Chapter 11 The Self and Identity

Question 1

Define Self-Understanding

Answer 1

A child’s cognitive representation of the self - the substance and content of the child’s self-conceptions

Question 2

What is self-understanding based on?

Answer 2

various roles and membership categories that define who children are. *Contextually based.

Question 3

Development of Self in Infancy: at three months what is an important milestone that occurs in regards to self?

Answer 3

At 3 mos a rudimentary form of self-recognition (being attentive and positive toward one’s image) is observable.

Question 4

Development of Self in Infancy: Around 2 years, what is an important milestone that occurs regarding self?

Answer 4

A central, more complete index of self-recognition is observed: the ability to recognize one’s physical features.

Question 5

What age does self-awareness and the awareness of others emerge?

Answer 5

Mid-to-latter part of 2nd year (2.5-3 yrs)`

Question 6

An infants understanding of self is a necessary first step in acquiring more skills, such as Third-Party Learning. What is Third-Party Learning?

Answer 6

self and other awareness allows an infant to imagine himself in the place of another person and successfully interpret information demonstrated by that person

Question 7

Around what time do infants develop a conscious awareness of their own bodies?

Answer 7

Not until the second year

Question 8

Development of Self in Early Childhood: What are the Five main characteristics of self-understanding in young children?

Answer 8

1. Confusion of self, mind and body: self=body=head
2. Concrete descriptions (4-5): ie “i live in a big house”, “I am shy”
3. Physical descriptions: comparing what you have to what others have “i have brown hair, taller than my sister and i have a bicycle”
4. Active Descriptions: describe in terms of play
5. Unrealistic Positive Overestimations: unrealistically positive and represent an overestimation of personal attributions.

Question 9

Development of Self in Middle/ Late Childhood: 5 Key Characteristics?

Answer 9

1. Psychological Characteristics and Traits: “I am nice, helpful”
2. Social Descriptions: “I am a girl guide.”
3. Social Comparison: use social comparison to distinguish themselves from others
4. Real Self vs Ideal Self: Separate who they are to what they aspire to be
5. Realistic: Self-evaluations are more realistic

Question 10

Development of Self in Adolescence: 7 Key Characteristics?

Answer 10

1. Abstract and Idealistic: Recall Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
2. Self-Consciousness: more likely to be self-conscious. *egocentrism
3. Contradictions of Self: Can be good and bad; ugly and pretty depending on the context
4. The fluctuating Self: There is instability in self until a more unified theory of self emerges
5. Real and Ideal Selves: Ability to construct ideal selves in addition to real ones
6. Social Comparison: compare ourselves to others but deny it
7. Self-Integration: disparate parts of self become more systematically pieced together

Question 11

Define Possible Self

Answer 11

What we might become, what we want to become and what we are afraid of becoming

Question 12

What is Social Cognition?

Answer 12

The processes involved in understanding the world around us, especially how we think and reason about other people

Question 13

At what age do children start to percieve others in terms of psychological traits?

Answer 13

Around 4-5

Question 14

Around what age do children understand the concept of lying?

Answer 14

Around 4: understand that people may lie to get what they want or avoid trouble

Question 15

Define Perspective-Taking

Answer 15

the social cognitive process involved in assuming the perspective of others and understanding their thoughts and feelings

Question 16

What does it mean to use the term “Emotional Coach” to describe caregivers?

Answer 16

Childrens social understanding differs based on the coaching they recieve from conversations caregivers have with them about other people’s feelings and desires, as well as their oppurtunities to observe others talking about peoples feelings and desires.

Question 17

Around what age do children begin to understand that others may have a certain perspective because they know more? Whose view is this?

Answer 17

Around 6-8

Robert Selman

Question 18

How is perspective taking linked to prosocial behaviour?

Answer 18

Taking anothers perspective improves childrens liklihood of understanding an sympathizing with others when they are distressed or in need

Question 19

How is perspective-taking linked to antisocial behaviour?

Answer 19

Some reserachers have found that children who have a low level of perspective taking skills engage in more antisocial behaviour - inducing negative emotions in others

Question 20

What are three imortant concepts to remember when discussing Perspective-Taking in Adolescence?

Answer 20

1. Gender differences exist in social perspective taking and empathy
2. Social perspective develops from naive o more sophisticated
3. Lower-level relational perspective taking is linked to aggression: can’t take someones perspective= become aggressive

Question 21

Define self-esteem

Answer 21

a person’s self-worth or self-image - global evaluation of self

Question 22

Define Self-Concept

Answer 22

domain specific evaluations of the self

Question 23

What is Susan Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Children?

