Self concept & identity development Flashcards
ability to think abstractly in adolescents / more complex
- trait focussed, more abstract and personality characteristics as description
- see ideal an feared self -> thinking about future (distressing or motivation)
-> seeing different personality of oneself in different situations -> false-self-phenomenons (impress people)
self-esteem vs self-concept
SE; persons overall sense of worth & well-being (parents aid building it, best when it’s internal)
SC; how we evaluate ourselves - self-image, self-perception (comparisons)
healthy / unhealthy SE
h; able … to say no, express needs, accept strengths/weaknesses
uh; fear of failure, believing others are better than me, trouble accepting positive feedback
SE ____ from adolescence to emerging adulthood
= rises
- aware of who we are
- imaginary audience falls away
- cascade effect
SE defining aspects
- baseline SE
- stable, sense of worth & well-being (enduring)
- sometimes bad days, mainly positive self-view - barometric SE
- fluctuations in baseline SE (trough extreme emotions)
- most intense in early adolescence
adolescent self-image: 8 domains of evaluation
- scholastic competence
- social acceptance
- athletic competence
- physical appearance
- job competence
- romantic appeal
- behavioral conduct
- close friendship
+ global self-worth
most important aspects in adolescent self-image
- physical appearance
- and social acceptance
(contributes to gender socialization)
Influences on SE
- feeling accepted, loved, validated by parents, peers and teachers
- interventions to enhance SE (doing positive feeling evoking things)
increase adolescent SE
- identify causes of low SE & domains of competences important to self
- emotional support & social approval
- foster achievement
- help adolescent to cope
-> job for parents
emotional self
- brain development; greater activation in amygdala -> responds to emotional threats, in adolescence it’s more the frontal lobe -> rational/planful
- cognitive & environmental factors; abstract reasoning (understand others emotions), life changes, personal transitions
the self, alone
-> can be constructive, reflection time (developing self)
-> when you already feel bad it can make it worse though -> depression
social loneliness; lacking sufficient social contacts & relationships
emotional loneliness; lack sufficient closeness & intimacy
-> meaning loneliness not only when being alone
turning point activity - Eriksons idea
key moments in life/episodes marking important change in life story (Erikson)
-> each life period characterized by crisis/developmental issues -> always healthy and unhealthy part to go from there
-> in adolescence: identify our identity (establish boundaries)
identify crisis in adolescence
-> exploration
- identities achievement; clear and definite sense of self and how you fit in world
- identify confusion; failure in forming stable and secure identity
Identify exploration - components
- psychological moratorium: freedom to figure out various possible selves (postpone adult responsibilities)
- identity; at home in own body and knowing where one is going (assured by others)
- role confusion; inability to chose role -> prolonging moratorium
+ negative identity; most undesirable and dangerous in development - how you don’t want to be
identity research: James Marcia - 4 identity statuses
- exploration & commitment = achievement
- no exploration, but commitment = foreclosure
- exploration, but no commitment = moratorium
- no exploration & no commitment = diffusion
-> start with diffusion, going to foreclosure or moratorium to achievement
