the self vs self understanding
The Self: all the characteristics of a person
Self Understanding: child’s representation of the self based partly on roles & membership categories ex: im a sister
self understanding in infancy
rudimentary form of self recognition @ 3 months - mirror technique: visual self recognition
true self recognition appears around 15 -18 months
conscious awareness of their bodies & self by 2 years
self understanding in early childhood
- confusion of self , mind, and body
- concrete descriptions: ability to use language to describe objects, events, and exercise in a clear and detailed manner
- physical descriptions: attributes of an object such as size, shape, color, and texture (ex: red ball)
- active descriptions: actions or movements associated with an object (ex: throwing or kicking the ball)
- unrealistic positive overestimations such as “ i’m never scared”
self understanding in middle / late childhood
- social descriptions & comparison
- real self: perception of child’s actual abilities, traits, and characteristics
- ideal self: perception of the person they would like to be or qualities they aspire to possess
- realistic self evaluations: sense of self awareness and understanding of one’s own strength and weaknesses as well as how others perceive them
self understanding in adolescence
abstract and idealistic thinking
self consciousness
contradictions within the self
the fluctuating self
real and ideal selves
self comparison
understanding others in early childhood
- social cognition: understanding the world around us
- by year 2 they can make social references; read cues in theories to help determine how to act
by ages 4 and 5 they begin describing selves and others using psychological traits - start to understand that others don’t always give accurate reports of themselves
- make gain in perspective taking (theory of mind)
understanding others in middle / late childhood
- understand some people have access to more information that others
- become increasingly aware that putting oneself in another person’s place is a way of judging intentions, purposes, and actions
- become skeptical of some sources of information about psychological traits
understanding others in adolescence
- perspective taking
- perceiving others’ traits
- social cognitive monitoring: process by which individuals pay attention to and interpret social cues from their environment in order to regulate their own behavior
self esteem vs self concept
Self Esteem: global evaluation of the self AKA self worth
Self Concept: domain specific self evaluations
- children make self evaluations in may domains (academic, athletic, physical appearance)
erickson’s theory
- Trust vs Mistrust : infants must learn that adults can be trusted (0 - 18 months)
- Autonomy vs Shame: working to establish independence (18 months - 3 years)
- Initiative vs Guilt: learning to plan and achieve goals while interacting with others (3 years - 5 years)
- Industry vs Inferiority: begin to compare themselves with peers to see how they measure up (5 years - 13 years)
- Identity vs Role Confusion: developing a sense of self (13 years - 21 years)
- Intimacy vs Isolation: ready to share our life with others (21 years - 39 years)
- Generativity vs Stagnation: finding your life’s work & helping others (40 years - 65 years)
- Integrity vs Despair: reflecting on life and feeling either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of failure (65 and older)
marcia’s 4 statuses
crisis; explores alternatives / commitment; investment in identity
1. Identity Diffusion: no crisis, no commitments
2. Identity Foreclosure: commitment, but no crisis
3. Identity Moratorium: amidst crisis, but commitments are absent or vague
4. Identity Achievement: undergone a crisis and has made a commitment
individuality vs connectedness
individuality: self assertion and separateness
connectedness: mutuality and permeability
ethinic and cultural identity
- US & Canada value individual autonomy
- Others emphasize on fitting and connecting with others
- Ethnic Identity: sense of membership in an ethnic group & attitudes and feelings related to that membership
- Bicultural Identity: identifying with one’s ethnic group & with majority culture
sex
characteristics of people as male or female
gender
socially constructed identities of gender diverse people
gender role
expectations that prescribe how genders should think and feel
gender identity
sense of one’s own gender, including knowledge & understanding
social role theory
psychological gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men
- women have less power and status than men and they control fewer resources
social cognitive theory of gender
children’s gender development occurs through
- observation and imitation
- the rewards and punishments for gender appropriate and inappropriate behavior
social infleunce: parents
- mothers are more involved than fathers
- when they have sons fathers spend more time parenting and are less likely to divorce
- mothers socialize daughters to be obedient and responsible & place restrictions on autonomy
- fathers show more attention to sons and promote intellectual development
social influence: peers
- boys: activity level, rough and tumble play increase, spend less time near adults
- girls: activity level and aggression decrease, girl type play & time near adults increase
- peer groups in adolescence are more mixed
social influence: school and teachers
potential biases against boys because:
- compliance, following rules, being neat and orderly are valued
- more likely to be criticized by teachers
- schools ignore that many are having academic problems, especially in the arts
- behavior is more likely to be stereotyped as problematic
Potential biases against girls:
- compliance & quiet may come at the cost if diminished assertiveness
- teachers watch and interact with boys more
- boys get more instruction and more help when having trouble
social influence: media
- men typically portrayed as more powerful
- women more often sexually objectified & portrayed as less competent, less moral & leads to increased tolerance of sexual violence
- little exposure to non binary people
gender stereotyping
Gender stereotyping: general impressions and beliefs about genders
- assigned traits are different and significantly unequal in terms of social status and power
- gender stereotyping is present among 2 year olds
- adults provide information about gender which children use to guide their behavior
- children believe it’s easier for girls than boys to challenge gender stereotypes
