self and personal identity

Question 1

when did the conversation of the self come into psychology?

Answer 1

william james (1890): principles of psychology
- started questioning what it means to me I/me

Question 2

what are our 2 identities?

Answer 2

1) personal identity (me, gwenno) - psychosocial theory (Erikson 1959)
2) social identity (us, women) - social identity theory (Tajfel and turner,1979)

Question 3

when did our sense of self change in history?

Answer 3

change in:
- industrialisation
- enlightenment
- psychoanalysis

Question 4

what did john locke believe about personal identity?

Answer 4

Locke considered personal identity to be founded on consciousness (memory) and not on the substance of either the soul or the body

Question 5

when does sense of self emerge?

Answer 5

• children;s self of self emerges in the early years of life and continues to develop in adulthood

Question 6

how do children describe themselves? what effects this?

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

describe the rouge (mark) test

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

what is a sense of self?

Answer 8

a person’s essential being that distinguishes the, from others, especially considered as the object of introspectio or reflexive action

Question 9

what is identity?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

what is personal identity?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

what are 3 factors that are central to the ‘self’ according to carl rogers

Answer 11

• self-concept
• self-awareness
• self-esteem

Question 12

what is self awareness?

Answer 12

an individual’s awareness of their self

Question 13

what is self esteem?

Answer 13

the evaluative element of the self-concept

Question 14

what are 3 factors that are central to the self concept according to carl rogers?

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

who proposed the idea of social self?

Answer 15

william james (1890)

Question 16

what are the two aspects lewis (1990) suggests that the development of a concept of self has

Answer 16

1) the existential self
2) the categorical self

Question 17

what is the existential self? (lewis, 1990)

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

what is the categorical self? (lewis, 1990)

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

what are the 3 types of self?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

how do we develop a sense of self internally?

Answer 20

• Introspection
• Memories, experiences
  and personality
• Self Perception Theory
• Self-Evaluation
  Maintenance Model
• Self Discrepancy Theory
• Regulatory Focus
  Theory

Question 21

how do we develop a sense of self externally?

Answer 21

• Symbolic Interactionism
• Looking Glass Self
• Social Identity Theory
• Social Categorisation
  Theory
• Social Comparison
  Theory
• Feedback from Others

Question 22

explain self-categorisation theory (Turner et al, 1987)

Answer 22

• Turner et al (1987)
• Categorising oneself as group member
  produces social identity
• Group and intergroup behaviours

Question 23

explain social comparison theory (Leon Festinger, 1954)

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

what are the 2 motives for social comparison?

Answer 24

There are two motives for social comparison:
* (1) to gain knowledge (skill-based needs); and
* (2) to feel better (evaluative-based needs)

Question 25

explain self-perception theory (daryl bem)

Answer 25

• 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”).

Question 26

explain self-evaluation maintenance model

Answer 26

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)

Question 27

explain self-discrepancy theory

Answer 27

• The cognitive processes used to judge others
  are also used (slightly more complex) to
  judge ourselves.
• Self-regulation – matching behaviors to
  ideals

Question 28

what is the three points of self discrepancy model of higgings (1987)

Answer 28

1 Ideal Self: How we would like to be
2 Actual Self: How we are
3 Ought to Self: How we should be

Question 29

what are the two self-regulatory systems of regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997, 1998)?

Answer 29

• Promotion: approach behaviours to achieve
  goals
• Prevention: avoidant and cautious behaviours
  to prevent harm