Answer 23

Taps general self-worth plus self-concept for five specific domains:

1. Scholastic competence
2. Athletic competence
3. Social acceptence
4. Physical appearance
5. Behavioural Conduct

Question 24

Harter developed a separate scale for adolescents: Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. What is it’s purpose?

Answer 24

It assesses global self-worth and the five domains tested for children plus three additional domains (8)

6. Close friendship
7. Romantic Appeal
8. Job competence

Question 25

What is the general pattern of self-esteem?

Answer 25

High in childhood > declines in adolescence > increases in adulthood until late adulthood > decreases again

Question 26

What is identity?

Answer 26

A self-portrait composed of:

1. Vocational/ career identity
2. political identity
3. religious
4. relationship
5. Achievement/intellectual i
6. sexual identity
7. cultural/ethnic identity
8. interest, personality and physical identity

Question 27

What is identity vs identity confusion?

Answer 27

Eriksons fifth developmental stage (in adolescence) during which adolescents are faced with decided who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life

Question 28

What is psychosocial moratorium?

Answer 28

Erikson’s term for the gap between childhood security and adult autonomy during which society leaves adolescents relatively free of responsibility and free to try out different identites.

Question 29

For those who don’t successfully resolve Eriksons identity crisis, they suffer “identity confusion”. What are the two courses that could occur because of identity confusion?

Answer 29

1. Individuals withdraw, isolating themselves from peers and family
   or
2. Immerse themselves in the world of peers and lose their identity in the crowd

Question 30

What is Damon’s concern about the development of identity?

Answer 30

Too many of today’s youth arent moving toward any identity resolution

Question 31

How does identity formation begin and end?

Answer 31

Begins with the appearance of attachment, the development of the sense of self, and the emergence of independence in infancy and reaches its final phase with a life review and integration in old age

Question 32

What are the four statuses of identity? Who proposed them?

Answer 32

James Marcia

1. Identity diffusion
2. Identity Foreclosure
3. Identity Moratorium
4. Identity Achievement

Question 33

Define Crisis

Answer 33

a period of identity development during which the adolescent is choosing among meaningful alternatives

Question 34

Define Commitment

Answer 34

a personal investment in identity

Question 35

define identity diffusion

Answer 35

marcia’s term for the status of individuals who have not yet experienced a crisis

Question 36

Define Identiy Foreclosure

Answer 36

Marcia’s term for the status of individuals who have made a commitment but have not experienced a crisis

Question 37

Define Identity moratorium

Answer 37

Marcia’s term for the status of individuals who are in the midst of a crisis but whose commitments either are absent or only vaguely defined

Question 38

Define Identity Acheivement

Answer 38

Marcia’s term for the status of individuals who have undergone a crisis and made a commitment

Question 39

Which identity statuses would most young adolescents be in?

Answer 39

Diffusion, foreclosure or moratorium

Question 40

What three things are needed for adolescents to move to the status of identity achievement?

Answer 40

1. Parental support
2. Established sense of identity
3. Self-reflective stance toward the future

Question 41

What is one criticism of Marcia’s Identity Status approach?

Answer 41

Critics maintain that the approach distorts and trivializes Erikson’s notions of crisis and commitment

Question 42

Many individuals who develop positive identities follow what are called MAMA cycles. What are MAMA cycles?

Answer 42

where your identity status changes from moratorium to achievement to moratorium to achievement - may be repeated throughout life

Question 43

What are the two dimensions of individuality?

Answer 43

1. self-assertion: ability to have and communicate a pov

2. Separateness: the use of communication patterns to express how one is different from otheres

Question 44

When are key changes in identity most likely to take place?

Answer 44

Emerging adulthood (18-25) or later than in adolescence

Question 45

What are the two dimensions of Connectedness?

Answer 45

1. Mutuality, sensitivity to and respect for others’ views

2. Permeability, openness to others’ views

Question 46

Define Ethnic Identity

Answer 46

an enduring aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group and the attitudes and feelings related to that membership

Question 47

What aspects of sociocultural contexts influence ethnic identity?

Answer 47

• membership in a minority group
• which generation of immigrants one belongs to
• broad social factors
• the immediate contexts in which ethnic minority youth live