self and personal identity Flashcards
when did the conversation of the self come into psychology?
william james (1890): principles of psychology
- started questioning what it means to me I/me
what are our 2 identities?
1) personal identity (me, gwenno) - psychosocial theory (Erikson 1959)
2) social identity (us, women) - social identity theory (Tajfel and turner,1979)
when did our sense of self change in history?
change in:
- industrialisation
- enlightenment
- psychoanalysis
what did john locke believe about personal identity?
Locke considered personal identity to be founded on consciousness (memory) and not on the substance of either the soul or the body
when does sense of self emerge?
- children;s self of self emerges in the early years of life and continues to develop in adulthood
how do children describe themselves? what effects this?
- children are more likely to describe themselves appearance wise over personality
- adults contribute to the child’s self-image by providing descriptive information about the child
- self-esteem grows in relation to these factors
describe the rouge (mark) test
- a self-recognition test that identfies a child’s ability to recognise a reflection in a mirror as his or her own
- a measure of self-concept; the child who touches the rouge on their own nose upon looking into a mirror demonstrates basic ability of understanding global awareness
- at around 18 months children start recognising themselves
what is a sense of self?
a person’s essential being that distinguishes the, from others, especially considered as the object of introspectio or reflexive action
what is identity?
the fact of being who or what a person or thing is
what is personal identity?
Personal identity is the ongoing sense of being the same person, which is often confirmed by having memories that connect the past to the present.
what are 3 factors that are central to the ‘self’ according to carl rogers
- self-concept
- self-awareness
- self-esteem
what is self awareness?
an individual’s awareness of their self
what is self esteem?
the evaluative element of the self-concept
what are 3 factors that are central to the self concept according to carl rogers?
- self image: the view you have of yourself
- self esteem/worth: how much value you place on yourself
- ideal self: what you wish you were really like
who proposed the idea of social self?
william james (1890)
what are the two aspects lewis (1990) suggests that the development of a concept of self has
1) the existential self
2) the categorical self
what is the existential self? (lewis, 1990)
- child realises that they exist as a separate entity from others and that they continue to exist over time and space
- this is around 2-3 months old
- for example, the child smiles and someone smiles back, or the child touches a mobile and sees it move
what is the categorical self? (lewis, 1990)
- the child next becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the world
- the child is becoming aware of him or herself as an object which can be experienced and which has properties.
- the self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill
what are the 3 types of self?
1) individual self - aspects of the self that make a person unique and separate from others
2) relational self - aspects of the self that involve connections to other people and develop out of the interactions of others
3) collective self - a person’s concept of self within a group such as a group based on race or gender
how do we develop a sense of self internally?
- Introspection
- Memories, experiences
and personality - Self Perception Theory
- Self-Evaluation
Maintenance Model - Self Discrepancy Theory
- Regulatory Focus
Theory
how do we develop a sense of self externally?
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Looking Glass Self
- Social Identity Theory
- Social Categorisation
Theory - Social Comparison
Theory - Feedback from Others
explain self-categorisation theory (Turner et al, 1987)
- Turner et al (1987)
- Categorising oneself as group member
produces social identity - Group and intergroup behaviours
explain social comparison theory (Leon Festinger, 1954)
Social Comparison Leon Festinger (1954) argued
that people have a fundamental drive to evaluate
their attitudes and opinions, and often do so by
comparing themselves with others. We are
especially likely to engage in social comparison in
conditions of high uncertainty.
what are the 2 motives for social comparison?
There are two motives for social comparison:
* (1) to gain knowledge (skill-based needs); and
* (2) to feel better (evaluative-based needs)
explain self-perception theory (daryl bem)
- We gain knowledge of ourselves only by making self-
attributions - According to self-perception theory, people often infer their
own attitudes from their behaviour. - Conventional wisdom suggests that attitudes determine
behaviour (e.g., “I don’t like Japanese food so I don’t eat
Japanese food”). - But according to Bem, sometimes things go in the opposite
direction: We infer attitudes from behaviour (e.g. “I don’t eat
Japanese food so I guess I don’t like Japanese food”).
explain self-evaluation maintenance model
People constrained to make esteem-damaging
upward comparisons can underplay
similarities with target (Tesser, 1998)
* Medal winners make different comparisons - 2nd place winners are more likely to place compare themselves to 1st place while 3rd place compare themselves to 4th place
(study by Medvec et al, 1995)
explain self-discrepancy theory
- The cognitive processes used to judge others
are also used (slightly more complex) to
judge ourselves. - Self-regulation – matching behaviors to
ideals
what is the three points of self discrepancy model of higgings (1987)
1 Ideal Self: How we would like to be
2 Actual Self: How we are
3 Ought to Self: How we should be
what are the two self-regulatory systems of regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997, 1998)?
- Promotion: approach behaviours to achieve
goals - Prevention: avoidant and cautious behaviours
to prevent harm
