The Self Flashcards
Midterm 2
the self: flowchart model
cognitive construction + social construction –> the self –> self-concept & self-esteem & identity
cognitive construction
mental representation
- how you think about yourself; how you consider yourself in your head
social construction
interactions/experiences w/ others
- our ideas of ourselves; how we define and see ourselves are influenced by our interactions with other people, culture, society, etc.
self concept
The thoughts and attitudes we have ourselves; the traits and ways we see ourselves
self-esteem
How we evaluate ourselves; how we feel about ourselves
- Difficult to assess until about age 8
identity
Our definition of the self; how we identity ourselves with relation to the groups and labels that society puts onto us
- your definition and theory of yourself; how you feel secure about yourself; ways you integrate all our different aspects of the self
- How do we bring these all together into one entity of “myself”?
infancy (self concept)
@ 18 months: pass the rouge test
- If you put a kid in front of a mirror and put a dot on their nose, see how they respond to it
○ Before 18 months: they won’t acknowledge it or try to rub the dot off the mirror
○ After 18 months: they acknowledge that it’s on themselves
@ 2 years
- recognize self in pictures and mirrors
- label self using “me” and “i”
- Use categorical labels (I’m a girl; I’m a boy; I’m 2 years old, etc.)
early childhood (self concept)
- can describe self
○ Give traits and characteristics of themselves - focus on concrete, observable features
- unrealistically positive
○ “I always win a mini golf!”
○ “I can do that!”
middle childhood (self concept)
8-10 y/o
- more integrated: begin to refer to global characteristics; less concrete
- more realistic and balanced
○ I’m a good friend, but im not very good at sports
- linked to actual comptencies/evaluation
- social comparisons
○ how am I doing compared to other people?
adolescence (self concept)
- nuanced view of self
○ I’m not always the same across different contexts
○ I can be different ways in different places with different people - understand role of situations, context, and perspective
- more abstract and psychological
○ I’m sensitive; I’m moody; I’m self-conscious - begin to think about the future and possible selves
○ tend to think about future/possible selves - begin to develop coherent/integrated self
- Young adolescence: often lots of stress around nuance/impact of situations (why am i different? how do I know who i am?)
○ Then: later adolescence we start to obtain a coherent sense of self
- Young adolescence: often lots of stress around nuance/impact of situations (why am i different? how do I know who i am?)
types of self-concept in adolescence
- false self behavior
- personal fable
- imaginary audience
false self behavior
intentionally presents a false impression to others
- common for teens to act in ways that don’t feel true to themselves
○ Ex: we may feel smart, but act dumb in class because it’s what people expect/want from us
- Common in romantic relationships
- Common in interactions with parents
- Least common with friends
personal fable
belief that one’s own experience is unique and novel
- belief that you and yourself are unique; nobody else has the same descriptions and concepts and ideas
- Very focused on the self; think about themselves as quite unique
- Often called “adolescent egocentrism’
imaginary audience
the belief that everyone else is focused on you
- everyone else is paying attention to who you are, how you act
- Everybody is paying attention to what I’m wearing, what I’m doing as I walk across the room, etc.
