Slide 1 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT 11 A Topical Approach to John W. Santrock The Self, Identity, and Personality

Slide 2 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 3 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Definitions Personality (unique and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions) 3

Slide 4 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Trait Theories Traits (relatively stable personal characteristics used to describe someone) Key Figures: –Early Trait Theorists: Allport, Cattell, Eysenck –Modern trait theorists: McCrae and Costa’s Five-Factor Model (FFM) 4

Slide 5 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 6 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Self-Recognition in Infancy Fig. 11.1

Slide 7 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Early Childhood Self-understanding –Confusion of self, mind, and body –Self-descriptions are physical, concrete, active, and unrealistic positive overestimations Understanding others –Individual differences in social understanding linked to caregivers The Self

Slide 8 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Middle and Late Childhood Self-understanding: 5 key changes –Internal characteristics emphasized –More referencing in social descriptions –More use of social comparisons –Distinguish between real self and ideal self –Realistic in self-evaluations Understanding others –Increased perspective taking The Self

Slide 9 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Role of Perspective-Taking Perspective-taking — ability to assume another’s perspective and understand his or her thoughts and feelings Important in children developing prosocial and antisocial attitudes and behaviors Affects peer status and quality of friendships The Self

Slide 10 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Self-Understanding in Adolescence Abstract and idealistic Self-conscious; preoccupied with self Contradictions within the self – multiple roles in different contexts realized Fluctuating self over time and 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

Slide 11 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 12 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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 Distinct - not really interchangeable The Self

Slide 13 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 14 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 15 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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 lower than boys’ by middle school years The Self

Slide 16 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 17 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Self-Esteem Across the Lifespan Prenatal Development Fig. 11.4

Slide 18 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 19 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 20 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Self-Regulation in Infancy and Early Childhood 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

Slide 21 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 22 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 23 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 24 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Changes In Primary and Secondary Control Strategies Across the Life Span The Self Fig. 11.6

Slide 25 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What is Identity? Self-portrait of many identities: –Vocational/career –Political –Religious –Relationship –Achievement/intellectual Identity –Sexual –Cultural/ethnic –Interests –Personality –Physical

Slide 26 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 27 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 28 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identity Statuses Marcia 1.Identify Diffusion: not experienced crisis or made commitments 2.Identity Foreclosure: made commitment but not experienced crisis (parents handed down commitments without adolescent making any exploration) Identity

Slide 29 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identity Statuses Marcia 3.Identity Moratorium: in midst of crisis but commitment absent or only vaguely defined 4.Identity Achievement: experienced crisis and made a comitment Identity

Slide 30 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identity Marcia’s Identity Statuses Fig. 11.9

Slide 31 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 32 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Early Adolescence to Adulthood Most important changes occur ages 18 to 25 “MAMA” cycle: pattern for positive identity moratorium achievement moratorium achievement Family influences on identity development –Parenting style effects identity development Identity

Slide 33 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Early Adolescence to Adulthood Parenting styles –Democratic foster identity achievement –Autocratic foster identity foreclosure –Permissive foster identity diffusion Search for balance is very important in adolescence Identity

Slide 34 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 35 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnic Identity Erikson very sensitive to role of culture Ethnic minority groups struggle to blend into dominant culture and keep cultural identities Ethnic identity linked to –HS achievement and lower aggression –Higher self-esteem –Predicting academic success –Identity formation affected by college attendance Identity

Slide 36 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 37 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Big Five Factors of Personality Personality Fig. 11.8

Slide 38 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Trait Theorists: The Five- Factor Model Understanding personality and relationships: Place a dot on each line to indicate your own traits of openness, conscientiousness, etc. Then do the same for an ideal romantic partner. 38

Slide 39 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 40 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 41 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Emotional Instability and Age Personality Fig

Slide 42 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Age and Well-Being Personality Fig

Slide 43 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 44 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Life Events Framework Personality Fig

Slide 45 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 46 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Changes In Generativity from the Thirties to the Fifties Personality Fig

Slide 47 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Stability and Change Many longitudinal studies have found evidence for both change and stability in personality in adulthood –Smith College Study –Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study –Berkley Longitudinal Studies –Helson’s Mills College Study –Vaillant’s studies Personality

Slide 48 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

Slide 49 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Links Between Characteristics at Age 50 and Health and Happiness at Ages Fig

Slide 50 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The End 11