Child Psychology: The Modern Science, 3e by Vasta, Haith, and Miller Paul J. Wellman Texas A&M University John Wiley and Sons, Inc. © 1999 PowerPoint  Presentation: Chapter 13 Development of the Self

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. The Self n The self can be defined in different ways –The “I”, or existential self, refers to the subjective aspect of existence including personal agency and continued existence across time –The “Me”, or categorical self, refers to the objective understanding of one’s personal experiences (physical appearance, personality traits, and cognitive abilities)

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. The Self-System n The self is viewed as a product of a system of interrelated processes –Self-knowledge is concerned with children’s knowledge of themselves –Self-evaluation is concerned with children’s opinion of their abilities –Self-regulation is the part of the self concerned with self-control

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Perspectives on the Self n Cognitive-Developmental approaches have offered various models of self –Selman proposed a 5 stage model of self –Information processing models view the self as a part of a larger memory system n Environmental/Learning approaches suggest that self evolves from self- efficacy and self-regulation n Ethological theory suggests that responsive caregiving can influence self- development

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Self-Knowledge n Knowledge of the self develops across time and is evident in –Perception Infants can imitate adult facial expressions Infants perceive their own motor control Visual self-recognition is evident at 24 months –Child recognizes their own image in a mirror –Can understand that a spot on their forehead relates to them (shown by reaching response) –Personal agency: The child understands that they can have an impact on the world

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Awareness of Others n As infants become aware of their own identities, they also become aware of the existence of others –Synchronic imitation refers to a situation in which two preverbal children play with toys in a coordinated fashion –Two-year-olds are able to react to the distress of others (and this ability relates to their visual self-recognition)

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Change in Self-Descriptions Early childhoodPhysical aspects“I have freckles Possessions“My cat is white” Preferences“I like pizza” Middle ChildhoodBehavioral traits“I’m a good singer” emotions“I’m a cheerleader” AdolescenceAttitudes, “I’m patriotic” Personality traits“I like guns” Age PeriodFocus of SelfExamples

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Measuring Self-Esteem n Self-esteem is thought to encompass children’s views of themselves –Affective reactions (shame, pride) –Cognitive judgements of ability and talent n Two views of self-esteem include –Looking-glass self refers to the idea that our self-esteem is a reflection of how others view us –Competence view suggests that self-esteem is a combination of what we would like to achieve and our confidence in achievement

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.Vasta, 3e Fig.13.1 Self-Perception Profile n Harter uses a questionnaire to assess self- evaluations in each of 5 domains. n The scoring also provides an overall assessment of self- esteem

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Stability of Self-Esteem n Self-esteem scores are relatively stable during childhood n At age 12, scores can dip; this dip may reflect a number of issues –Development of excessive self- consciousness Child may pay too much attention to the opinions of others –Biological changes during puberty –Moving from one school to another can lower self-esteem

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Self-Regulation n Children learn how to control their own behaviors –To avoid dangerous objects (hot stove) –To wait for gratification (cookie after dinner) –To change non-effective strategies (bargaining rather than screaming for a toy) n A common aspect of all theories of self- regulation is that at first, children are externally controlled and that control becomes internalized over time

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Private Speech and Self- Regulation n Vygotsky argues that children talk to themselves as they work on a task –This private speech is directive and eventually becomes internalized as thought n Luria was interested in the role of speech in controlling behavior –Developed a paradigm in which children were able to press a rubber bulb Luria noted that external verbal commands could start the behavior but did not stop the behavior in very young children

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.Vasta, 3e Fig Intensity of Verbal Commands (Figure adapted with permission from “Verbal Control of Behavior: The Effects of Shouting” by E. Saltz, S. Campbell, and D. Skotko, 1983, Developmental Psychology, 19, p Copyright © 1983 by the American Psychological Association)

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Laboratory Studies of Self- Regulation n Resistance to temptation: Examines how long children will resist a command to avoid a forbidden toy n Delay of gratification: Child is given two choices –Small reward that is available now –Larger reward that is available later

Copyright 1999 by John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. Copyright