influences on self-concept
- age
- cognitive development
- parents (warmth and support & family narratives)
- peers
- culture (individual vs collectivist)
cognitive development (influences on self-concept)
○ As we’re able to take perspectives of other people, the self concept that does more social comparison starts to bubble up
○ As our self concepts become more abstract
§ When we’re teens, we’re thinking about ourselves in abstract dimensions
□ Ex: I’m sensitive - goes beyond a particular observable instance
parents (influences on self-concept)
○ Warmth and support: Tend to have more positive self concepts when their parents provide them more warmth and support
○ Family narratives: there are certain stories that your family tells about you; the family lore about each person
§ The stories we select and how we talk about each other shape how we see ourselves
peers (influences on self-concept)
The ways that peers see us; the ways we’re labeled and talked about in school
culture (influences on self-concept)
Individualistic: tend to focus on internal traits
Collectivist: tend to focus on relational descriptors
○ Examples: 6 year old kids in the US and China –> what tends to differ is the relative differences
Chinese vs. US children: self-descriptions - organization of self expression (self-concept experiment)
Private self descriptors: what’s going on inside of you and your head
○ Slightly more common in US
Collective: refer to themselves as part of a group; identifying themselves as a group that shares a collective trait (I am in 2nd grade; I am from Vancouver, etc)
○ More common in Chinese
Public: relations to others; things that aren’t internal or private to you; how other people regard you
○ Slightly more common in Chinese
Chinese vs. US children: self-descriptions - abstraction (self-concept experiment)
Abstract: more fluid, general
- much higher in US
Specific: situationally specific content (ex: I go to church with my family)
- much higher in chinese
self-concept: neurodivergence
- Autistic individuals: less focus on the self as seen through others; less focus on possible selves
○ More on how you see yourself; less on how others see or attribute you
○ Less on possible selves
○ Aligns with theory of mind in autistic children
self-esteem: trends
starts high, declines throughout childhood
Starts very high: “I’m good at everything”
Starting in early elementary: see a decline in childhood
○ Increase in social comparison; perspective taking; loss of egocentrism
Adolescence: overall, seems to increase beginning in mid-adolescence
○ Start to gain independence and autonomy
§ You can choose your own things; make choices about your life
self-esteem: graph - curve w/ % of people
- self esteem generally declines, but then picks back up in early adulthood
consistently high: 75% - most teens
Chronically low: 15%
U-shaped: 10%
self esteem: gender differences
- higher for cisgender boys vs. girls
- trans-youth: key factor is the ability to access gender affirming care (support from parents, schools, medical care, etc.)
influences on self esteem
- gender
- culture
- race
- approval of others –> parents, peers, teachers
- societal standards (i.e. physical attractiveness)
self-esteem: cultural differences
Individualistic cultures: self esteem might be more related to your own self, your own accomplishments
Collectivistic cultures: Accomplishments of the group (your family, community, culture, etc.)
self-esteem: racial differences
Black: highest self esteem
○ Studies looking at black families: find it important to talk about pride and self esteem that’s a barrier against discrimination and prejudice
Asian American: lowest
○ Value of modesty
○ What do we value as okay to say about ourselves
Bi-racial and Latino: somewhat in the middle
self-esteem: approval of others
- Positive feedback linked to self esteem (+ vice versa)
- Societal standards + how you live up to societal standards
self-esteem: societal standards in teens
Most important:
- physical attractiveness
- social acceptance
- romantic appeal (starts low, increases over time)
- scholastic competence
- athletic competence
- close friendships
self-esteem: physical attractiveness for teens
For teens: how they see themselves live up to physical attractiveness
Correlation w/ these feelings and overall self esteem: biggest predictor is how you feel about your physical appearance
impact of self esteem
high s-e: better in school, better wellbeing
low s-e: emotional and behavioral problems
people w/ higher self-esteem have:
- Tend to do better in school
- Better wellbeing
- Better mental health
self-esteem movement
programs designed to boost self-esteem in order to boost academic performance/wellbeing
- Brought into school, government, workplaces, etc. - HOWEVER: not particularly effective ○ No effect on people doing better in school; being better citizens, etc.
why wasn’t the self-esteem movement effective
- More likely that positive outcomes lead to self-esteem
○ This is merely a correlation
○ Maybe positive outcomes leads to high self-esteem
§ Directionality might go the other way - High self-esteem only beneficial when “secure”
○ Can be great when it’s linked to our competencies and abilities, but when we’re given praise and rewards not based on that, it seems to backfire in ways too
psychosocial moratorium
time in which individuals are free from excessive obligations and can experiment w/ different roles
- You should have the space to experiment who you are
- Try out different selves
○ University: in theory, a space to try out different selves; to explore and try out what we want to; test out who we are
- stems from identity vs. role confusion in adolescence
identity status
need to consider both exploration and commitment of our identity as separate things
- Exploration: have you tried out different selves? Have you tried out who you are? Have you played around with your identity?
