Week 10

Question 1

Self concept
William James:

Answer 1

-Two sides to “self”: awareness of one’s existence
I- ability to think about ourselves (can be independent of others)
Me-sum of total of what a person knows or believes about self. While concept of self also includes others (can include others opinions)

Question 2

The I self

Answer 2

-emerges around 3 months- discover their actions have consequences- have power over existence of other things

Question 3

The ME self

Answer 3

-Self concept- concrete schema of you
-Emerges around 15 months- time that infants pass rouge test (lipstick on forehead- 18m will make connection between self and image in mirror- with red) before won’t connect b/w self and person in mirror

Question 4

Origins of self concept: infants

Answer 4

-Unclear whether newborns have it, but unlikely- do not respond to mirror images of themselves. By age 2 recognize your own image in the mirror.
-cultural differences: pass mirror test faster in cultures that value independence; develops without experience with motors- has to do with cognitive skills- need to hold both representation (me and me in mirror)
-graph + animals and mirrors

Question 5

Preschool self concept (age 3-6 years)

Answer 5

-Understanding that I exist continuously in time- gets more complex as age- cognitive level and interact with peers
-Self concept anchored in tangible (preoperational) activities, preferences, competences and physical characteristics- I am a girl, I like to dance, ect
-Cultural differences: Asian children more likely to describe relationships- I play with Qi at school

Question 6

Elementary school self concept:

Answer 6

-Introduction of emotions, competencies relative to others- I/m better, sometimes I get mad, ect

Question 7

Adolescence self concept:

Answer 7

-Comre complex, abstract, differentiated (different in different contexts), integrated and possible self- I’m cheerful except when i’m stressed (context into account), my friends say im cheerful (others perceptions), I hope to be a doctor (possible self)

Question 8

Cognitive development: and self concept

Answer 8

-Increased ability to think logically and abstractly
-Understandmultiple points of views (others perceptions, different groups have different opinions)
-Keep different aspects of a situation simultaneously in the mind

Question 9

Social development: and self concept

Answer 9

-self concept powerfully influenced by others

Question 10

”looking-glass self”

Answer 10

learn to know ourselves by interacting with others and observing how they respond to us, builds out self concept based on others reactions- others smile at you- I’m a joyful person. Not actually what others think, but how we perceive others are saying about us- internalize reactions

Question 11

Social development-“generalized other”

Answer 11

-Generalized others (their judgment of you): a summary of the ways in which others have responded to us and we carry this concept with us. Not in the moment reactions. Report cards, gossip, feedback, siblings, social media comments

Question 12

Adolescent egocentrism:

Answer 12

Egocentrism: failure to make a distinction between one’s own point of view and others point of view.
Formal operations: adolescents think about their own thinking (abstract thinking). Consider that others may be thinking similarly- considering all possible outcomes- Im\’m, thinking this much about me- assumes others think this much about them. Self absorption and self consciousness, egocentric thinking- new playground- get lost spend lot of time there (thinking about self)

Question 13

Imaginary Audience:

Answer 13

-Adolescents are so absorbed with other;s thinking- assume others also just as interests.
-Imaginary audience is watching every move
-Explains conformity, susceptibility to peer pressure, heighted need for privacy- everyone looking at you, noisiness- performing for others

Question 14

Personal Fable:

Answer 14

-Belief that one’s thoughts, feelings and experiences are unique- you are one of a kind
-New capacity to think about own mental processes→ misinterpreted as unique thought, New experiences: falling in love, parents seen as ordinary and fallible (regular vs God you thought them to be), I’ve never felt like this→ nobody had ever felt like this.

Question 15

Illusion of Invulnerability:

Answer 15

-Beliefs in uniqueness→ belief that misfortune only happens to others. Explains risk taking in adolescence. Mechanism: limbic system (reward and measure) matures faster than prefrontal cortex (reasoning, inhibition, planning). Necessary biological mechanisms to leave the nest and start a new family.

