Transcript The Self Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D. School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences The University of West Florida.

The Self
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences
The University of West Florida
The Self
• Development of identity grounded in:
– Cognitive development
• Emergence of self reflection on emotions and
relationships
– Experiences with peers & family
• Changing roles, expectations & responsibilities
– Experiences with culture at large
• Changing expectations in autonomy (broad
socialization) & interdependence (narrow
socialization)
The Selves
• Ideal Self—the optimal state of the
individual
• Actual Self—reality
• Possible Self—likely outcome
• Feared Self—worst possible
• False Self—one’s image management
Identity and Self
• Self Concept:
– Generalized view of self
• Childhood—more physical
• Adolescence—more psychological
• Social Comparison
– Estimation based on social comparisons
– Upward comparison: realistic comparison can
lead to improved functioning; unrealistic
comparison can lead to frustration
– Downward comparison: can lead to lower
efforts to improve
Identity and Self
• Outcome of Social Comparison:
– Baseline Self Esteem
• Ambient level of evaluation
• Stable yet malleable
– Barometric Self Esteem—
• Moment to moment/day to day sense of self
evaluation
• Contextually determined
Identity and Self
• Outcome of Social Comparison: Self Esteem
– Harter’s work: Perceived Competence
• Eight scales (pg. 152)
• Scale with highest impact is physical appearance
– Impacts females more than males
– Peers & Families tend to relate to which domains are more
influential
• Issues surrounding self esteem/social
comparison tends to be more focused in USA
culture
Identity and Self
• Emotionality and Identity Development:
– Neurological Basis:
• Amygdala more active than frontal lobes in adolescents
• Frontal lobe more active than amygdala in adults
– Higher reports of negative emotions (self-conscious;
embarrassed; lonely)
• Likely based on multiple life changes with onset of
adolescence (e.g. school, family, peers)
• Feminine girls reported less sense of voice than any other
group—may be due to more negative emotional valence
Identity: Key Constructs
• Autonomy
– A sense that the individual participates
actively and with some degree of control in
decision-making:
• About self
• In interactions with others
– Patterns of family interactions inhibit or
enhance this decision-making
Identity: Key Constructs
• Individuation:
– As adolescents make decisions and
experience consequences they begin to
define themselves as different from others
– Adolescents begin to separate the affective
element of an event and the intellectual
analysis of that event
Identity: Key Constructs
• Individuation (cont’d)
– Families impact this process
• Allowing decision-making within boundaries
supports the process of individuation
• Openness of emotions within family supports this
process
• Supporting exploration within boundaries can lead
to free but cautious explorations by the adolescent
• Positive outcomes follow from a balance of
independence and familial closeness
• Parents who renegotiate relationships and
boundaries tend to have more adaptive
adolescents
Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev.
• Fifth stage in Erikson’s psychosocial
theory of development
• Individual has likely acquired major tools
of the culture
• Emphasis shifts to establishing an identity
separate from but related to family of
origin
Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev.
• Explorations beyond the family system
increase and provide a sampling of
alternatives to that family system
• Individuals who explore and internalize a
set of values, beliefs, expectations, and
norms will likely reach an identity achieved
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Major constructs:
– Commitment: construction of a relatively
stable set of values, beliefs, roles, norms, and
expectations
– Exploration: behaviorally or vicariously
seeking out experiences typically beyond the
family or origin
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Diffused
– Neither committed nor engaged in
exploration;
– May have some explorations but more of a
“meandering rather than intentional
exploration
– Seem to be more of a carefree drifting than
exploration.
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Foreclosed—
– Committed to an identity without significant
exploration;
– Focused on well defined goals
– Behavior conforms to expectations of
authority
– Lack flexibility and can be defensive
– Adopt values, beliefs, etc. of authority figures
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Moratorium
– Engaged in exploration of roles, values, etc.
– Tend to move between conformity and
rebellion
– Tend to be more anxious than other statuses
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity achieved
– Tend to have resolved questions about their
own values, norms, etc.
– More thoughtful and introspective
– Can explain their explorations and choices
– Perform well under stress
– Tend to resolve moral dilemmas at high levels
of moral reasoning
Domains of Exploration
•
•
•
•
Gender Role/Sexual Identity
Ideological/Political/Theological
Career
Interpersonal (may be beyond gender role)
Intimacy/Isolation: Emerging Adlthd
• Erikson’s 6th Stage: Intimacy vs. Isolation
– Forming a close and committed relationship
– Beyond sexual intimacy to emotional intimacy
– Based on sharing with another without losing one’s
own identity
– Typically is observed during emerging adulthood
Postmodernism and Identity
• One’s Achieved identity is
– More malleable
– Grounded in Situational and Temporal
variables
– Requires a longer course of time
Ethnic Minority Identity Development
• Defining Minority Status
• Phenny’s Work
– Stages of Ethnic Identity Development based
on:
• Interaction with the dominant culture
• Interaction with one’s own culture
• Internalization of ethnic and cultural values, beliefs,
& traditions
Ethnic Minority Identity Development
• Cross’s Stages (Vandiver, Cross, Worrell,
& Fhagen-Smith, 2002):
– Pre-encounter: Assimilation & Self-Hatred
– Encounter: Experience of events leading to
reexamination of ethnic perspective
Ethnic Minority Identity Development:
Cross (cont’d)
– Immersion-Emersion: deep immersion into
one’s own culture and potential hatred of the
other
– Internalization-Commitment: self acceptance,
other acceptance; bi-cultural
Evaluating the Self
• Perceived Self-Efficacy: The perception
that some outcome can be achieved
through current knowledge and skills or
knowledge and skills that can be obtained
Strategies for encouraging perceived
self efficacy
• Mastery Experiences—opportunities to succeed
given challenging but attainable goals
• Vicarious Learning—observing others similar to
oneself acting and attaining goals
Strategies for encouraging perceived
self efficacy
• Verbal/Social persuasion—encouragement and
instructional (not evaluative) feedback
• Positive Affective Environment—experiences of
attempting challenging tasks with instructional
not evaluative feedback; encouragement of
attempting tasks, not simply succeeding;
Relationship between Self-Efficacy
and Identity
• mood regulation, and generalized selfefficacy were (as expected) important
codeterminants of late-adolescent identity
among women, and men’s late adolescent
identity (Lopes et al, 1992)
Relationship between Self-Efficacy
and Identity
• It was found that identity exploration and
commitment, self-efficacy, control, and
responsibility were predictive of future
orientation. For younger adolescents,
greater perceived control and
responsibility was related to a stronger
future orientation. (Kerpelman & Mosher,
2004)
The Self Alone
• Two aspects:
– Social Loneliness: number of social contacts
– Emotional Loneliness: quality of social
contacts
• Emotional Loneliness predictive of
negative outcomes
– Emerging adulthood has higher levels of
emotional loneliness than either adolescence
or adulthood.
Discussion Questions
• List 4-5 terms you would use to describe
yourself as you remember it during middle
school.
• List 4-5 terms you would use to describe
yourself as you are now
• Compare the two lists and describe how
they are alike and how they are similar.