Week 24 Flashcards
How do William James and Charles Taylor describe the self?
James sees it as both the knower (“I”) and the known (“Me”), while Taylor views it as a reflexive project we manage and improve.
What are the three ways the “I” encounters the “Me”?
As a social actor, a motivated agent, and an autobiographical author.
What do the three self-views represent?
The social actor (roles & behaviors), the motivated agent (goals & desires), and the autobiographical author (life story & identity).
Why does the human “I” first see the “Me” as a social actor?
Because evolution prioritized social acceptance and status for survival and reproduction.
When does the sense of self as a social actor emerge, and how is it expressed?
Around 18 months, toddlers recognize themselves in mirrors, use words like “me” and “mine,” and begin to experience social emotions like embarrassment, shame, guilt, and pride.
How do classic psychological theories explain the development of the self in the second year of life?
Freud saw it as the emergence of the ego, or executive self. Erikson linked it to developing autonomy through early trust and attachment. Mead argued that self-awareness arises as the I recognizes the Me through social feedback, with others acting as mirrors that reflect the self.
How does self-perception develop in childhood?
Young children start with simple traits (e.g., “nice,” “helpful”), but by late childhood, they describe themselves using complex traits and social roles, aligning with the Big Five personality traits.
How do traits and roles contribute to the self as a social actor?
Traits reflect perceived consistencies in social performance and overall acting style, while roles capture the quality of important relationships, together shaping one’s social reputation.
What is the self as social actor, and social representation?
Self as social actor: The sense of the self as an embodied actor whose social performances may be construed in terms of more or less consistent self-ascribed traits and social roles.
Social representation: The traits and social roles that others attribute to an actor. Actors also have their own conceptions of what they imagine their respective social reputations indeed are in the eyes of others.
- if you have ever tried hard to change yourself, you may have taken aim at your social reputaiton, targeting your central traits or your social roles
How does the sense of self as a motivated agent develop, and develop throughout childhood?
While infants act with goals, true self-awareness as an intentional agent emerges around age 4 with the development of theory of mind—the understanding that people, including oneself, are driven by inner desires and goals.
Around ages 5 to 7, children become more goal-directed and intentional, reinforced by schooling. Their self-esteem is shaped by their success in achieving valued goals.
How does the self as a motivated agent evolve in adolescence and adulthood?
Adolescents explore and commit to life goals and values, forming an identity.
In adulthood, identity remains flexible, adapting to new goals, relationships, and life circumstances.
What is the age 5-to-7 shift?
Cognitive and social changes that occur in the early elementary school years that result in the child’s developing a more purposeful, planful, and goal-directed approach to life, setting the stage for the emergence of the self as a motivated agent.
What does it mean to take on the role of a motivated agent in self-change?
A motivated agent is someone who strives to change aspects of themselves. Changing traits or roles targets the social actor, while changing values or life goals engages the motivated agent.
What is the “I” vs the “Me”
The I:
The self as knower, the sense of the self as a subject who encounters (knows, works on) itself (the Me).
The Me:
The self as known, the sense of the self as the object or target of the I’s knowledge and work.
What is narrative identity?
An internalized and evolving story of the self designed to provide life with some measure of temporal unity and purpose. Beginning in late adolescence, people craft self-defining stories that reconstruct the past and imagine the future to explain how the person came to be the person that he or she is becoming.
What is autobiographical reasoning, when is it developed?
The ability, typically developed in adolescence, to derive substantive conclusions about the self from analyzing one’s own personal experiences.
What is the self as autobiographical author?
The sense of the self as a storyteller who reconstructs the past and imagines the future in order to articulate an integrative narrative that provides life with some measure of temporal continuity and purpose.
What are redemptive narratives?
Life stories that affirm the transformation from suffering to an enhanced status or state.
In American culture, redemptive life stories are highly prized as models for the good self, as in classic narratives of atonement, upward mobility, liberation, and recovery.
What is the third standpoint of selfhood that emerges in adolescence and early adulthood, and how does it relate to identity formation?
The autobiographical author, which constructs a narrative identity integrating past, present, and future. This process, described by Erikson (1963), helps achieve a sense of temporal continuity in life.
What is narrative identity, and why is it important?
Narrative identity is an internalized and evolving story of the self that reconstructs the past and anticipates the future, giving life unity, meaning, and purpose. It helps explain personal motivations and behaviors over time.
How do storytelling abilities develop from childhood to adolescence?
By age 5 or 6, children can tell personal stories, and by the end of childhood, they understand biographical sequencing.
Adolescents develop autobiographical reasoning, linking past experiences to present identity and future goals.
How do adolescents and young adults refine their narrative identity?
They share stories, receive feedback, edit their narratives, and integrate new experiences, continuously shaping their self-concept. Storytelling helps the “I” make sense of the evolving “Me.”
How does culture influence narrative identity?
Culture provides common plot lines and themes that individuals selectively incorporate into their life stories. In American culture, redemptive narratives (e.g., “rags to riches”) are especially prominent.
How does storytelling contribute to self-transformation?
It allows individuals to reinterpret experiences, reshape their identity, and create new meanings. This process is central to therapy, religious conversions, and personal growth.
