self and identity

Question 1

what are the three types of identity

Answer 1

1. personal identity (links to Erikson 1959 psychosocial theory)
2. social identity (e.g women) (social identity theory Tajfel and Turner 1979) - the way we develop identity is through the social group around us, depends on emotional sig. of the group and how we value them
3. identity fusion (Swann and Burhmester 2015) integration between personal and social identity

Question 2

historical context of identity

Answer 2

Baumeister 1987
-fixed and stable social relations in medieval society
-the signs and signals we give off determine our self

Question 3

what changed the development of identity

Answer 3

secularisation, industrialisation, enlightenment and psychoanalysis

Question 4

which changes in society directed us to looking inward at ourselves

Answer 4

enlightenment and psycholanalysis

Question 5

who is John Locke and what did he state about personal identity

Answer 5

• a philosopher
• personal identity is a matter of psychological continuity
  -he considered personal identity to be founded on consciousness (memory) and not on the substance of soul/body
  -believed in the idea of an empty mind ‘tabula rasa’, experiences determine identity
  -sensations and reflections are the two sources of ideas

Question 6

when do we develop a sense of self

Answer 6

-early in life and continues to develop in adulthood
-becomes more complex as emotional and cognitive development deepens

Question 7

how do adults contribute to a child’s self image

Answer 7

by providing descriptive info about the child
e.g telling the child they are clever or hardworking determines their self perception

Question 8

how do children describe themselves

Answer 8

using physical qualities e.g tall, strong, fast etc
-Rosenhan found as children progress and mature they begin to use features of personality over physicalities

Question 9

what is the rouge mark test

Answer 9

Amsterdam 1972
-self recognition test of infants and children
-red dot placed on child’s nose and they look in a mirror
-the child who touches the red dot whilst looking in the mirror shows some global self awareness

Question 10

what are the findings and ages of the rouge mark test

Answer 10

-up to 12 months old, child looks in mirror and sees child with red dot on nose as a playmate, no realisation of self here
-at 12 months, child has some sense of self
-at 14 months old, child is inquisitive thinking is it really me with the red dot?
-18 months old, child realises dot is actually on their nose and not part of the mirror

Question 11

definition of self

Answer 11

-person’s essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as object of introspection or reflexive action

Question 12

definition of identity

Answer 12

the fact of being who or what a person or thing is

Question 13

definition of personal identity

Answer 13

persistent and continuous unity of the individual person normally attested by continuity of memory with present consciousness
- allows schemas to form creating our personal identity

Question 14

what is self concept

Answer 14

perception of self in relation to any no. of characteristics e.g gender roles

Question 15

what is self awareness

Answer 15

psychological state in which one takes oneself as an object of attention

Question 16

what is self esteem

Answer 16

evaluative element of the self concept

Question 17

what are the three components of Roger’s self concept

Answer 17

1. self esteem
2. self image
3. idea self

-believes the current and ideal self should be congruent
-where there is incongruency, person centred therapy was introduced by Rogers

Question 18

how is self awareness induced

Answer 18

by circumstances that make you aware of yourself e.g looking at yourself in the mirror, being asked how you are feeling

Question 19

what are the types of self awareness

Answer 19

public and private

Question 20

effects private self awareness

Answer 20

self awareness can increase intensity of emotions

Question 21

effects of public self awareness

Answer 21

how we believe others see us
evaluation apprehensiveness: anxiety you might be seen negatively causing temporary loss of self esteem

Question 22

why do we need a balance of private and public self awareness

Answer 22

without a balance, it may have a negative impact on self esteem

Question 23

high self esteem

Answer 23

optimistic, high goals, cope well with neg. things, accepting of others

Question 24

low self esteem

Answer 24

pessimistic, under achievers, handle adversity badly

Question 25

who came up with the self esteem questionnaire

Answer 25

Rosenhan
-questionnaire style give self esteem score between 0 and 40
-above 20 is good self esteem

Question 26

what are Lewis’ two types of self concept

Answer 26

1- existential self: experiences we have with environment
-child realises they are a separate entity from others and they continue to exist over time and space (2-3 months) e.g child smiles and someone smiles back

2- categorical self: child aware they are an object in the world which has properties. the self puts us into categories like age gender skill etc
- in childhood the categories are concrete e.g hair colour, height etc, later self description includes reference to psychological traits and how others see them

Question 27

what are the three types of self

Answer 27

1 individual self: a person is unique and separate from others
2 relational self: aspects with self involve connections with others, develop with interactions
3 collective self: concept of self in group e.g based on race or gender

Question 28

how do we develop sense of self internally

Answer 28

introspection
memories/experiences/personality
self perception theory
self evaluation maintenance theory
self discrepancy theory
regulatory focus theory

Question 29

how do we develop sense of self externally

Answer 29

symbolic interactionism
looking glass self
social identity theory
social categorisation theory
social comparison theory
feedback from others

Question 30

how does introspection develop sense of self

Answer 30

INTERNALLY
-looking inward at yourself
-imaging yourself being a type of person can affect the way you behave
Van Gyn 1990 runners used introspection to imagine themselves running really fast and this affected their actual speed

Question 31

how does symbolic interactionism affect sense of self

Answer 31

EXTERNALLY
-Herbert Blumer 1969: relationships affect formation of self but meaning is determined by individual interpretation

Question 32

how does the looking glass self theory impact sense of self

Answer 32

EXTERNALLY
Cooley 1902
-imagining reactions of others towards oneself
-we interpret who we are based on reflexive evaluation of how others see us and we behave accordingly
-Rosenthal and Jacobson’s ‘pygmalion in the classroom’ - we become others perceptions of us e.g teachers changed expectations of students and this affected their grades

Question 33

what is the social identity theory

Answer 33

EXTERNAL
tajfel and turner
-we understand who we are based on the groups we belong to

Question 34

what is the self categorisation theory

Answer 34

Turner 1987
-share qualities with those in in group, helps us enforce boundaries
-categorising ourself as a group member produces social identity

Question 35

what is BIRGing

Answer 35

Cialdini
Basking In Reflective Glory (gives our self esteem a boost)

Question 36

supportive research for the self categorisation theory

Answer 36

David Grace and Ryan 2004: self categorisation and development of gender identity

Question 37

what is the social comparison theory

Answer 37

Festinger 1954
-people have fundamental drives to evaluate attitudes by comparing with others
-we are likely to compare when we are uncertain

Question 38

what are the two motives for social comparison

Answer 38

1- gain knowledge
2 - feel better

Question 39

what are the two types of comparison

Answer 39

upward and downward

-upward is more damaging as we see others as better than ourselves

Question 40

what is the self perception theory

Answer 40

INTERNAL
-Daryl Bem
-gain knowledge through self attributions
- actual vs ideal self discrepancies (dejection related emotions)
-actual vs ought self discrepancies (agitation related emotions)

-conventional wisdom suggests attitudes determine behaviours
-according to bem, sometimes things go in the opposite direction

Question 41

what is the self evaluation maintenance model

Answer 41

INTERNAL
(Tesser 1998)
-self evaluation affected by others and self esteem enhanced by making downward comparisons

Question 42

self discrepancy theory

Answer 42

INTERNAL
-the cognitive processes used to judge others are used to judge ourselves

Question 43

what are Higgins’ three selves as part of the self discrepancy theory

Answer 43

ideal self: how we’d like to be
actual self: how we are
ought to self: how we should be

Question 44

what is the regulatory focus theory

Answer 44

Higgins 1997
-2 regulatory systems
1= promotion: approach behaviours to achieve goals
2= prevention: avoidant and cautious behaviours to prevent harm