating that males tend to have higher self-esteem compared to females on average, which may reflect societal expectations and pressures.

Strategies for Increasing Self-Esteem

• Effective strategies for enhancing self-esteem include identifying root causes of low self-esteem, providing emotional support, encouraging personal responsibility, setting and achieving realistic goals, and developing coping strategies to manage adversity.