Child Psych4.8.doc

Child Psych: Development of Self & Identity CREATEDATE 4/8/10 12:57 PM How do you develop a sense of self, understanding that you are distinct from other people? How can we measure this? Self-recognition test Gallup (1970)- Chimp mirror test First, threatened Overtime, will explore self Test: mark face with dye Explore self? Reach for smudge? (Yes Mirror test with infants- Infant self-recognition 7 months: no self-exploration 12 months: none, but will reach for objects reflecting in mirror 18 months: will reach for rouge, recognize reflection as self Children?s conception of self self: thoughts and feelings about self and in relation to others how would you describe yourself? Self-concept in middle childhood shift from external attributes to internal categorical (4-7 yrs) ex. brown eyes, short, Catholic, like potatoes comparative (8-11 yrs) ex. smart interpersonal (12-15 yrs) issues with personal fable(egocentrism comes back-no one can understand what you?re going through)/imaginary audience (think everyone is focusing attention on you) ex. good listener change in ability to socially compare Social comparisons Increases about 8-9 years Why? In academic setting, spending much more time around peers, know where you are at relative to others (grades) How can we measure how much kids engage in social comparison? Ruble, measure athletic ability of 5-9 years Throw ball into hidden hoop 3 groups relative success relative failure control group results? 9 year olds rated themselves relative to others 5-7 year olds did not control group: all did not compare themselves to others Self-esteem and self-concept Self-concept Beliefs, attitudes, knowledge & ideas people have about themselves (e.g. I am a good soccer player) Self-esteem Cognitive judgments of abilities & affective reactions (e.g. how good of a soccer player are you?) Assessment Not easy! Harter?s (1985) self-perception profile for children (for 3-6 grade children ~8-12 yrs) taps general self-worth and by category Domains: physical appearance (.65), scholastic competence, social acceptance, behavioral conduct, athletic competence Looked at correlations between global self-esteem and self-evaluations of domains of competence At young age, performance doesn?t matter, don?t compare to others, generally judge themselves positively As get older, judgments get closer to reality Self-esteem & self-evaluation Developmental changes in self-esteem High in preschool Slight decrease in childhood(elementary school), more realistic, yet generally still pretty high Decrease in early adolescence(physical changes-puberty), but + again Decreases again in late adulthood (Robins et al. 2002) Females < males throughout the life span Women have more pressures with respect to physical beauty Gender differences in categories (Harter 1999) Domain of concern greatest for women( appearance & social behavior For men( competence & conduct Identity Identity is a self-portrait composed of many bits and pieces developed over a lengthy period, including: (beginning around adolescence) Vocational/career(tend to focus on as get older Political Religious Relationship Achievement/intellectual Sexual Cultural/ethnic Interest, personality, and physical Erikson?s influence on identity development Identity vs. role confusion Who am I? What am I about? What do I want to do in life? Psychosocial moratorium The gap between childhood security and adult autonomy Free to try out different identities **exploration critical, leads to growth Successful ID development( refreshing and acceptable new sense of self Those who do not resolve the identity crisis( identity confusion Identity statuses Crisis (EXPLORATION) Adolescent is exploring alternatives Lewis (2006) Can exploring identity status assist students in making healthier behavior choices? Heavy vs. light-drinking college students Those who were actively exploring drank less Commitment Personal investment in identity Marcia?s Four statuses of identity Has the person made a commitment? Yes or No Has the person explored meaningful alternatives regarding some identity question? Yes or No Commitment & explored( identity achievement Commitment & not explored( identity foreclosure Explored & not committed( identity moratorium Not explored & not committed( identity diffusion CHART IN BOOK Extra credit- 1 pt Due April 13 (1 page) Interview someone between the ages of 18-25 about these identities: Career identity/aspirations Political identity Sexual identity Ethnic identity How did they come to decide each identity? How would you classify each identity according to Marcia?s four stages? (Explain) Ethnic identity Enduring aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group and the attitudes and feelings related to that membership (Phinney,1996) Jourdan (2006) A secure attachment + self-esteem - inferiority (to a majority ethnicity)/anxiety Components of ethnic identity Ethnic knowledge That helps you define that ethnicity ex. do you use utensils or chop-sticks to eat? Ethnic self-identification Ethnic constancy Idea that ethnicity is something that you can?t change May be tough for kids Ethnic-role behavior Engage in behaviors of that particular ethnicity Ethnic feelings and preferences Choosing to engage in ethnic activities