Chapter 8 Flashcards
If changes in identity occur throughout the life cycle, why have researchers who are interested in identity development paid so much attention to adolescence?
- the changes in identity that take place during adolescence involve the first substantial reorganization and restructuring of the individual’s sense of self at a time when he or she has the intellectual capability to appreciate fully just how significant the changes are
- fundamental biological, cognitive, and social changes characteristic of the period.
Brain-imaging studies find that patterns of brain activity during tasks in which individuals are asked to think about themselves differ significantly between adolescents and adults how
there is evidence that adolescents exert more conscious, deliberate effort when asked to think about themselves than adults do, who seem to do this more effortlessly
adolescence is a time of important decisions about school, work, relationships, and the future. Facing these decisions about their place in society does more than provoke adolescents to ask questions about who they are and where they are headed—it … asking them.
necessitates
Identity development is better understood as one single development
f Identity development is better understood as a series of interrelated developments—rather than one single development
Neuroimaging studies show that adolescents’ self-conceptions may be particularly sensitive to the …
opinions of others
Self-conceptions continue to become more psychological well into the high school years, although this may be more characteristic of adolescents growing up in cultures like the United States, why
where teenagers tend to focus on their feelings and social life
The proportion of adolescents who give opposite traits in self-descriptions, who feel conflicts over such discrepancies, and who feel confused over such discrepancies increases markedly between … grades and then declines somewhat
seventh and ninth
delinquent adolescents might dread becoming criminals, for instance, they may not have a positive ideal self why is this a problem
don’t balance the fear with optimism
who inmost likely to least likely to get adol false self behaviour parents friends dates
dates and classmates = most
parents
friends
some adolescents engage in false-self behavior because they have low self-esteem but not the other way around
f , and whereas others experience a drop in self-esteem because they knowingly put on a false front.
..3 are more likely to engage in false-self behavior
adolescents who report less emotional support from parents and peers, who have low self-esteem, and who are relatively less satisfied with life
As self-conceptions become more …2, they become more interested in understanding their own personalities and motivations
abstract, and as young people become more able to see themselves in psychological terms
delinquent adolescents are more likely than their peers to score high in … and low in … (5 factor)
extraversion and low in agreeableness and conscientiousness
adolescents who are high achievers in school score high in …2
conscientiousness and openness
There is a temporary drop in … during early adolescence, “which appears to be the lifetime peak of meanness, laziness, and closed-mindedness”
maturity
during adol to young adulthood as they mature, they become more …4
conscientious, more agreeable, more resilient, and more emotionally stable
by the end of adolescence, there are few gender differences in maturity
t but females mature faster
The rate of change in personality begins to slow during the …
early 20s
adolescence is a time of “rebirth,”
f research does not show that adolescence is a time of tumultuous upheaval in personality.
he “storm and stress” of adolescence creates problems in self-esteem
f there isn’t a dramatic drop in self-esteem at`
this age, adolescents’ feelings about themselves fluctuate from day to day, particularly during the early adolescent years
excessively high self-esteem characteristic of today’s teenagers
f
Asking whether self-esteem changes during adolescence (whether people’s view of themselves becomes more positive or negative) is not the same as asking whether self-esteem is stable during this period why
stability is whether individuals with high self-esteem as children are likely to have high self-esteem as adolescents
children are usually in a more positive mood than young adolescents, who are generally in a better mood than older adolescents
t but levels off at age 16
Teenagers who experience frequent fluctuations in mood also report higher levels of ..2.
anxiety and depression
Fluctuations in adolescents’ self-image are most likely to occur between the ages of …
12 and 14
12 and 14 why more fluctuations
This is a time of major changes in brain systems that regulate how we think about ourselves and others
the differences between preadolescents and early or middle adolescents are smaller than those between younger and older adolescents
f which indicates that the most marked fluctuations in self-image occur during the transition into adolescence, rather than over the course of adolescence itself
Does it seem to you that early and middle adolescents are a little obsessed with taking “selfies”?