Question 16

Identity Crisis:

Answer 16

Tension: need to explore what is unique about oneself. Need to be respected and validated by family, friends and community- the people you look forward to.
-Unconscious identification with parents’s personalities, beliefs, values, views of self- tension- you doesn’t match what your parents belief- need to resolve

Question 17

James Marcia (canadian)

Answer 17

-Adolescence= identity exploration
-Identity commitment: choosing a belief or course of action and making a personal investment in it- invest in the person you will become. I identity status determined by: occupation, beliefs and values, interpersonal relations. Status may differ in each area. Ideally want to identify commitment in all 3 independent areas- can be good at 1 terrible at another.

Question 18

Foreclosure:

Answer 18

identity largely determined by adults than personal discovery

Question 19

Achievement

Answer 19

explored alternatives and deliberately chose identity

Question 20

Diffusion

Answer 20

overwhelmed by tasks of achieving self identity

Question 21

Moratorium

Answer 21

still examining alternatives

Question 22

Sources of self esteem:

Answer 22

Scholastic, Athletic , Social, Appearance
-Biggest influence on self esteem is physical appearance.

Question 23

Sources of self esteem in adolescence

Answer 23

important of social aspect of self esteem increases significantly: parents, peers, friends, coworkers, partner

Question 24

Levels of Self-Esteem throguh development

Answer 24

Preschool: highest self esteem. Preoperational stage and egocentric thinking
Elementry school: drop but then stabilizes; realization that most kids are average
Highschool: drops again with change in environment but then stabilizes. Bigger pond- others are really good at stuff

Question 25

Cultual difference in North America: Children highest to lowest self esteem vs high school

Answer 25

children: Asian, European, African and Hispanic
High school: African, hispanic and european, asain
-African and hispanic american teens take pride in bleeding to cultrual group- gives highers elf esteem
-Asain culture emphasizes modesty (and recognises weakness- external presssure to highlight weakness- decreases self esteem)
-Western culture: social comparison- how do you compare to others

Question 26

Sources of Self esteem:

Answer 26

-Actual competence: children enjoy domains in which they excel and incorporate them into self concept- part of who we are
-Heredity: genetic make-up that makes individuals smarter, more athletic, better-looking, more personable
-Others’ evaluations: affectionate and responsive parents (praise matches competence and evocative effects-incorporated into self esteem) boosts child’s self esteem– inflated prairie- anxiety about failure

Question 27

Types of praise: Mueller & Dweck

Answer 27

-5th grade students; “wow you did really well on these problems” (everyone)
Ability praise group:”you must be really smart”
Effort praise group: “you must have worked really hard”
Control- no additional feedback
-All groups given difficult set of problems- ability praise group solved significantly less problems in second trial vs effort praise group-significant increase in robelms attempted during trial 2.

Question 28

Low self esteem linked to:

Answer 28

-ore problems with peers
-More psychological disorders- depression: pervasive feeling of sadness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, poor sleep and low self esteem. 5% boys and 12% girls. Difficulty Regulating emotions and tendency to attribute failures to internal traits- more likely to be involved in bullying (victim and bully) and do poorly in school (energy challenged to interpret conflict rather than school).
Individuals with low self esteem more likely to develop depression, but not bidirectional (depression not necessarily develop low self esteem with age)

Question 29

Peer relations: self esteem

Answer 29

-low self esteem may cause children to withdraw from social activities- become more isolated (less practice)
-With or peer relation- have low self worth
-Both factors are important– continuous vicious negative cycle. But just 1 good friend can help break cycle- change direction

Question 30

Narcissistic youth

Answer 30

-Grandiose views of self, belief better than others, relish attention and compliments
-prone to aggression: cannot allow others to undervalue them; prone to depression: realize that their view is not realistic- after others comment enough

Question 31

Understanding others:

Answer 31

-Children;s self confidence becomes more complex and integrated so does description of others
Concrete descriptions (eg tall)
Psychological trails (but still concrete) (eg helpful)
Abstract traits
-Verbal description likely underestimate children’s understanding- explicit vs implicit understanding- can’t verbally tell you but if described an abstract trait they could tell you a person that fits that trait.