PSYC 2500H Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: James Marcia, Diana Baumrind, Identity Formation
26 Jun 2018
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Chapter 13: Development of the Self and Social Cognition
Pages 476-492
Development of the Self-Concept
-Self: the combination of physical and psychological attributes that is unique to each
individual
-Social cognition: thinking that people display about the thoughts, feelings, motives and
behaviors of themselves and other people
- some believe even newborns have the capacity to distinguish the self from surrounding
environment
- newborns seem capable of proprioceptive feedback: sensory information from the
muscles, tendons, and joints that help us locate the position of our body in space
- suggested that young infants possess an embryonic body scheme, although the body
scheme develops over time, it is present as a psychological primitive right from the earliest
phases of infancy
- others believe infants are born without a sense of self
Self-Differentiation in Infancy
- almost everyone agrees that the first glimmerings of this capacity can be seen by at least
the first 2 or 3 months of life
- during first two months, becoming familiar with their own physical capabilities
- seems 2-month-old infants may have some limited sense of personal agency: recognition
that one can be the cause of an event
Self-Recognition in Infancy
-self-concept: one’s perception of one’s unique attributes or traits
- research shows that infants only 5 months old seem to treat their own faces as familiar
social stimuli
- study found that infants who saw moving images of themselves and a peer could
discriminate their own image
- infants tend to look at themselves in mirrors or play games in the mirror with caregivers
-self-recognition: the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph
- rouge test, caregiver put rouge mark on nose (if recognize their own face, should notice the
dot and wipe it off)
o9-24-month olds, younger ones showed no self-recognition
oOnly among 18-24-month olds showed majority touching their own noses
-Present-self: early self-representation in which 2 & 3-year olds recognize current
representations of self but are unaware that past self-representations or self-relevant
events have implications for the present
-Extended self: more mature self-representation, emerging between ages 3.5 and 5 years,
in which children are able to integrate past, current and unknown future self-
representations into a notion of a self that endures over time
Contributors to Self-Recognition
- Seems that older toddlers, on the verge of creating mental symbols, begin to notice the
contingency between actions they can see in the mirror and proprioceptive information
they can sense from their own bodily movements
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- Once 3.5-4-year olds begin to encode noteworthy experiences as autobiographical
memories, they realize that the self is a stable entity and that earlier event they can
remember did indeed happen to them
- One social experience that contributes to self-awareness in humans is a secure attachment
to a primary caregiver
oSecurely attached 2-year-olds were outperforming their insecurely attached age-
mates on the test
- Parents also contribute to a child’s expanding self-concept by providing descriptive
information and by evaluating the child’s behavior
- parents help children build autobiographical memories by answering noteworthy
questions, growing sense of extended self
Social and Emotional Consequences of Self-recognition
- growth of self-recognition and an emerging awareness of oneself as a participant in social
interactions pave the wat for many new social and emotional competencies
- ability to experience self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment depends on self-
recognition
- toddlers who have reached this self-referential milestone soon become more outgoing and
socially skilled
- this early-emerging ability to share intentions and thus cooperate with social partners is so
significant that some see it as the foundation for human culture once toddlers display self-
recognition, they also recognize the ways in which people differ and begin to categorize
themselves on this dimensions-a classification called the categorical self
- categorical self: a person’s classification of the self along socially significant dimensions
such as age and sex
Who am i? responses of preschool children
- until recently, developmentalists believed that the self-concepts of preschool children were
concrete, physical, and nearly devoid of any psychological self-awareness
- not everyone agrees preschooler’s self-concepts are limited to observable characteristics
ocharacterize themselves differently on different dimensions
Conceptions of self in middle childhood and adolescence
- as children get older, their self-descriptions gradually evolve from listings of their physical,
behavioral and other “external” attributes to sketches of their enduring inner qualities-that
is their traits, values, beliefs, and ideologies
- adolescents are becoming more aware that they are not the same person in all situations
ocan be confusing and upsetting
- adolescents who are more upset over inconsistencies in their self-portrayals are those who
put on false fronts
- false-self behaviors: acting in ways that do not reflect one’s true self, or the “true me”
oleast confident that they know who they are
- inconsistent self-portrayals are less bothersome to older adolescents who have often
integrated them into a higher-order, more coherent view of themselves
- the overview of self-concept development presented here stems largely from research
conducted in westernized societies
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Who am I? Forging an identity
-individualistic society: society that values personalism and individual accomplishments,
which often take precedence over group goals, tend to emphasize ways individuals differ
from each other
-collectivist society: society that values cooperative interdependence, social harmony, and
adherence to group norms, groups’ well-being is more important than that of the individual
- according to Erikson, the major developmental hurdle that adolescents face is establishing
an identity
oidentity: a mature self-definition; a sense of who you are, where you are going in
life and how you fit into society
- one way to assess identity formation is the narrative approach, “tell me your life story”
- another way to assess identity is through a structured interview
ointerview allows researchers to classify adolescents into one of four identity
statuses
Developmental Trends in Identity Formation
- although Erikson believed that identity formation is often a lifelong process, he saw
adolescence as a time when identity issues are most important
- provides critical foundation, such as establishment of intimate relationships
- identity formation often does not occur until late adolescence or young adulthood
- today, researchers say identity formation tends to gradual and a lifelong process
- adolescence can achieve a strong sense of identity in one area and still be searching in
others
Identity Formation and Adjustment
- according to James Marcia, active identity seekers feel much better about themselves and
their future
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Document Summary
Chapter 13: development of the self and social cognition. Self: the combination of physical and psychological attributes that is unique to each individual. Present-self: early self-representation in which 2 & 3-year olds recognize current representations of self but are unaware that past self-representations or self-relevant events have implications for the present. Extended self: more mature self-representation, emerging between ages 3. 5 and 5 years, in which children are able to integrate past, current and unknown future self- representations into a notion of a self that endures over time. Seems that older toddlers, on the verge of creating mental symbols, begin to notice the contingency between actions they can see in the mirror and proprioceptive information they can sense from their own bodily movements. Once 3. 5-4-year olds begin to encode noteworthy experiences as autobiographical memories, they realize that the self is a stable entity and that earlier event they can remember did indeed happen to them.