t
The extent to which an individual’s self-esteem is volatile is itself a stable trait what does this mean
those who fluctuate a lot early on will do the same thing later
Young adolescents with the most volatile self-image report the highest levels of …3
anxiety, tension, and adjustment problems `
which adol have more stable and high SE and life satisfaction
adolescents with better family and peer relationships are more likely than their peers to maintain positive self-esteem or develop enhanced self-esteem over time
the brains of adolescents with relatively higher self-esteem differ how
tend to have stronger connections between areas of the brain that regulate how we think about ourselves and areas that control feelings of reward
which SE matters most
global
Do some aspects of self-esteem contribute more to an adolescent’s overall self-image than others?
yes
which SE most important
physical than social
adol admit physical appearance most important to SE
f adolescents are often unaware of the degree to which their self-worth is based on their feelings about their appearance
why girls are more likely than boys to experience self-image difficulties and depression.?
Physical self-esteem is a more important influence on overall self-esteem among girls than boys
Early adolescent girls’ self-esteem is lower, their degree of self-consciousness is higher, and their self-image is shakier than is the case for boys.
t
who attend single-sex schools have lower self-esteem than those who go to coeducational ones
f higher
although sex differences in adolescent self-esteem, favoring males, are found all over the world, the gap is wider in wealthy, developed nations than in poor, developing ones, perhaps because …
more affluent societies place a greater emphasis on physical appearance
adolescents’ life satisfaction is higher—among both boys and girls—in countries that have higher levels of gender equity
t
Asian American adolescents have particularly low self-esteem relative to their peers why?
, a finding that some researchers have attributed to higher rates of peer rejection
does approval of significant others or society matter more
the approval of significant others is an especially powerful influence on adolescents’ self-esteem—much more so than the opinion of the broader society
Ethnic differences in self-esteem, favoring Black adolescents, have increased over the past 25 years and are greater during adolescence than childhood why
(perhaps because ethnic identity has become a more relevant issue in society)
perhaps because ethnic identity is a more salient issue during adolescence than before
is desegregation good in schools
Adolescents who attend schools in which they are in the ethnic minority may suffer greater self-esteem problems than their peers who attend schools in which they are in the majority
may have a positive impact on minority adolescents’ academic achievement,
One explanation for the increase in problem behavior that takes place over the course of adolescence is that …
adolescents tend to look relatively more to their peers for social support as they get older
High self-esteem during adolescence does enhance adolescents’ well-being, however, whereas low self-esteem may lead to mental health problems, both in the short run and well into adulthood- why not more interventions for SE then
this may be due to the fact that many of the same factors that contribute to high self-esteem in adolescence (such as achievement) are themselves stable over time and correlated with self-esteem at later ages
the course of identity development varies over different historical eras, in different cultures, and among different subcultures within the same society why
If the adolescent’s identity is forged out of a recognition on the part of society, society will play an important role in determining which sorts of identities are possible alternatives. And of those identities that are genuine options, society will influence which are desirable and which aren’t.
The more alternatives available to the young person and the more arenas in which decisions must be made, the less difficult establishing a sense of identity will be
f more
does Erickson think adol should experiment dif identities ?
According to theorists such as Erik Erikson, having the time and freedom to experiment with different roles is an important prelude to establishing a coherent sense of identity
The likelihood of going through a prolonged and difficult identity crisis is probably greater today, and more prevalent around the world, than it has ever been. why
so much choice across domains e.g. career and family
parents should be worried if their teens go through many identity phases
f normal experimentation
Without a …, a full and thorough exploration of the options and available alternatives cannot occur, and identity development will be impeded
moratorium
Do youngsters who cannot afford a psychosocial moratorium fail to resolve the identity crisis?
f Erickson would say The price these youngsters pay is not the failure to develop a sense of identity but lost potential
Is establishing a sense of identity something that is conscious?
