identity Flashcards
puberty and identity development
- fundamental biological, cognitive, and social change
- fluctuations in self esteem and self conceptions
cognitive change and identity development
- possible selves: people’s sense of different selves they might become under various circumstances and with various courses of action
- future orientation: the extent to which and individual is bale and inclined to think about the potential consequences of decisions and choices
self concept
- the organized set of thoughts, ideas, and perceptions that people hold about themselves
self esteem
- the set of +’ve or -‘ve evaluations and feelings that people hold about themselves
- baseline: the level of +’ve or -‘ve feelings about the self that is fairly stable over time
- barometric: temporary changes in +’ve or -‘ve feelings about the self that occur in response to particular incidents
identity
- the psyo structure that gives people a sense of personal continuity across situations and across their individual history
barometric self-esteem
- is: temporary swings up, down
- drops sharply after puberty
- decline more for girls
- physucak aooearance, peer acceptance greatest sources
- low self esteem linked to aggression, antisocial behaviour, poor school achievements
stability
- the extent to which individuals’ relative ranking within a group in particular trait stays more or less the same over time
- self esteem becomes more stable during ado after the 1st drop
self consciousness
- the degree to which an individual is preoccuipied with their self image
self image
- the degree to which an individual’s self image changes from day to day
- self image fluctuations are most likely between the ages of 12 and 14
factors related to fluctuations in self image
- egocentrism may make young ados painfully aware of other’s reactions to their behaviour
- ados learn that it is not always possible to tell what people are thinking on the basis of how they act or what they say
- ados are especially interested in their peers’ opinions of them
components of self esteem
- ados have different views of themselves
- self esteem contributes to the overall self image
- ados are usually unaware of what contributes most to their self esteem
sex differences in self esteem
- boys generally have higher self esteem than girls
- sex diff becomes smaller over the course of ado
- more pronounced among white and hispanic teens
- less pronounced among black teens
- likely linked to physical attractiveness girls face
group difference in self esteem
- black ados have higher esteem than white ados
- white ados have higher esteem than hispanics
- blacks have more +’ve feedback from communities
- strong sense of ethnic identity enhances self esteem
- different groups have different changes in esteem
- minority groups are prone to self esteem problems
influences on self esteem
- approval of others (especially parents and peers) enhances it
- success in school enhances
- same influences are found in almost all ethnic and cultural groups
- when approval of others has too much power, ados are at risk of self image problems
- self esteem derived from peers, rather than teachers or parents, leads to more behavioural problems and poorer school achievements
consequences of high or low self esteem
- academic success leads to improvement in how ados feel about themselves, but the reverse is not true
- high esteem enhances ados well being
- low self esteem may lead to mental health, emotional, and behavioural problems, but the relationship is complicated
as ados mature intellectually…
- the come to conceive of themselves in more sophisticated and differentiated ways
- more capable of considering abstract concepts than children
- more able to process large amounts of info
- more likely to use complex, abstract, psyo self-char
differentiation of the self concept
- link traits and attributes describing themselves to specific situations
- take into accound who is doing the describing
organization and integration of the self concept
- shift towards differentiation in self conceptions accompanied by better organization and integration
- recognition of multifaceted, contradictory personality
- inital stress about inconsistencies; recognition of advantages in long run
- able to distinguish between 1’s self (who they really are), ideal self (who they would like to be), and feared self (who they most dread becoming)
false self behaviour
- behaviour that intentionally presents a false impression to other
- they dislike false self behaviour, but also believe it sometimes acceptable
- ados differ in the degrees of and reason for presenting false fronts
- false self behaviour is linked to increased depression and hopelessness
5 factor model
- the thoery that there are 5 basic dimensions to personality (extraversion, agreeablemess, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience)
- both genetic and enviromental influences on personality
- both temperament and personality become increasingly stable as we grow older
- despite popular stereotypes, research does not show that ado is a time of tumultuous upheaval in personality
erkison’s theoretical framework
- erikson viewed the person as moving through 8 psyo crises throughout lifetime
- identity v. identity diffusion (the 5th stage, predominant during ado)
- no until ado does the mental or emotional capacity to achieve a balanced, coherent sense of identity
- developing an identity is a social and mental process
- ado’s identity results from mutual recognition between the young person and society
social context of identity development
- the course of identity development varies by culture and historical era
- affects whether the search for self definition will be a manageable challenge or full blown crisis
- the more alternatives are available, the more difficult it is to establish a sense of identity
- the rapid rate of social change, the likelihood of experiencing a prolonged and difficult idenity crisis is greater today than perviously
psychosocial moratorium
- a period during which individuals are free from excessive obligatinos and responsibilities and can therefore experiement with different roles and personalitites
foreclosure, diffusion, -‘ve identity
- premature commitment to assigned identity
- reluctance to deal with identity issues
- compeling notice by outraging others
identity diffusion
- mild or severe
- disruptions in sense of time
- excessive self-consciousness and difficulty making decisions
- work and school issues
- difficulties forming intimate relationships
- concerns over sexuality
identity foreclosure
- some skip exporation and experimentation that leads to sense of identity
- roles adopted in identity foreclosure often revolve around goals set by parents or other authority figures
- it interferes with individual’s discovery of full range of potential
-‘ve identity
- usually, this is an attempt toforge sense of self-definition when it is difficult to establish an acceptable identity
- most would rather be somebody “bad” than nobody at all
identity exporation, identity commitment, and combination
- examining alternatives in a particular area of activity, such as occupation or beliefs and values
- choosing a belief or course of action and making a personal envestment in it
- combination creates 4 categories of identity status
ethnicity, ethnocultural identity
- a persons cultural background and the customs, values, and attitudes that go with it
- an understanding of oneself in terms of one’s ethnic and cultural background
development of ethnic identity
- similar to the process of development
1. unquestioing view of oneself is displaced or upset by a crisis
2. period of exploration occurs after crisis
3. development of ethnic identity is strongly influenced by context
ethnocultural socialization
- the process through which individuals develop an understanding of their ethnic or racial background
ethnocultural’s 3 themes
- understanding and valuing one’s culture
- dealing with racism
- succeeding in mainstream society
bioculturalism
- ados who are members of an ethnocultural minority grow up being exposed to 2 different cultures
social context of minority and -‘ve effects of discrimination
social: racial stereotypes, discrimination, mixed messages about identitfying with majority culture
-‘ve effect: conduct problems, depression, poor sleep, lower school achievement
what researches wanted to know about indigenous canadian youth
- describe racial and ethnic identity development among indigenous youth who lived in and attended schools in their indigenous communitites
- examine if identity development was stronger among older youth, in line with developmental predictions
- examine if identity development was related to +’ve aspects of development (as determined in consultation with the indigenous communities)
what researches did about indigenous canadian youth
- surveyed over 200 indigenous youth (grade 5-12) who attended schools in 4 indigenous communitities in central canada
- measured: bicultural identity, multi-group ethnic identity, racial identity, +’ve behaviours, “compromising” behaviours
what researches found about indigenous canadian youth
- identity development was not related to ado age or bio sex
- could be related to cross-sectional design or restreicted age range
- having a stromg sense of indigenous identity was associated with greater: affiliation and belonging to their communtity, achievement in schools
- having a strong sense of white identity was: associated with lower achievement in schools, associated with lower indigenous identity, not related to affiliation/belonging in their community