The Self

1. The Self Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D. Department of Psychology The University of West Florida

2. The Self • Development of identity grounded in: • Cognitive development • Emergence of self reflection on emotions and relationships • Experiences with peers & family • Changing roles, expectations & responsibilities • Experiences with culture at large • Changing expectations in autonomy (broad socialization) & interdependence (narrow socialization)

3. The Selves • Ideal Self—the optimal state of the individual • Actual Self—reality • Possible Self—likely outcome • Feared Self—worst possible • False Self—one’s image management

4. Identity and Self • Self Concept: • Generalized view of self • Childhood—more physical • Adolescence—more psychological • Social Comparison • Estimation based on social comparisons • Upward comparison: realistic comparison can lead to improved functioning; unrealistic comparison can lead to frustration • Downward comparison: can lead to lower efforts to improve

5. Identity and Self • Outcome of Social Comparison: • Baseline Self Esteem • Ambientlevel of evaluation • Stable yet malleable • Barometric Self Esteem— • Moment to moment/day to day sense of self evaluation • Contextually determined

6. Identity and Self • Outcome of Social Comparison: Self Esteem • Harter’s work: Perceived Competence • Eight scales (pg. 152) • Scale with highest impact is physical appearance • Impacts females more than males • Peers & Families tend to relate to which domains are more influential • Issues surrounding self esteem/social comparison tends to be more focused in USA culture

7. Identity and Self • Emotionality and Identity Development: • Neurological Basis: • Amygdala more active than frontal lobes in adolescents • Frontal lobe more active than amygdala in adults • Higher reports of negative emotions (self-conscious; embarrassed; lonely) • Likely based on multiple life changes with onset of adolescence (e.g. school, family, peers) • Feminine girls reported less sense of voice than any other group

8. Identity: Key Constructs • Autonomy • A sense that the individual participates actively and with some degree of control in decision-making: • About self • In interactions with others • Patterns of family interactions inhibit or enhance this decision-making

9. Identity: Key Constructs • Individuation: • As adolescents make decisions and experience consequences they begin to define themselves as different from others • Adolescents begin to separate the affective element of an event and the intellectual analysis of that event

10. Identity: Key Constructs • Individuation (cont’d) • Families impact this process • Allowing decision-making within boundaries supports the process of individuation • Openness of emotions within family supports this process • Supporting exploration within boundaries can lead to free but cautious explorations by the adolescent • Positive outcomes follow from a balance of independence and familial closeness

11. Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev. • Fifth stage in Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development • Individual has likely acquired major tools of the culture • Emphasis shifts to establishing an identity separate from but related to family of origin

12. Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev. • Explorations beyond the family system increase and provide a sampling of alternatives to that family system • Individuals who explore and internalize a set of values, beliefs, expectations, and norms will likely reach an identity achieved

13. Marcia’s Identity Status Model • Major constructs: • Commitment: construction of a relatively stable set of values, beliefs, roles, norms, and expectations • Exploration: behaviorally or vicariously seeking out experiences typically beyond the family or origin

14. Marcia’s Identity Status Model • Identity Diffused • Neither committed nor engaged in exploration; • May have some explorations but more of a “meandering rather than intentional exploration • Seem to be more of a carefree drifting than exploration.

15. Marcia’s Identity Status Model • Identity Foreclosed— • Committed to an identity without significant exploration; • Focused on well defined goals • Behavior conforms to expectations of authority • Lack flexibility and can be defensive • Adopt values, beliefs, etc. of authority figures

16. Marcia’s Identity Status Model • Identity Moratorium • Engaged in exploration of roles, values, etc. • Tend to move between conformity and rebellion • Tend to be more anxious than other statuses

17. Marcia’s Identity Status Model • Identity achieved • Tend to have resolved questions about their own values, norms, etc. • More thoughtful and introspective • Can explain their explorations and choices • Perform well under stress • Tend to resolve moral dilemmas at high levels of moral reasoning

18. Domains of Exploration • Gender Role/Sexual Identity • Ideological/Political/Theological • Career • Interpersonal (may be beyond gender role)

19. Intimacy/Isolation: Emerging Adlthd • Erikson’s 6th Stage: Intimacy vs. Isolation • Forming a close and committed relationship • Beyond sexual intimacy to emotional intimacy • Based on sharing with another without losing one’s own identity • Typically is observed during emerging adulthood

20. Postmodernism and Identity • One’s Achieved identity is • More malleable • Grounded in Situational and Temporal variables • Requires a longer course of time

21. Ethnic Minority Identity Development • Defining Minority Status • Phenny’s Work • Stages of Ethnic Identity Development based on: • Interaction with the dominant culture • Interaction with one’s own culture • Internalization of ethnic and cultural values, beliefs, & traditions

22. Ethnic Minority Identity Development • Cross’s Stages (Vandiver, Cross, Worrell, & Fhagen-Smith, 2002): • Pre-encounter: Assimilation & Self-Hatred • Encounter: Experience of events leading to reexamination of ethnic perspective

23. Ethnic Minority Identity Development:Cross (cont’d) • Immersion-Emersion: deep immersion into one’s own culture and potential hatred of the other • Internalization-Commitment: self acceptance, other acceptance; bi-cultural

24. Evaluating the Self • Perceived Self-Efficacy: The perception that some outcome can be achieved through current knowledge and skills or knowledge and skills that can be obtained

25. Strategies for encouraging perceived self efficacy • Mastery Experiences—opportunities to succeed given challenging but attainable goals • Vicarious Learning—observing others similar to oneself acting and attaining goals

26. Strategies for encouraging perceived self efficacy • Verbal/Social persuasion—encouragement and instructional (not evaluative) feedback • Positive AffectiveEnvironment—experiences of attempting challenging tasks with instructional not evaluative feedback; encouragement of attempting tasks, not simply succeeding;

27. Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Identity • mood regulation, and generalized self-efficacy were (as expected) important codeterminants of late-adolescent identity among women, and men’s late adolescent identity (Lopes et al, 1992)

28. Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Identity • It was found that identity exploration and commitment, self-efficacy, control, and responsibility were predictive of future orientation. For younger adolescents, greater perceived control and responsibility was related to a stronger future orientation. (Kerpelman & Mosher, 2004)

29. The Self Alone • Two aspects: • Social Loneliness: number of social contacts • Emotional Loneliness: quality of social contacts • Emotional Loneliness predictive of negative outcomes • Emerging adulthood has higher levels of emotional loneliness than either adolescence or adulthood.

30. Discussion Questions • List 4-5 terms you would use to describe yourself as you remember it during middle school. • List 4-5 terms you would use to describe yourself as you are now • Compare the two lists and describe how they are alike and how they are similar.