- Commitment: have you decided who you are? Have you developed that coherent sense of self?
identity status: table
low commitment & exploration: identity diffusion
low commitment & high exploration: moratorium
high commitment & low exploration: identity foreclosure
high commitment & high exploration: identity achievement
identity diffusion (identity status)
low C & low E
I don’t really know who I am, but I haven’t done a lot of deep thought into it
- Common in early adolescence
- Haven’t put a lot of thought into who we are yet
- Correlated w/ less ideal outcomes:
- associated w/ higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems; difficulties w/ relationships
- more likely to report low levels of parental warmth/support
identity foreclosure (identity status)
high C & low E
you’ve committed to who you are, but you haven’t necessarily thought about it/explored it
- Common in early adolescence
- Correlated w/: Low anxiety + high life satisfaction
- Predicted w/ having more controlling parents
moratorium (identity status)
low C & high E
I don’t know who I am, but I’m trying out different clubs
- Most common stage in 17-19 year olds
- Correlated: higher anxiety, more conflict w/ authority
○ BUT: dependent on how long this state goes on
○ The challenge is if you keep doing it without resolve, it’s linked to less ideal outcomes
identity achievement (identity status)
high C & high E
you’ve explored and figured out who you are; you’ve done the testing and committed to who you are
- Correlated high achievement, maturity, intimacy
○ Agency: control and responsibility for yourself
ma-ma cycling
moratorium to identity achievement cycling
- It’s a continuous process; it’s common to move in between the stages
ethnic-racial identification
how someone labels their race and/or ethnicity
- ex: latinx, vietnamese, white, Navajo, etc.
- develops in childhood
ethnic-racial identity
thoughts and feelings about your race and identity into the overall theory of the self + the process of developing those thoughts and feelings
- This concern, worry, or coming to terms with how you feel about that comes later (heightened in adolescence)
ethnic-racial identity: process
unexamined ethnic identity –(experience/comments; realization of “difference”) –> exploration –> resolution
unexamined ethnic identity (ethnic-racial identity process)
you know what you are, but you haven’t really thought about it
Haven’t thought about what it means in a larger social context
exploration (ethnic-racial identity process)
testing + figuring out how you feel about your race
- Ex: joining a club w people like you
- Common for teens to start to affiliate with friends from your racial or ethnic group
○ Seen as exploring ethnicity and race
resolution (ethnic-racial identity process)
ways of bringing thoughts regarding race or ethnicity into your overall sense of self
experience/comments; realization of difference (ethnic-racial identity process)
Experiences and realization that your ethnicity matters
- Often an experience of racism, discrimination, etc.
○ Realize that people treat them differently
–> transfers into exploration
ERI acronym
ethnic-racial identity
ERI: content
- affirmation (private regard)
- public regard
- centrality
- salience
note: final 3 may depend on other aspects of ERI
affirmation (private regard) (ERI content)
how good/bad a person feels about being part of their ethnic/racial group; if one sees it as positive or negative
- Associated w/ better outcomes
- Feeling good about your racial belonging is a protective factor
public regard (ERI content)
how positively a person believes other people view their ethnic/racial group
- how other people view your group
- Ex: I feel good about my group, but most people have negative stereotypes
centrality (ERI content)
how central your ERI is to your sense of self
- Having a central ERI can make you more vulnerable to stereotype threat
○ Ex: if you encounter negativity about your group, it’s taken more personally
salience (ERI content)
How important ERI is to a particular situation
- We move to different spaces/contexts in our world
○ In certain contexts, how you feel about your ERI may feel more salient/relevant
ERI: majority vs minority table
marginalized: don’t identify w minority culture + don’t identify w majority culture
separated: do identify w minority culture + don’t identify w majority culture
- may be ideal for some
assimilated: don’t identify w minority culture + do identify w majority culture
bicultural: do identify w minority culture + do identify w majority culture
- often associated w/ positive outcomes, but not always
- can be made positive w/ geopolitical histories
positive ERI in youth
- lower levels of depressive symptoms
- higher self-esteem
- positive academic outcomes
- protection in the face of discrimination
discrimination in minority/marginalized groups
- very pervasive
Experiences of discrimination are not good for development- Linked to less ideal adjustment –> mental health, academic, social, etc.
