Self Concept I am what I am Self Concept The attitudes behaviors and values that a person believes make him or her unique The Evolving Self Concept page 334 Self Awareness Most embarrassing moments That s when I discovered I had a post it on my head Mirror task suggests that we have self between 18 and 24 months Other evidence of self awareness by age 2 Camera hogs although not so good on tape Pronouns Me I and the ubiquitous all important MINE Levine What are you looking at Adolescent egocentrism teens belief that they are the focus of other s thinking 24 7 If you know that others can think We tend to think They are looking at us Adolescent egocentrism leads to Imaginary audience belief that everyone is watching I m an actor in the soap that is my life and everybody is tuning in Personal Fable belief that our experience is unique You can t know what I m going through No one can Don t you understand I broke a nail Illusion of invulnerability belief that misfortune won t happen to us The Search for Identity Remember Freud Erickson crises stages He operationalized the concepts of psychosocial theory crisis and commitment and developed the Identity Status Interview He discovered four distinct patterns in identity achievement Should remember James Marcia who updated and simplified their theories for today Pattern 1 Diffusion The individual has not yet experienced an identity crisis or exploration nor made any personal commitment to a vocation or set of beliefs Identity confusion can encompass a variety of different behavior patterns ranging from an aimless drifting to a manipulative selfishness to a morbid selfpreoccupation Some identity diffused individuals avoid anxiety exploration and confrontation by means of alcohol or drugs Pattern 2 Foreclosure Most frequently observed identity status during adolescence Go with the flow Have not yet experienced crisis exploration but have made commitments to goals values and beliefs Usually these commitments emerge from an identification with parents or significant others Importantly these individuals are committed to goals and values an occupation and a personal ideology but these are not their own Pattern 3 Moratorium Moratorium time of delay granted to an individual who is not yet ready to meet an obligation or make a commitment A period of many unresolved questions Moratorium is an essential and necessary prerequisite for identity achievement The individual is in an active struggle to find answers to search to explore to try on different roles Checking out the options Pattern 4 Achievement After an individual has experienced a psychological moratorium and has explored identity issues and crises and as a result has begun to develop more permanent personal commitments he or she has achieved an identity James Marcia Ethnic Identity Ethnic identity identification with a particular group s customs traditions culture and heritage After adolescent egocentrism we realize we are part of something bigger than just ourselves Adolescents who identify strongly with a particular group tend to be better adjusted Storm and Stress The search for identity does not produce as much storm stress as you might think Well over 65 of teens report that they are happy at home and they admire their parents Yes your parents no longer dress you and there will always be struggles about when and how much responsibility autonomy the growing teen will have By and large it all works out What am I going to do Part of establishing an identity is identifying a career which also takes different stages Crystallization hypothetical ideas about what we might be good for eg People always stare at me maybe I should be in the performing arts Specification Learn more get real get job description eg What sport What science What specific job Shadow someone Implementation OK you re hired Change and Stability in Self Esteem Self esteem is highest in the preschool years and very unitary Drops and differentiates during the elementary school years due to social comparisons Self esteem stabilizes and during adolescence though it sometimes drops during school transitions due to renewed social comparisons But where does it come from Sources of Self Esteem Value what you value determines how happy you are If you value academics sports your success will determine your esteem If not successful may change values Why Other sources Another source of Self Esteem Parents have higher self esteem Children when parents are nurturing and involved feel loved establish rules concerning Also discipline Rules say you care says the book Dirty little secret it s also hereditary Social Comparison Comparisons with others particularly peers is the other big source of self esteem Big fish in little pond syndrome Gifted classes Bad for average smarties Children with High Self Esteem Nuttall make friends easily control their behavior show enthusiasm for new activities be cooperative and follow age appropriate rules play by themselves and with other children like to be creative and have their own ideas be happy fully of energy and talk to others without much encouragement Children with Low Self Esteem say I can t do anything well Pretty negative huh I know I can t do it I know that I will fail I don t like me I wish I were someone else Consequences of Low SelfEsteem likely to have problems with More peers to psychological disorders Prone and depression Anti social Do poorly in school Describing Others Developmental changes parallel changes in description of self At 6 or 7 very concrete and behavioral gradually becomes more abstract Changes in Description Robert Selman s theory of Role Taking Includes 5 stages in the development of understanding what others think Undifferentiated 3 6 years Social Informational 4 9 years Self Reflective 7 12 years Third Person 10 15 years Societal 15 Example Folger s Crystals Prejudice negative view of others based on group membership Preschool children often are most prejudiced declines with age Why If told better think other are worse Get rid of Prejudice When groups mix CONTACT Work together COMMON GOALS See other members of group as people rather than Stereotypes If you don t have contact prejudice is almost unavoidable