Chapter 11: Understanding Self and Others Flashcards
what is self-concept?
attitudes, behaviours, and values that a person believes make him/herself a unique individual
- children must realize that they exist independently of other people and objects in the environment, and that their existence continues over time
self-regulation 15 months
infants beginning to show self-recognition in mirror task
self-regulation 18-24 months
children look more at photos of self than others and refer to self by name or personal pronoun
self-concept in preschoolers
4
- possessions
- physical characteristics
- preferences
- competencies
- concrete and observable, here and now
self-concept school aged children
3
- emotions
- social groups
- comparisons with peers
self-concept with adolescents (4)
- attitudes
- personality traits
- beliefs vary with the setting
- future oriented
Erikson: search for identity
believed that adolescents struggle to achieve an identity that will allow them to participate in the adult world
adolescents search for identity
use hypothetical reasoning to experiment with different selves and imagine themselves in different roles
adolescence is characterized by
egocentrism, imaginary audience, personal fable, and illusion of invulnerability
- self-absorption that makes the teenage search for identity
what is personal fable?
demonstrates self-absorption, tendency to believe that their experiences and feelings are unique, and no one as ever feel or though as they do
what is illusion of invulnerability
belief that misfortune only happens to others
4 stages of identity (marcia)
1) Diffusion: confused or overwhelmed by the task of achieving an identity and are doing little to achieve one
2) Foreclosure: identity determined largely by adults, rather from personal exploration of alternatives
3) Moratorium: examining different alternatives and have yet to find a satisfactory identity
4) Achievement: chosen a specific identity
what is ethnic identity
Individuals sense of belonging to an ethnic or racial group, including the degree to which they associated their thinking, perceptions, feelings and behaviour with membership in that group
- a strong ethnic identity benefits self-esteem and relationships
what is acculturation?
the process of integrating info and adopting the customs of a different culture
creating an ethnic identity 3 phases
feel a part of their ethnic group and learn the special customs and traditions of their groups culture and heritage
1) Initially, adolescents have not examined their ethnic roots, they are not interested—not yet and important personal issue
2) Adolescents begin to explore personal impact of their ethnic heritage, curiosity/questioning, learning new cultural traditions
3) Achieve a distinct ethnic self-concept
LBGTQ may go through 3 stages
1) Test and exploration
2) Identity acceptance
3) Identity integration
what is self-esteem
The evaluative component of self, persons judgement and feelings about his/her own worth
developmental change in self-esteem
- Children have differentiated view of themselves by 4-5 years of age
- 4 areas of self-esteem emerge in elementary school years: scholastic, athletic, social, and physical
- other domains of self-esteem are added in adolescence
self-esteem in some domains contributes more to overall sense of self-worth
global self-worth in adolescents
the discrepancy between the actual and ideal selves, and the perceived relative importance of that discrepancy
- Harters 8 Part model
Harters model of global self-worth in adolescents (8 parts)
Global Self-Worth divided into:
1) scholastic competence
2) social acceptance
3) physical appearance
4) athletic competence
5) romantic appeal
6) behaviour conduct
7) close friendship
8) job competence
self-esteem highest in…
WHY
preschoolers
- don’t see how other people see them–egocentrism
- Pre-operational period egocentric, difficulty taking another persons viewpoint, believe they are competent in all domains
drop in self-esteem when?? WHY?
Social comparisons lead to drop in self-esteem at the beginning of elementary school, begin to compare themselves with peers
- drops during the move to middle school or junior high, as they learn place on “pecking order”
Pattern of change in self-esteem 3 different domains
1) Academic self worth: changes little with age, similar for boys/girls
2) Social self-worth: increases from childhood to adolescence, similar for boys/girls
3) Behavioural self-worth: declines during elementary school, increases in high school, girls have greater than boys in elementary not high school
Sources of children’s self-esteem
based on child’s competence in domains important to them—children’s self worth is greater when they are skilled in areas that mater to them (interests, abilities, self-concept are coupled), children tend to like domains in which they do well
children have higher self-esteem when…
- parents are nurturing and involved and establish rules concerning discipline
- believe that they can succeed at something that is valued by themselves and others
self-esteem of gifted children
Gifted children in gifted classes may have lower self-esteem than those in regular classes
praise should focus on what?
Praise should focus on effort rather than ability
when faced with apparent setback in their work children praised for… will do what?
- Children praised for their effort will work harder
- Children praised for their ability will not try as hard
low self-esteem: cause/consequence
- more likely to have problems with peers, prone to psychological disorders (depression), be involved in bullying and aggressive behaviour and do poorly in school
- Depression can be a life-long outcome of low self-esteem
- Low self-esteem is both a cause of future harmful outcomes and a consequence of past difficulties
high self-esteem can contribute to…
An inflated sense of self-worth can contribute to bullying and aggression
4-5 year olds describing others
begin to think about other people in terms of psychological traits (smart, friendly, helpful, shy),
children describing others
Children begin to focus on concrete characteristics (e.g. appearance) but by adolescence descriptions are more abstract and emphasize psychological traits
up until age 10 (describing others)
children demonstrate a bias for seeing positive traits in others (“rose-coloured glasses”)
preschooers: understanding what others think
- Preschoolers are egocentric, don’t consider listeners perspective when talk
Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking (5)
1) undifferentiated
2) social-informational
3) self-reflective
4) third person
5) societal
Undifferentiated
- when?
- what?
(Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking)
3-6 years
- children know that self and others can have different thoughts/feelings, but often confuse the two
Social-informational
- when?
- what?
(Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking)
4-9 years
- children know that perspectives differ because people have access to different information
Self-reflective
- when?
- what?
(Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking)
7-12 years
- children can step into another’s shoes and view themselves as others do; they know that others can do the same
Third Person
- when?
- what?
(Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking)
10-15 years
- children/adolescents can step outside the immediate situation and see how they and another person are viewed by a third person
Societal
- when?
- what?
(Selman’s Stages of Perspective Taking)
14 years to adult
- adolescents realized that a third persons perspective is influenced by broader personal, social, and cultural contexts
perspective taking is linked to
theory of mind
children with good perspective taking skills
- usually get along better with their peers
but can also use this awareness to tease or bully
what is recursive thinking
- occurs when?
usually get along better with their peers (but can also use this awareness to tease or bully)
what is prejudice?
- A negative view of others based on group membership
- Preschoolers and kindergarteners attribute many positive traits to their own group
- declines during elementary school, but increases during adolescence due to internalization of prejudice in society and increased preference for own group
4 ways to reduce prejudice
- Ensuring equality of status for all
- Encouraging friendly, constructive contact between groups that involve working towards a common goal
- Engaging children in role-play activities to help them learn about experiences of individuals from other groups
- Ensuring that adults (parents/teachers) support the goal of reducing prejudice
