Week Ten - Identity & Gender Flashcards
What is identity?
A comprehensive and coherent sense of self
When does identity start?
infancy
When does identity become a focus?
Adolescence
What did Erikson propose about trust in infancy?
By the second year of life, securely attached infants develop a sense of trust and confidence
When is healthy autonomy established?
When toddlers encounter a reasonable balance between freedom and control
Development of self appears in what 3 stages during toddlerhood?
- self recognition and awareness (makeup on face)
- self-description and evaluation
- knowledge of standards and emotional response to wrongdoing (i am being good etc)
In middle childhood, children develop?
Deeper understanding of who they are
Foundations for later development and self-knowledge
begin to understand their own popularity, abilities, confidence
Erikson proposed the task of middle childhood is?
industry
What is achievement motivation and what are the 2 forms?
Showing initiative and persistence in attaining goals and increasing competence via:
- learning orientation: motivation that comes from the learner and relates to task
- performance orientation: motivation that comes from significant others
Adolescence is characterised by risk-taking, what are the two kinds?
Positive: enhance functioning, development and identity (don’t always lead to compromising situations)
Negative: Results in detrimental consequences
Identity associated with exploration and commitment =
less likely to take negative risks, put peer influence is also important
Erikson’s psychosocial crisis of adolescence is what stage ?
identity vs role confusion
involves the development of a coherent sense of self through exploration and belief system
Maria’s 2 main parts of identity development view?
Crisis: a time of upheaval when ones values and choices are being explored/reevaluated
Commitment: When the crisis in being resolved and one decides to invest in a course of action, role or value
What are the 4 stages of identity development?
- identity diffusion
- identity foreclosure
- identity moratorium
- identity achievement
Explain the identity diffusion stage
Neither crisis nor commitment
typical of early adolescence : have not yet experienced crisis not made any commitment (persists in those with anxiety re identity)
Explain the identity foreclosure stage
Commitment only
Committed to identity, but without exploration.
Values accepted from parents, unlikely to change status
Explain the identity moratorium stage
Crisis/exploration only
Ongoing exploration of different roles.
Avoid dealing with problems until required
May feel confused, unstable, anxious
Explain the identity achievement stage
Crisis and commitment
Evaluate choices, come to own decision.
Allows self-acceptance, stable self, and guides future choices (eg work)
Teachers influence on identity development?
Encourages students to be autonomous, aware and encourages critical thinking
Erikson’s tasks of early adulthood
establish close, committed relationships
tolerate threat of infusion and loss of individual identity
Erikson’s tasks of middle adulthood
Expand ego interests and establish and nurture the next gen
results in reassessment of priorities
Erikson’s tasks of late adulthood
find integrity in the face of loss
activity theory: older people who maintain activity age better
disengagement theory: reduced social involvement is natural between adults and society
What is gender?
A socio-psychological construct that governs behaviour (fundamental aspect of one’s social identity)
may limit opportunity, treated differently from birth
What is gender role development?
Learning to behave in ways that are consistent with group norms for males/females
What are gender roles?
Defined by the range of behaviours expected of a particular gender
What are gender stereotypes?
Generalised mental representations that differentiate one gender group from another
By age 2, what are the differences between boys and girls?
Girls: greater compliance and less independence than boys
Boys: actively explore environment greater than girls
What do meta-analyses tell us about males and females personality?
No strong and consistent personality differences
No consistent nurture gender differences
Explain the differences within vs between groups
Some differences are wider within than between gender groups
Gender differences that change with age/circumstance suggest?
They are the result of adopting gender roles rather than their cause
Sociobiological view of gender suggests
Modern gender roles have their roots in prehistoric male-female role differences
- these are still played out today
Hormonal influences on behaviour
Male/female hormones influence sex-typed behaviour
mothers given androgens = female child exhibit boy like behaviour and vice versa
Social learning model of gender
Consider the social environment in the acquisition of gender roles and behaviour
(depend on culture)
Gender roles/behaviour seen to be learned through reinforcement of gender-appropriate behaviours via modelling and self-regulation
parents reinforce children for gender appropriate behaviour
Who strongly reinforces gender stereotypes?
Peers
Social learning models weaknesses
- gender role rigidity varies across developmental stages
- children have different developmental stages
- no understanding of maturation and its role in gender roles
cog model takes these into accounts
Cognitive model of gender
Children are active processors of gender-based info
Children construct their gender roles by monitoring and selecting the environment
Self-socialise into gender realise and seek info to practice
- don’t take into account social environment
Kohlberg’s three-stage cognitive-development model of gender identity acquisition
- Gender labelling (2.5-3.5 yo) - children learn to assign the labels boy, girl, man on basis of appearance
- Gender stability (3.5-4.5) - children become aware of the permanency of gender, but may be fooled by appearances
- Gender constancy (4.5-7) - children see gender as consistent across time and context (no longer fooled by appearances)
Gender schematic processing theory?
As soon as children have acquired gender identity - they build schemas
they filter information and opportunities according to internalised framework
Boys vs girl cross-gender activities
Boys are more resistant to cross-gender whereas girls show increasing preference
Explain the concept of Androgyny
Flexible gender roles which allow males/females to integrate traditional gender-type behaviour (these people are better adjusted)
Gender role transcendence:
individuals viewed as individuals, not female, male, feminine, masculine etc
