Chapter 11: The Self, Identity and Personality

Question 1

What is the “self”?

Answer 1

All of the characteristics of a person.

Question 2

What is “identity”?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

What is “personality”?

Answer 3

Enduring personal characteristics of an individual. Encompasses self and identity.

Question 4

When do signs of self-recognition occur in infants? What technique is used to determine this?

Answer 4

15-18 months. The mirror technique is used: increased touching means infant recognizes itself.

Question 5

Why do children have an inflated, overconfident sense of self?

Answer 5

Because they lack the ability to compare themselves to their peers, and thus positive reinforcement from caregivers exaggerates their concept of their own skills.

Question 6

How does a child’s self-understanding become more complex during mid-late childhood?

Answer 6

Their self-understanding becomes more realistic in terms of psychological traits and characteristics, social descriptions and comparisons, and the concept of real self vs. ideal self.

Question 7

What is perspective-taking?

Answer 7

The ability to assume another person’s perspective and understand his or her thoughts and feelings. It improves the likelihood of empathizing with others in times of distress.

Question 8

Why does self-awareness become more important in adulthood?

Answer 8

Individuals can benefit from being aware of their strengths and addressing their weaknesses and act/plan appropriately.

Question 9

Why do adults in their 20’s have so many possible selves?

Answer 9

While not all are realistic, the individual hasn’t yet committed to investing their time in particular domains and following a certain path. There are many possible career, relationship and family paths that their lives can take.

Question 10

What is self-esteem? (self-worth, self-image)

Answer 10

Global evaluations of the self.

Question 11

What are self-concepts?

Answer 11

Domain-specific evaluations of the self.

Question 12

What is low self-esteem in adolescence associated with?

Answer 12

Low self-esteem later in life, obesity, anxiety, delinquency and suicidal tendencies.

Question 13

Is self-esteem typically higher in men or women?

Answer 13

Men.

Question 14

When does self-esteem drop?

Answer 14

In adolescence, 70’s-80’s.

Question 15

When does self-esteem rise?

Answer 15

In 20’s, 50’s-60’s.

Question 16

How do older adults manage to maintain a fairly positive outlook, despite an increase in losses?

Answer 16

They tend to not interpret their losses as negatively, learn to control their emotions better, and compare themselves with other older adults.

Question 17

What is repressive coping?

Answer 17

Avoiding the stressor rather than dealing with it.

Question 18

What is rational coping?

Answer 18

Acknowledging the stressor and working towards a solution.

Question 19

At 12-18 months, how do infants determine which behaviours are acceptable?

Answer 19

They rely on signals from caregivers.

Question 20

At 2-3 years, how do infants determine which behaviours are acceptable?

Answer 20

They are capable of complying with caregiver’s expectations when they are not present or monitoring the situation.

Question 21

How does prefrontal cortex development affect a child’s behaviour?

Answer 21

In early childhood, they have difficulty self-regulating behaviour. In mid-late childhood, their capacity increases and they achieve greater social competence. They have advanced cognitive skills, increased introspection, and greater independence.

Question 22

What is the selective optimization with compensation theory?

Answer 22

The theory that successful aging is related to those three factors.
Selection: Decide with domains are most important to you
Optimization: Maintain your skills in those domains through perseverance and practice.
Compensation: Using techniques to keep up with tasks that are too mentally or physically challenging.

Question 23

As they age, do adults place more dependence on biology or culture?

Answer 23

Culture.

Question 24

Which stage of Erikson’s theory is characterized by adolescents trying to decide who they are and where they are going in life?

Answer 24

Identity vs. Identity Confusion

Question 25

What is the term for the gap between childhood security and adult autonomy that adolescents experience as part of their identity exploration?

Answer 25

Psycosocial moratorium

Question 26

What are the two factors of identity status?

Answer 26

Crisis: a time when an individual explores alternatives
Commitment: personal investment in an identity

Question 27

Which identity status is characterized by being overwhelmed by decisions during crisis, and therefore deciding not to commit?

Answer 27

Identity diffusion

Question 28

Which identity status is characterized by adopting an identity based on caregiver expectations, not having explored the possibilities for themselves?

Answer 28

Identity foreclosure

Question 29

Which identity status is characterized by a lack of commitment to one path, but an exploration of possibilities?

Answer 29

Identity moratorium

Question 30

Which identity status is characterized by a high degree of commitment?

Answer 30

Identity achievement

Question 31

What are “MAMA cycles”? What is the significance?

Answer 31

Switching between moratorium and achievement continuously. This signifies that identity may not remain stable throughout the lifespan.

Question 32

Family atmosphere promotes individuality. What is this?

Answer 32

Self-assertion and separateness. The ability to articulate your own uniqueness.

Question 33

Family atmosphere promotes connectedness. What is this?

Answer 33

Mutuality and permeability. The ability to respect divergent perspectives and be open to others’ views.

Question 34

Why do ethnic minority groups struggle to find identity?

Answer 34

It’s difficult to decide how much you want to identify with your cultural background vs. the dominant culture of where you live.

Question 35

What is ethnic identity?

Answer 35

A sense of membership in a particular ethnic group.

Question 36

What are trait theories?

Answer 36

Theories emphasizing that personality consists of traits, which tend to produce characteristic responses.

Question 37

What are the Big 5 factors of personality?

Answer 37

Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

*think: OCEAN

Question 38

What does Levinson discuss in his book, Seasons of a Man’s Life?

Answer 38

In the 20’s, men establish dreams.
In the 30’s, men focus on family and career development.
In the 40’s, men establish a stable career.

Question 39

Around what age do men come to grips with the following conflicts, and sometimes experience a mid-life crisis?

• Being young vs. being old
• Being destructive vs. being constructive
• Being masculine vs. being feminine
• Being attached to others vs. being separated

Answer 39

40-45 years.

Question 40

What does Vaillant believe about mid-life crises?

Answer 40

That only a minority of adults actually experience them.

Question 41

How many mid-life crisis cases are triggered by life events such as job loss, financial problems, or illness?

Answer 41

1 in 3

Question 42

What approach emphasizes that how a life event influences development depends not only on the event but also on mediating factors, adaptation to the life event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context?

Answer 42

Contemporary life events approach.

Question 43

Explain generativity vs. stagnation.

Answer 43

Generativity is an adult’s desire to leave a legacy behind for the next generation, while stagnation is the feeling that a person has contributed nothing.

Question 44

What are 4 different kinds of generativity?

Answer 44

Biological: conceiving and giving birth to children.

Parental: providing nurturance and guidance to children.

Work: developing skills to be passed down to the next generation.

Culture: creating, renovating or conserving an aspect of their culture.

Question 45

Which of the Big 5 factors of personality continues to grow into late adulthood?

Answer 45

Conscientiousness.

Question 46

What is the Berkeley Longitudinal Study?

Answer 46

It examined individual’s personality characteristics through life and determined that:
MOST STABLE: intellectually orientated, self-confident, and open to new experiences.
MOST CHANGED: nurturing, hostile, and self-controlled

Question 47

What are the Helson’s Mills College Studies?

Answer 47

A longitudinal study of women, either career- or family-oriented, or neither. Determined that commitment to tasks early in adulthood helped with positive personality skills later on.

Question 48

What are the categories in George Vaillant’s Studies?

Answer 48

happy-well, sad-sick and dead.

Question 49

What are the best predictors of a happy-well adult?

Answer 49

Exercise, normal BMI, education, stable marriage, future-oriented, thankful and forgiving, empathy, coping skills

Question 50

What is the cumulative personality model?

Answer 50

With time and age, people become better at interacting with their environment to promote personality stability.