discrimination leads to maladjustment
ERI in face of discrimination in youth
ERI may be protective
○ Teens that have higher ERI, when they experience discrimination, it has less of an impact
- prevents discrimination leading to maladjustment
ethnic racial socialization
where children learn about the values, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions associated w/ their race/ethnicity
- much more common in ethic groups
- Research finds that if you aren’t part of the majority, your identity is talked about more often
ethnic racial socialization: common themes
- understanding/valuing one’s culture
- dealing w/ racism
- succeeding in mainstream society
“The Talk” (ethnic racial socialization)
black families in North America have “The Talk”
- How you deal with racism in the face of police
- Linking that to how to succeed in mainstream society as well
“Intersecting contexts of adolescents’ ethnic racial socialization” - experiment
- asked teens how they experienced learning about their ethnic-racial background
“Intersecting contexts of adolescents’ ethnic racial socialization” - learning about ERI
Family
- This was often in connection to other domains (community, peers, media)
- Family through school; family through extracurricular; family through events, etc.
Other contexts
- You can’t leave ERI just to the family
- There is socialization through the community; through schools, etc.
○ These domains need to provide socialization through these as well
Macrosystem: also impact the microsystem as well
- How systems of racism and oppression affect the microsystem (community, family, individual, etc.)
identity project curriculum (should ERI be taught in schools?)
- Intervention based program: each week, students go through different projects to explore their ERI
○ Teachers are given a curriculum - Students come back and all share what they’ve learned
Identity Project Curriculum: outcomes
For students who do this identity project, these students:
○ Across all students
- Higher self-esteem
- Lower depressive symptoms
Higher grades
ERI in multicultural youth
may be:
- particularly challenging
- more fluid/changing over situations and time
- gain asset of learning to be reflective about identity
- more flexible in thinking; often come up with more diverse, different solutions to problems
challenges of ERI in multicultural youth
- more likely to report ERI exploration, but less affirmation/positive ERI
- less ERI centrality
- parents may not have experience w/ child’s ERI
- may have different attitudes in socializing multiracial children
- may experience racial/ethnic invalidation
Racial/ethnic invalidation
feeling like you don’t belong in either group
○ You’re not Asian enough; not white enough; etc.
multi-racial youth: population stats
In 2000: 10% of babies born are multi-racial
In 2015: 15% of babies born are multi-racial
ERI development in white youth
- discuss ERI as less important to their identity + parents engage in less ERI socialization
- less positive ERI –> less exploration, positive feelings, affirmation, and centrality
- questions about impact of “positive” ERI in youth + consideration of other dimensions of ERI
affirmation in white youth: link
- Affirmation in white youth is linked to lower attitudes about other races
- BUT ALSO: experience guilt in their group
We need more research on it
ERI history: white youth
- Initially: identity development broadly was conducted in white, western samples
○ In response to this: researchers of colors started to do more specific research on ERI on minority communities
○ Has turned into a weird situation of identity research being conducted on white youth and ERI research done in POC groups
ERI: outside of north america
○ Social stratification exists across societies
○ Which domains distinguish access to power/resources/etc. can vary -> race, migration status, language, religion, skin color, etc.
§ w/i each culture and society, looking at the geopolitical history, how has society been stratified?
□ Use these variables to understand how they’ve affected our ethnic or cultural identity
