Chapter 2: Identity in the early years Flashcards
Categorical self
A term used for what James called the ‘me’ or self-as-object. It refers to characteristics that define a person, such as gender, age and membership of social groups (i.e. categories into which we put ourselves and can be put by others).
Existential self
Term used by Lewis for what James called the ‘I’, or self-as-subject. It refers to awareness of the continuity of one’s identity and one’s own agency, and a sense of being unique and distinct from others. See also categorical self.
Self-categorisation theory (SCT)
A development of social identity theory (SIT) that places more emphasis on the cognitive processes involved in self-categorization, in particular the salience of particular characteristics in a particular context.
James, William
An American psychologist, active around the end of the nineteenth century, who strongly influenced the shape of modern psychology. In writing about the self, he distinguished between ‘I’ or self-as-subject (later termed the existential self), and ‘me’ or self-as-object (later termed the categorical self).
Looking-glass self
Cooley’s term to describe how people build up a sense of identity from the ways others respond to them, and the views they believe others have of them. It is related to the concept of the categorical self.
The rouge test
Prompted by their observation of the frequency with which children aged 15–18 months touched their noses when looking in a mirror, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) applied rouge to children’s noses and counted the number of times infants touched their nose when playing in front of a mirror. They reasoned that if a child had knowledge of their appearance, they would be likely to relate their image to their actual body and would therefore touch the unexpected dot of rouge on their own face.
Cultural relativism
The view that behaviour, beliefs and other aspects of a culture should be considered only within the framework of that culture. There may be considerable differences between cultures, but each variation may be equally valid. This can be contrasted with ethnocentrism.
Cognitive-developmental theory
Piaget’s influential cognitive-developmental theory (see Inhelder and Piaget, 1958) – proposing that children pass through a fixed sequence of stages in the
development of their logical thinking.
Cognitive-developmental theory of gender development
Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental theory of gender development focuses on children’s cognitive organisation of their social experiences. This understanding moves through three stages: gender labelling, gender stability and gender consistency.
Kohlberg’s stages of gender development
Stage 1: Gender labelling, (at 2–3 years)
Children recognise themselves and other people as being a boy or a girl (man or woman).
Stage 2: Gender stability (by about 4 years)
Children understand that gender remains stable over time – that girls will grow up to be women and boys will grow up to be men. However, at this stage a child will not have grasped that gender is usually unchangeable, for example, that it remains the same even if the external appearance or activity does not match the expected characteristics associated with that particular gender.
Stage 3: Gender constancy (around 6–7 years)
Children know that gender is permanent and that this remains constant over time. They now understand that external appearances
Gender Schema
Martin and Halverson (1981) suggested that children form cognitive schemas about gender as soon as they can identify their own sex. At around the age of 2–3 years they will actively seek out information which relates to their being either a girl or a boy, such as feminine or masculine activities, behaviours and occupations.
Two-schema model of gender identity
- The ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’ schema, in which children have a mental representation of behaviours suitable for their own sex (in-group) and what is appropriate for the other sex (out-group).
- Their ‘own-sex’ schema is a detailed version of their in-group mental representation, consisting of a more specific characterisation of gender-appropriate behaviour.
Diversity
Diversity is not only an area for exploration between cultures; its impact on the formation of children’s identity can also be observed within contemporary societies. For example, in the West, migration has resulted in children experiencing and interacting with a wider range of multicultural beliefs and practices. Although certain aspects of the self might remain stable throughout early childhood and beyond, the concept of multiple identities
perhaps better explains these competing and contrasting influences on young children’s sense of who they are.
