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LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT11A Topical Approach to
John W. Santrock
The Self, Identity, and Personality
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The Self, Identity, and Personality
• The Self
• Identity
• Personality
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Self-Understanding
• Self — All characteristics of a person– Self-understanding, self-esteem, self-concept
• Identity — who a person is, representing a synthesis of self-understanding
• Personality — enduring personal characteristics of individuals
The Self
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Self-Understanding
• Cognitive representation of the self, substance of self conceptions
• Visual self-recognition tests infants
• Young children perceive self as external characteristics
• Older children recognize difference between inner and outer states
The Self
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Development of Self-Understanding in Children
The Self
Infancy Self-recognition begins around 18 mos
Early Childhood
Conceive of self as body part, usually head; describe self in physical terms
Middle/LateChildhood
More complex self-understanding• Internal characteristics• Social aspects• Social comparison
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Self-Recognition in Infancy
Fig. 11.1
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The Role of Perspective-Taking
• Perspective-taking — ability to assume another’s perspective and understand his or her thoughts and feelings
– Selman: 5 stages — age 3 to adolescence
• Affects peer status and quality of friendships
The Self
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Selman’s Stages of Perspective-Taking
Fig. 11.2
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Self-Understanding in Adolescence
• Abstract and idealistic
• Self-conscious; preoccupied with self
• Fluctuating across situations
• Compare real and ideal selves– Possible selves: what persons may be,
would like to be, and are afraid of becoming
• Self-integration in sense of identity
The Self
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Changes in Self-Understanding in Adulthood
• Self-Awareness– Awareness of strengths and weaknesses– Improves in young and middle adulthood
• Possible Selves– Get fewer and more concrete with age– Some revise throughout adulthood
• Life Review– Some in middle age, common in older adults– Evaluations of successes and failures
The Self
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Self-Esteem and Self-Concept
• Self-esteem– Global evaluative dimension of the self– Same as self-worth or image
• Self-concept – Domain-specific evaluations of the self
The Self
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Issues with Self-Esteem
• Modest correlations link self-esteem and school performance; links vary between adult job performance and self-esteem
• Self-esteem related to perceived physical appearance across life-span
• Depression lowers high self-esteem
The Self
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Issues with Self-Esteem
• Persons with high self-esteem – Increased happiness
– Have greater initiative
– Prone to both prosocial and antisocial actions
• Undeserved high self-esteem– Narcissism: self-centered, self-concerned
– Conceited
– Lack of awareness linked to adjustment problems
The Self
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Self-Esteem in Childhood and Adolescence
• Accuracy of self-evaluations increases across the elementary school years
• Majority of adolescents have positive self-image cross-culturally
• Girls’ self-esteem is significantly lower than boys’ by middle school years
The Self
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Self-Esteem in Adulthood
• Some researchers find drops in self-esteem in late adulthood; others don’t
• Older adults with positive self-esteem– May not see losses as negatively– Decrease in knowledge-related goals– Increase in emotion-related goals– Compare themselves to other older adults
The Self
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Self-Esteem Across the Lifespan
Prenatal Development
Fig. 11.4
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Increasing Self-Esteem
• Identify causes of low self-esteem
• Provide/seek emotional support and social approval
• Develop self-confidence and initiative
• Achieve
• Develop coping skills
The Self
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Self-Regulation
• Ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on others for help
• Includes self-generation and cognitive monitoring of thoughts
• Self-regulation linked to higher achievement and satisfaction over the lifespan
The Self
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Self-Regulation in Infancy and Early Childhood
12-18 months
2-3 years
Preschool
Depend on caregivers for reminder signals about acceptable behaviors
Begin to comply with the caregiver’s expectations in the absence of monitoring
Learn to resist temptation and give themselves instructions that keep them focused
The Self
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Self-Regulation in Middle/Late Childhood and Adolescence
• Self-regulation increases from about 5 or 6 years up to 7 or 8 years of age
• Across elementary school years, children increase beliefs that behavior is result of own effort and not luck
• From 8 to 14 years of age, children increase perception of self-responsibility for failure
The Self
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Selective Optimization with Compensation
• Successful self-regulation in aging linked to
– Selection: reduction in performance
– Optimization: continue practice, use of technology
– Compensation: concealment; offsetting or
counterbalancing a deficiency
The Self
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Personal Control
• Primary control striving
– One’s efforts to change external world to fit needs and desires
– Attain personal goals, overcome obstacles
• Secondary control striving
– Targets one’s inner worlds: motivation, emotion, and mental representation
The Self
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Changes In Primary and Secondary Control Strategies Across the Life Span
The Self
Fig. 11.6
