Chapter 6 - The Self Flashcards
6.1 Summarize the differences among cultures in conceptions of the self.
Cultures differ greatly in their views of the self, with some promoting an independent self that is high in self-esteem and others promoting an interdependent self that is defined by relations with others.
6.2 Describe the different kinds of selves adolescents may have, and explain how this variation reflects adolescents’ cognitive development.
Self-conceptions become more abstract in adolescence. This includes the development of the capacity to distinguish between an actual self and two types of possible selves, an ideal self and a feared self. Self-conceptions in adolescence also become more complex, with an increased awareness that different aspects of the self might be shown to different people and in different situations. This includes an awareness that one may show a false self to others at times.
6.3 Explain how and why self-esteem changes from preadolescence through adolescence, including ethnic variations.
Research indicates that self-esteem tends to decline in early adolescence and rise through late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Self-esteem does not decline among all adolescents but is more likely to decline for girls than for boys and more likely to decline among Whites than among African Americans. The most influential aspects of self-esteem in adolescence are physical appearance and peer acceptance.
6.4 List Harter’s eight domains of self-concept, and identify which of them has the most influence on global self-esteem in adolescence.
The eight domains of self-concept are scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, job competence, romantic appeal, behavioral competence, and close friendship. Physical appearance has the most influence on adolescents’ global self-esteem.
6.5 Explain why self-esteem is relatively high for some adolescents and relatively low for others.
Self-esteem is influenced mainly by feeling accepted (or not) by others, especially parents and peers. Succeeding in school also promotes self-esteem.
6.6 Summarize the evidence for emotional volatility in adolescence.
The ESM studies show that adolescents tend to experience more extremes of emotions, especially negative ones such as feeling embarrassed or awkward, compared with preadolescents or adults.
6.7 Evaluate the claim that girls lose their “voice” in adolescence.
Carol Gilligan has argued that gender differences exist in emotional self-development during adolescence, as girls “lose their voice” in the course of conforming to cultural pressures for the female role, rather than asserting their authentic selves. However, research has provided limited support for this claim.
6.8 Summarize adolescents’ emotional states during times they are alone.
The ESM studies find that adolescents are alone about one fourth of the time. Although their moods tend to be low during these hours, they often use these times for reflection and regeneration. Emotional loneliness tends to be high among college freshmen.
6.9 Explain how identity issues develop in adolescence, according to Erikson’s theory, and how and why identity development might go off track.
According to Erik Erikson, the key crisis in adolescent development is identity versus identity confusion, and the three principal areas of identity formation are love, work, and ideology.
6.10 Connect Erikson’s theory of identity development to the identity status model on which most research is based.
The identity status model has guided most research in this area by classifying adolescents into one of four statuses: foreclosure, diffusion, moratorium, and achievement. Research using the identity status model has shown that achievement and moratorium are related to positive aspects of development, whereas diffusion is mostly negative. It also shows that most identity development takes place in emerging adulthood rather than adolescence.
6.11 Evaluate Erikson’s theory from the perspective of postmodern theory, and note the theory’s limitations concerning gender and culture.
Postmodern identity theory proposes that people have many different and sometimes contradictory aspects of themselves that they exhibit in different contexts, rather than one stable identity. It also asserts that changes in the self continue to occur throughout the life span rather than being concentrated in adolescence. The gender critique notes that Erikson’s theory values the independent self most often associated with males over the relational self most often associated with females. The cultural critique of Erikson’s theory is that it assumes a range of independent choices in love, work, and ideology, but in most cultures, individual’s choices are shaped and constricted by cultural beliefs and by the influences of others.
6.12 Describe Phinney’s model of ethnic identity in adolescence.
Adolescents who are members of ethnic minorities face the challenge of developing an ethnic identity in addition to an identity in the areas of love, work, and ideology. Four possible alternatives of ethnic identity formation are assimilation, marginality, separation, and biculturalism.
6.13 Explain how globalization is influencing identity development in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Globalization is leading to the development of more bicultural and hybrid identities that combine elements of the local culture with elements of the global culture, and it appears to be leading to greater identity confusion among young people in some traditional cultures.
