development of the self Flashcards
research methods, emergence of self, self-concept, how do we come to know ourselves
what’s important criteria in research methods
- RELIABILITY: am i getting consistent info over time and across observers (test retest, inter rater, etc)
- VALIDITY: am i measuring what i am supposed to measure (content validity, construct, etc)
- REPLICABILITY: can i reproduce or duplicate this study
what self agency? why and how did self agency emerge? how did they measure this?
SELF AGENCY: we understand we r an active agent, we have ownership over our behs and actions.
the infant needs some interaction w their environment and its bc of this the infant comes to learn and understand that they have control, ownership of their actions. according to symbolic interactionists they didnt say we were born w the self intact but it has to develop over time in our life and james proposed the i self had to emerge before me self
it emerges during the first 3 yrs of life, gradually thru their interactions w their environment and other ppl.
measured with mobile conjugate studies and pretend/symbolic play
how did self awareness emerge? what did courage, edison, howe find?
hypothesis: if children has self awareness, its the ability to recognize that the image in the mirror is an image of themselves (MSR) suggesting the child has some mental rep. of themselves and able to recognize that the image in the mirror MATCHES the mental rep. of themselves thats stored into memory.
3 diff ways of self recognition
1. MSR - mark test on childs face
2. PSR - took pic of childs face and presented it along w 2 others pics of other children that r the same age, sex, ethnicity
3. if child is capable of using linguistic terms to refer to themselves
method
- had toddlers 15-23mos in (1) cross sectional (CSG) and (2) longitudinal/microgenetic conditions (LG)
(1) CSG
- compared diff groups of ppts to each other and to see if there r differences among those groups
- 9 groups had 10 infants each, all infants were tested one and all groups differ in age
- PROS: allows to assess age differences
- LIMITS: cant assess changes as infants age bc each r tested only once, confound effect bc they belong into different cohorts
(2) LG
- had 10 infants in one group, each was assessed every 2 weeks and all 3 tests were used, all infants were ~15 mos at the start till 23mos
- PROS: can see age changes and by using small time intervals, get some info about possible causes of the change, examine if the change is sudden or gradual
- LIMIT: it possibly could be changes in age that are happening or if theres any event that happens during this time that affects all the ppts in the same way
tasks
1. msr/rouge task
2. measured affective reactions to being in front of mirror
3. PSR
4. toy localization
5. previous experience w mirrors
6. language development
MAIN FINDINGS
1. before 16mos in both groups less than 50% in both groups passed msr
2. in CSG, significant incr in the % of infants that pass the msr suggest a sudden change/development that happened ~17mos. in LG, theres not much of a pattern
3. in LG, ~15-21mos show a lot of inconsistency earl on but ~17mos and beyond, they consistently recognize themselves in the mirror suggesting gradual progression. in CSG, theres a sudden change but with the LG since they measured over time, at first the results were inconsistent then gradually they got it over time
RESULTS OF PRONOUN USE
1. avg ~20 mos using personal pronouns indicating VSR
- CSG - gradual incr and linear suggesting a connection btwn msr and language/vsr but unrelated to recognizing urslef in a pic
- LG - same finding, avg ~20mos consistent w personal pronouns
RESULTS OF PSR
1. this emerged last
- CSG - ~21 and a half mos, able to consistently rec themselves in the pic
- LG - started rec themselves in pic earlier, able to do this earlier bc they had lots of practice
IMPLICATIONS
this may not measure self awareness maybe we’re indexing some cog ability thats unrelated to the self. maybe those who were first able to recognize self in mirror are then able to use language to refer to ourselves who are able to identify ourselves from photos (developmental sequence). or maybe msr can lead to the emergence to other forms of self knowledge or awareness. thus self awareness is GRADUAL
how did self continuity emerge
around 2yos, children begin to acquire LANGUAGE or lexical terms that refer to themselves and to others (pronouns) and time (tense forms). language can also help form that connection since we have linguistic terms that distinguish present, past, future. as children grow older and interact more, they become more sophisticated w language that they r able to conform and adjust their language to match what the adults r saying = understanding of self continuity becomes more sophisticated
how did self coherence emerge? what is theory of mind
SELF COHERENCE is the understanding that others have knowledge or beliefs that may differ from us (others r diff from the self, others r different experiencers)
THEORY OF MIND is understanding that we exist as a person with internal states that r unique to us and other ppl have their own internal states that r unique to them
how did self concept emerge in childhood
emerges around 18-24 mos
- 2-5 yrs: their sc included possessions, physical characteristics, preferences, competencies
- 6-8 yrs: their sc included everything previously listed PLUS emotions (internal states), social comparisons, social groups
- theres new info in their sc as their think has changed with reflects changes in their sc
this seems to coincide w emergence of self awareness
why do changes happen in sc in childhood
due to cognitive development since their ability to think abt themselves in their world has become more sophisticated and complicated.
