11.2- finish

The Self

Overview

  • Self-Perception and Attachment: The process of attachment influences self-perception, encompassing physical characteristics, personality traits, preferences, social relationships, and cultural or ethnic details.

  • Three Main Aspects of the Self:

    1. Self-Concept: How individuals view themselves.

    2. Self-Esteem: How individuals evaluate and feel about themselves.

    3. Identity: External descriptions or categories (e.g., family, religion, ethnicity, school).

  • Key Differences:

    • Self-concept and self-esteem are internal.

    • Identity is externally imposed and exists even without a conscious self-concept (e.g., a baby with a name and family).

Self-Concept

  • Definition: Thoughts and attitudes about oneself, including physical, social, and internal characteristics, as well as the perception of self over time.

  • Importance:

    • Influences well-being and self-confidence.

    • Develops primarily through interactions with the environment.

Self-Concept Development in Infancy

  1. Physical Self-Awareness:

    • Infants differentiate themselves from their environment by recognizing constant physical elements (e.g., their hands).

    • Interaction with the environment teaches that they can influence it (e.g., crying to gain comfort, grabbing objects).

  2. Evidence of Early Self-Concept:

    • 2–4 months: Sense of control over external objects (e.g., moving a mobile).

    • 8 months: Separation distress indicates recognition of self and parent as distinct entities.

    • 1 year: Joint attention emerges (e.g., following a caregiver’s pointing gesture).

    • 15 months: Recognition of self and others by age and gender.

    • 18–20 months: Mirror self-recognition (e.g., rouge test).

  3. Mirror Self-Recognition Test:

    • Most children aged 18–24 months recognize themselves.

    • Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face challenges in self-recognition.

Individual Differences in Self-Awareness

  1. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):

    • Challenges include reduced joint attention and impaired self-awareness.

    • Some autistic children refer to themselves in the third person and struggle to differentiate themselves from others.

    • Interventions:

      • Joint Attention Activities: Teach self-recognition using mirrors and shared focus.

      • PEGASUS Program: Fosters self-awareness by teaching about ASD diagnosis.

  2. Cultural Variations:

    • Children in interdependent cultures may fail the mirror test due to differing social norms.

    • Example:

      • Mirror self-recognition: Higher success in Scotland.

      • Body-as-obstacle task: Higher success in Zambia.

Self-Concept Beyond Infancy

  1. By Age 2:

    • Recognize themselves in photographs.

    • Show more brain activity when viewing their own face compared to others.

    • Demonstrate self-awareness through emotions like embarrassment and shame.

    • Begin to construct narratives of their life story using memory and language.

  2. Terrible Twos:

    • Increased self-assertion and independence.

    • Oppositional behavior reflects the growing self-awareness.

Key Research and Studies

  • Baumeister (2005): Differentiates between self-concept, self-esteem, and identity.

  • Lewis, Alessandri, & Sullivan (1990): Demonstrated infants’ sense of self through mobile experiments.

  • Rouge Test (Lewis & Brooks-Gunn, 1979): Assesses self-recognition in mirrors.

  • Ross et al. (2016): Explored cultural influences on self-awareness tasks.