Ch. 11 Definitions

Question 1

Self

Answer 1

All of the characteristics of a person

Question 2

Identity

Answer 2

Who a person is, representing a synthesis and integration of self-understanding

Question 3

Personality

Answer 3

The enduring personal characteristics of individuals

Question 4

Self-understanding

Answer 4

The individual’s cognitive representation of the self, the substance of self-conceptions

Question 5

Perspective taking

Answer 5

The ability to assume another person’s perspective and understand his/her thoughts and feelings

Question 6

Possible selves

Answer 6

What adolescents hope to become as well as what they dread they might become

Question 7

Self-esteem

Answer 7

Global evaluative dimension of the self (also referred to as self-worth or self-image)

Question 8

Self-concept

Answer 8

Domain-specific evaluations of the self

Question 9

Self-regulation

Answer 9

Ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on others for help

Question 10

Selective optimization with compensation theory

Answer 10

The theory that successful aging involves three strategies: selection, optimization, compensation

Question 11

Identity vs. identity confusion

Answer 11

Adolescents are faced with finding out who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life (Erikson’s 5th stage)

Question 12

Psychosocial moratorium

Answer 12

Erikson’s term for the gap between childhood security and adult autonomy that adolescents experience as part of their identity exploration

Question 13

Crisis

Answer 13

A period of identity development during which the individual is exploring alternatives

Question 14

Commitment

Answer 14

A personal investment in identity

Question 15

Identity diffusion

Answer 15

Marcia’s term for the status of individuals who have not yet experienced a crisis (explored meaningful alternatives) or made any commitments

Question 16

Identity foreclosure

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Identity moratorium

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Identity achievement

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Individuality

Answer 19

Characteristic consisting of two dimensions:
self-assertion — the ability to have and communicate a point of view
separateness — the use of communication patterns to express how one is different from the others

Question 20

Connectedness

Answer 20

Characteristic consisting of two dimensions:
mutuality — sensitivity to and respect for others’ views
permeability — openness to others’ views

Question 21

Ethnic identity

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Bicultural identity

Answer 22

Identifying both with one’s own ethnic minority group and with the majority culture

Question 23

Trait theories

Answer 23

Theories emphasizing that personality consists of broad dispositions, called traits, which tend to produce characteristic responses

Question 24

Big Five factors of personality

Answer 24

The view that personality is made up of five factors (OCEAN):
openness to experience
conscientiousness
extraversion
agreeableness
neuroticism

Question 25

Optimism

Answer 25

Style of thinking that involves having a positive outlook on the future and minimizing problems

Question 26

Contemporary life-events approach

Answer 26

How a life event influenced the individual’s development depends not only on the event itself but also on mediating factors, individual’s adaptation to the life event, life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context

Question 27

Generativity vs. stagnation

Answer 27

Encompasses adults’ desire to leave a legacy of themselves to the next generation (Erikson’s 7th stage)