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Erikson’s Ideas on Identity
• Identity versus identity confusion– Adolescents examine who they are,
what they are about, and where they are going in life
• Psychosocial moratorium– Gap between childhood security and
adult autonomy, part of adolescent identity exploration
Identity
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Identity’s Components
• Achievement/intellectual identity
• Vocational/career identity
• Cultural/ethnic identity
• Relationship identity
• Religious identity
• Physical identity
• Interest
• Personality
• Sexual identity
• Political identity
Identity
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Contemporary Views of Identity
• Gradual, lengthy process
• Identity formation neither begins nor ends with adolescence
– Appearance of attachment– Development of a sense of self– Emergence of independence in infancy
• Resolution does not mean lifetime stability
Identity
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Identity Statuses
• According to Marcia: Individuals go through periods of
– Crisis: exploring alternatives during identity development
– Commitment: individuals show personal investment in what they are going to do
Identity
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Identity
Marcia’s Identity Statuses
Fig. 11.9
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Developmental Changes in Identity Status
• Young adolescents primarily in statuses of diffusion, foreclosure, or moratorium
• Important for achieving positive identity
– Confidence in parental support
– Established sense of industry
– Able to adopt self-reflective stance of future
Identity
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Developmental Changes in Identity Status
• Most important changes occur ages 18 to 25
• “MAMA” cycle: pattern for positive identity
moratorium • achievement • moratorium • achievement
• Family influences on identity development
– Individuality has two dimensions
– Connectedness has two dimensions
Identity
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Family Influences
Identity
Self-assertion
Separateness
Mutuality
Permeability
Ability to have and give point of view
Openness to other’s views
Individuality Use of communication patterns to express own individuality
Connectedness
Sensitivity to and respect for other views
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Culture and Ethnicity
• Erikson very sensitive to role of culture
• Ethnic minority groups struggle to blend into dominant culture and keep cultural identities
• Aware of – Negative appraisals and stereotyping
– Restricted opportunities
– Conflicting values influencing life choices
– Two existing value systems
Identity
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Trait Theories and the Big Five Factors of Personality
• Trait Theories
– Personality is broad dispositions or traits that tend to produce characteristic responses
– Big Five Factors of Personality theory
– Led to advancements in assessing personality
– Most believe personality is result of trait-situation interaction
Personality
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Big Five Factors of Personality
Personality
Fig. 11.10
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Views On Adult Development
• Stage-Crisis View
– Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life
– Stage and transitions occur in life span
– Tasks or crisis in each stage shape personality
– Levinson’s midlife crisis in 40s: try to cope with gap between past and future
– Vaillant’s Grant Study
Personality
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Levinson’s Seasons of Life
Personality
Era of late adulthood:
60 to ?
Late Adult Transition: Age 60 to 65
Age 50 transition: 50 to 55
Culminating life structure for middle adulthood: 55 to 60
Entry life structure for middle
adulthood: 45 to 50
Middle Adult Transition: Age 40 to 45
Early Adult Transition: Age 17 to 22
Age 30 transition: 28 to 33
Culminating life structure for early
adulthood: 33 to 40
Entry life structure for early adulthood:
22 to 28
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Emotional Instability and Age
Personality
Fig. 11.12
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Age and Well-Being
Personality
Fig. 11.13
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The Life-Events Approach
• Now contemporary life-events approach; alternative to the stage approach
• How a life event influences individual’s development depends on:
– The life event
– Individual’s adaptation to the life event
– Life-stage context
– Sociohistorical context
Personality
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Life Events Framework
Personality
Fig. 11.14
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Generativity versus Stagnation
• Seventh stage in Erikson’s life-span theory
• Generativity– Encompasses adults’ desire to leave legacy to
next generation– Middle-aged adults develop in number of ways
• Stagnation– Also self-absorption, develops when one senses
s/he has done nothing for next generation
Personality
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Changes In Generativity from the Thirties to the Fifties
Personality
Fig. 11.15
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Stability and Change
• Many longitudinal studies have found evidence for both change and stability in personality in adulthood
– Neugarten’s Kansas City Study
– Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study
– Berkley Longitudinal Studies
– Helson’s Mills College Study
– Vaillant’s studies
Personality
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Stability and Change
• Cumulative Personality Model
– With time and age, people become more adept at interacting with environment in ways that promote stability
• Overall, personality is affected by
– Social contexts
– New experiences
– Sociohistorical changes
Personality
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Openness to Experience, Age, and Culture
Personality
Fig. 11.17
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Links Between Characteristics at Age 50 and Health and Happiness at Ages 75-80
Fig. 11.18
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The End
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