Ch. 11 Flashcards
(28 cards)
self
all characteristics of a person
self-understanding
person’s cognitive representation of the self
-substance and content of self-conceptions
-based on roles and membership categories that define who people are
-self-understanding changes over time
infancy and self-understanding
challenging to study, infants can’t tell us about experiences or understand complex instructions
-3 mths.: attentive and positive to image in mirror self-recognition appears
-15-18 mths.: self-recognition appears
-2nd-3rd yr.: ability to recognize one’s facial features, sense of “me”
-Rubber Hand Illusion
-Rouge Test/Mirror Test
early childhood and self-understanding
confusion of self, mind, and body
-describe self in concrete, observable features and action tendencies
–4-5 yrs.: hear others use psych. trait and emotion terms
-physical, active
-unrealistic positive overestimations
–occur because:
1) difficulty differentiating between desired and actual self
2) can’t generate ideal self that’s distinguished from a self
3) rarely engage social comparison
middle and late childhood and self-understanding
psychological characteristics
-8-11 yrs.: describe self w/ psych. characteristics, can be both one train and its opposite
-social comparisons
-references to social groups in their self-descriptions, aware of discrimination and power differences
-real and desired self
–differentiating competencies from those they aspire to have and think are most important
–can lead to neg. self-evaluations
-realistic
adolescence and self-understanding
abstract and idealistic, self-consciousness (egocentrism)
-contradictions within the self fluctuating self,
-distinguish between real and ideal self
–possible self: what individuals may become, what they’d like to become, and what they’re afraid of becoming
-social comparison
–looking glass: individual’s belief of how they’re viewed by others
-self-integration
social cognition
refers to processes involved in understanding the world around us, especially how we think and reason about other people
understanding of others
young children are sophisticated in understanding of others
-4-5 yrs: can describe themselves and others in psychological terms
–understand that sometimes people lie to get what they want
-ability to empathize with others can be developed through:
–talking with kids about internal states
–helping them think about how others might feel (perspective-taking)
educational benefits of Sesame Street
designed to prepare kids for school
-letters, #s, cooperation, incorporated research on what kids needed to succeed in school
-tests shows on focus groups
understanding in later childhood
increase ability to take perspective of others
-important part of development of prosocial and antisocial attitudes and behaviors
-4 yrs.: skepticism
understanding in adolescence
perspective-taking
-affects interactions with friends and minority groups
-people are complex and have private and public faces
-social cognitive monitoring
self-esteem vs. self-concept
self-esteem: person’s worth or self-image
self-concept: domain-specific evaluations of self
increasing self-esteem
concern that kids are getting empty praise
-praise for poor performance
-difficulty handling criticism
boosting self-esteem
identify areas important to child that they’re competent in
-provide emotional support and approval for that area
-praise achievement in that area
-encourage coping in that area
Harter’s (1985) Self-Perception Profile for Children
taps general self-worth and self-concept for 5 domains:
1) scholastic
2) athletic competence
3) social acceptance
4) phys. apparence
5) behavioral conduct
-used w/ 3rd-6th grade children
Harter’s (1985) Self-Perception Profile for Adolescence
assess self-worth and 5 domains tested for children and 3 additional domains:
-close friendship, romantic appeal, job competence
defining identity
who a person is, representing a synthesis and integration of self-understanding
vocation/career, political, religious, relationship
-achievement/intellectual, sexual/gender, cultural/ethnic,
-interests, personality, physical identity
Erik Erikson and identity
5th developmental stage: identity vs. identity role confusion (teenager)
-psychosocial moratorium
-success: new sense of self
-failure: identity confusion (withdrawal or immersion)
-importance of guidance and feedback from knowledgeable adults
narrative approach
asking individuals to tell life stories and evaluating extent to which stories are meaningful and integrated
crisis
period of identity development during which the individual is exploring alternatives
commitment
personal investment in identity
James Marcia and identity
4 ways to resolve the time of identity crisis/exploration proposed by Erickson
1) identity diffusion
-no crisis or commitments yet
2) identity foreclosure
-made a commitment, but haven’t had a crisis
-parents hand down commitments to adolescents, usually in an authoritarian way, before adolescents had a chance to explore different approaches, ideologies, and vocations
3) identity moratorium
-in a crisis, but commitments are vaguely defined
4) identity achievement
-have been through a crisis and made a commitment
3 things to move to status of identity achievement
1) they must be confident that they have parental support
2) they must have an established sense of industry
3) they must be able to adopt a self-reflective stance towards the future
criticisms of identity status approach
too much emphasis on completing identity development by making decisions in adolescence and early adulthood
