Self And Personality

Personality

• Combination of attributes, motives, values, emotionality, and behaviors.
  • Dispositional traits = enduring & inborn.
  • Characteristic adaptations = motives, goals, self-concept & coping.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

• Stages:
  • Trust vs. mistrust (0-1 yr): Hope.
  • Autonomy vs. shame & doubt (1-3 yrs): Will.
  • Initiative vs. guilt (3-6 yrs): Purpose.
  • Industry vs. inferiority (6-12 yrs): Competence.
  • Identity vs. role confusion (12-20 yrs): Fidelity.
  • Intimacy vs. isolation (20-40 yrs): Love.
  • Generativity vs. stagnation (40-65 yrs): Care.
  • Integrity vs. despair (65+ yrs): Wisdom.

Trait Theory

• Personality = set of dispositional trait dimensions consistent across situations.
• Big Five (OCEAN):
  • Openness.
  • Conscientiousness.
  • Extraversion.
  • Agreeableness.
  • Neuroticism.

Big Five Dimensions Definition

• Openness: Curiosity vs. preference for sameness.
• Conscientiousness: Discipline vs. lack of seriousness.
• Extraversion: Sociability vs. introversion.
• Agreeableness: Compliance vs. suspiciousness.
• Neuroticism: Emotional instability vs. stability.

Continuity of Personality

• Inhibited 3-year-olds become cautious teens.
• Irritable 3-year-olds become impulsive adolescents.
• Well-adjusted 3-year-olds become well-adjusted adults.

The Self

• Self-concept: Perceptions of unique attributes and traits
• Self-esteem: Evaluation of worth.
• Self-identity: Sense of who they are.

Self Concept

• Infancy: Recognize themselves visually; confusion of self and others.
• Toddlers: Recognize self in mirror by 18 months; form categorical self by 18-24 months.
• Preschoolers: Concrete sense of self; overestimate abilities.
• Elementary: Social comparison; more realistic self-adjustment.

Temperament

• Early, genetically based tendencies.
  • Easy (40%).
  • Difficult (10%).
  • Slow-to-warm-up (15%).
• Dimensions:
  • Surgency/extraversion.
  • Negative affectivity.
  • Effortful control.

Goodness of Fit

• Compatibility of temperament with social world demands.
• Sensitive and responsive parenting.

Changes in Self-Esteem

• Differentiates with age into:
  • Scholastic competence, social acceptance, behavioral conduct, athletic competence, physical appearance.
• Trajectory: Stable in early elementary, declines around 9-10, lowest in late teens, rises in adulthood, declines in 70s.

Erikson’s Theory & Identity in Adolescence

• Critical period for identity formation.
  • May experience an “identity crisis”.
• Integrate self-concept into a coherent sense of self.
• Society supports youths with a moratorium period.

Marcia’s Identity Statuses

• Based on crisis/exploration and level of commitment.
  • Identity Diffusion.
  • Moratorium.
  • Foreclosure.
  • Identity Achievement.
• Formation takes time and occurs at different rates in different domains.

Ethnic-Racial Identity

• Sense of identification with an ethnic-racial group.
• Emerges around 2-3 y-o, develops in elementary school, consolidates in adolescence.
• Positive ethnic identity buffers against discrimination.

Influences on Identity Formation

• Cognitive development.
• Personality.
• Relationship with parents.
• Opportunities for exploration.
• Cultural context.