for ex,
1. from simple (global concepts) to differentiated (distinctive, allow for circumstances)
2. from inconsistent to consistent (stability)
3. from concrete (focus on what they can directly observe, in the moment) to abstract (appreciate what u cant directly perceive)
4. from absolute (paying attention to themselves) to comparative (using others as reference points to understand themselves)
5. from “self as public” (dont distinguish btwn priv feelings and public beh) to “self as private” (priv self is true self)
in adolescence, what is included in their sc and how does it emerge?
SC INCLUDES: all the features from childhood sc PLUS attitudes, religious/political beliefs, personality traits
SC BECOMES:
- more complex
- more abstract
- more future oriented
- more differentiated
- more integrated
why do changes happen in sc in adolescence
due to cognitive development, u are better able to:
- think about whats possible
- think abstractly
more likely to:
- think about the process of thinking
- think multidimensionally
- see things as relative
what are the psychological advantages of sc in adolescence
allows for a more sophisticated and complex self concept and construction of possible selves (who could i be? ideal, ought, feared self) and allows for distinction btwn actual self and possible selves
how does the self change in adulthood
since we’re now adults in society = more roles to occupy = more privileges, expectations, etc. there’s opportunities for our sc to become more complex and DIFFERENTIATED.
SELF CONCEPT DIFFERENTIATION (SCD): the extent to which persons’ self reps. are different for different social roles and contexts
how do we come to know ourselves
- through introspection: the process in which we look inward and examine our own thoughts, feelings and motives
- use other ppl (social comparison theory, reflected appraisals, looking glass self)
- use our social groups (social identity theory)
how accurate is introspection
not really since u can only access what’s in ur CONSCIOUS mind but so much of what drives our behaviour lies within our UNCONSCIOUS. also memory isnt perfect and we’re biased when introspecting. however, its a powerful tool we use to gain info (self knowledge) but it isnt always accurate info abt who we are
what is self concept
aka the me self. its the knowledge contained in I SELF necessary when we make ourselves as the object of our own attention
describe the smarties & sally anne task and how does it relate to theory of mind
this task investigates whether or not the child has theory of mind. child has to establish the fact that their own belief is false then put themselves into another child’s mind to predict that child’s beliefs.
TASK/STORY TOLD TO CHILD
1. sally had a basket, anne had a box
2. the object is the marble so sally puts her marble in her basket and leaves
3. when sally was away, anne moves the marble from basket to her box
ASKED 2 CONTROL Qs
1. memory question - “where was the object in the beginning?” (location A - basket)
2. reality question - “where is the object now?” (location B - box)
- to be able to know where sally would THINK the marble is, the child must be able to MENTALLY REPRESENT 2 distinct perspectives in their mind
FINDINGS
- 3 yo would answer location b (box) bc since the child knows that the marble is in the box so does everyone including sally (which she doesnt, false belief) = dont have developed theory of mind
- 4 yo would answer location a (basket) bc they were able to attribute mental states onto other so the child would consider sally’s (since sally didnt see anne move her marble) = has developed theory of mind