According to Erikson, it is. It is experienced as a sense of well-being, a feeling of “being at home in one’s body,”
Establishing a coherent sense of identity takes a long time
t into young adulthood
how many identity crisis do each youth go through
a series of crises that may concern different aspects of the young person’s identity and that may surface—and resurface—at different points in time throughout the adolescent and young-adult years.
…” is the right word, because research shows that individuals move from …, and not necessarily in an orderly fashion
“state
do different personality constellations led to different patterns of identity development or, alternatively, whether different patterns of identity development influenced subsequent personality.
unclear but the former explanation (that personality affects identity development) seems more likely than the latter
does seem that becoming an adult, at least in industrialized society, is as much a .. transition as it is one defined by entering the formal roles of adulthood, such as beginning a career or setting up one’s own household
psychological
being unsure if you’ve reached adulthood is good because you accept uncertainty
f less likely to achieve sense of identity bcs
Being “in charge” of one’s life may be especially important in contemporary industrialized society, where the transition to adulthood is prolonged and individuals are faced with a tremendous number of identity-related decisions
Most research indicates that the chief period for identity development is in .., when many individuals are enrolled in college
late adolescence
What sorts of parenting practices are associated with different identity states?
authoritative
the absence of parental warmth is associated with problems in …—the most extreme case being identity diffusion—whereas the absence of parental encouragement of individuality is associated with …
making commitments
difficulties in exploration
a coherent sense of identity generally is not established before age …, let alone earlier in adolescence, as originally theorized
18 especially for boys
the proportion of individuals who are in a state of identity achievement before late adolescence is low
t
Although self-examination may take place throughout adolescence, the consolidation of a coherent sense of identity does not begin until very late in the period
differences in identity status are most frequently observed between groups in the …-year-old range.
18- to 21
training individuals to think more about how specific life events had played a role in their development helps idneittiy devel
f
foreclosure may be a temporary stage rather than a permanent one
t individuals who looked like they had foreclosed the identity development process were in the midst of an identity crisis 4 years later
… of the adolescents who were classified as identity achieved at the first assessment were not classified this way 4 years later.
half
How could some individuals who at one point had apparently resolved their identity crisis actually not have resolved it—at least, not in any final sense?
The achievement of a sense of identity in adolescence is not a final state, but a step on a long route toward the establishment of a mature sense of self.
does post sec lead to identity devel
identity achieved increases from around 20% during freshman year to as many as 40% by senior year but could be maturation or other factors that brought them to college
when is ethnic identity integrated
late adol
many White adolescents, especially those from more …, identify strongly with a particular ethnic group (such as German, Irish, Italian) and derive part of their overall sense of self from this identification
working-class backgrounds
White adolescents are less likely than Black, Latino, or Asian adolescents to explore their ethnic identity or feel a strong commitment to it
t
Among immigrant adolescents, there is considerable vacillation between identifying oneself as a member of .. or ,…
as well as variability in definitions of how best to maintain an identity that merges being a member of one’s ethnic group and being a member of the country into which the family has immigrated
a broad ethnic category (e.g., Latino, Asian) and identifying oneself as a member of a group defined by one’s country of origin (e.g., Mexican, Chinese)
Germany and other European or Middle Eastern countries) who labeled themselves as German or partly German (e.g., Turkish-German) were more likely to be chosen as friends by German-born youth does this happen in America
unsure
exploration … can also lead to distress, perhaps because at an early age it is harder to make sense of everything one discovers
very early in adolescence
Frequent contact with peers from the same ethnic group leads adolescents to develop stronger positive feelings about their ethnicity although this benefit is more likely to occur among adolescents who attend schools where …
they are part of a small ethnic minority
cons and pros of school with only one ethnic group
more ethnic pride less orientation toward mainstream culture= biculturalism
should adol be aware of racism
fine line awareness of racism is associated with better achievement, but mistrust is associated with doing more poorly in school
American adolescents of Iranian descent revealed that many of these teenagers identified themselves as Persian, rather than Iranian, because…
of the negative portrayals of Iranian individuals in the media