PSYC20008 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Bacon, Egocentrism
14 Jun 2018
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Lecture 17 - Tuesday 2 May 2017
PSYC20006 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
LECTURE 17
SELF UNDERSTANDING
OVERVIEW
•1. What is self-concept and how does it change as children develop?
•2. What is identity?
•How are different identity statuses of adolescence described?
•What outcomes are associated with long-term identity statuses?
•3. What does Ethnic Identity tell us about adolescents’ bicultural identity development?
SELF CONCEPT
•Self concept is a set of attributes, abilities, attitudes, and values that a person sees as defining who
she or he is.
•Attributes: “I am willing to help” “I am lazy”
•Abilities: “I am good at maths” “I am a bad cook”
•Attitudes: “I like people” “I don’t like bacon”
•Values: “I value human rights” “I value freedom of speech”
SELF CONCEPT: ‘I’ vs ‘ME’
→ William James (1890)
•“I” self: self as knower, actor; inner life; not accessible to others
•“Me” self: self as object of evaluation
•The “Material” me: “What makes me me? What is mine?” Body and how we hold ourself;
language we use; clothes & style for self expression; for a child it is possessions including toys
and bedroom; for an adult it’s possessions like car and house. It is what we do with the things
we own/the things in our control.
•The “Social” me: “A man (sic) has as many social selves as there are individuals who
recognize him (sic)” who you are with your parents/siblings/friends etc is different every time.
•We will respond to things differently depending on who we are with. These responses are
still all our real self.
•The “Spiritual” me: “the most enduring and intimate part of the self” intellectual, moral,
religious endeavours that frame our core expression of who we are. It takes the longest to
develop and it the hardest to change.
SELF CONCEPT DEVELOPS OVER TIME
•Infancy (0-1 yo): How infants use gaze to show preference.
•Toddler (1-2 yo): Pronouns; Body control
•Early ch. (3-5 yo): Observable descriptions, unrealistic abilities
•Mid. ch. (6-9 yo): Realistic abilities; social comparisons
•Late ch. (9-11 yo): Others’ perceptions; some grouping of
descriptors; values
•Early adolescence (12-14 yo): Conflicting, abstract
descriptors; egocentrism
•Late adolescence (15-18 yo): Higher order, integrated abstract
descriptors
TODDLERHOOD
•Toddlers learn that their bodies are part of themselves, and that
they can manipulate their bodies to express themselves.
MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE
•In Middle adolescence, abstract descriptors of self conflict with each other.
Middle Adolescence
Document Summary
What is self-concept and how does it change as children develop: 2. What is identity: how are different identity statuses of adolescence described, what outcomes are associated with long-term identity statuses, 3. What is mine? body and how we hold ourself; language we use; clothes & style for self expression; for a child it is possessions including toys and bedroom; for an adult it"s possessions like car and house. These responses are still all our real self: the spiritual me: the most enduring and intimate part of the self intellectual, moral, religious endeavours that frame our core expression of who we are. It takes the longest to develop and it the hardest to change. Toddlerhood: toddlers learn that their bodies are part of themselves, and that they can manipulate their bodies to express themselves. Middle adolescence: in middle adolescence, abstract descriptors of self conflict with each other.
