Development of Self Chapter 6

Today’s Outline Self-Recognition – Developing Knowledge about the Self Mirror-and-Rouge Test Paradigm Harter’s 6 Stages Influences on Self-Recognition Developing Knowledge about Others Theory of Mind (ToM) ToM Influences and Outcomes Selman’s (2003) 4 Stages of Perspective-Taking

The Self: 3 Types Awareness of the self as differentiated from other people is crucial for children’s development Individual Self - Aspects of the self that make a person unique and separate from others Relational Self - Aspects of the self that involve connections to other people and develop out of interactions with others Collective Self - A person’s concept of self within a group, such as a group based on race or gender

Self-Recognition As young as 18 weeks, by age 2 Mirror-and-Rouge Paradigm Visual self-recognition Mark placed on face By age 2: Recognize own image Over time, identify relationship b/w body movements and mirror image Sensitive Period – before 2 years old

Self-Recognition: Harter’s 6 Stages 2-4 years - observable physical features, physical activities, social relationships, preferences, possessions, 5-7 years – focus on specific competencies 8-10 - more complex descriptions - focus on abilities and interpersonal attributes, social comparison, global self-esteem “I’m friendly,”

Self-Recognition Harter’s 6 Stages Early adolescence - interpersonal attributes, social skills, competencies, emotions; recognize different selves in different contexts Mid adolescence - introspective and preoccupied with what others think of them; begin to question self descriptions, especially when there are contradictions Late adolescence - emphasize personal beliefs, values, and moral standards; think about future and possible selves

Influences on Self-Recognition Pretend play and personal pronouns (Lewis & Ramsay, 2004) Culture and Parenting Styles (Keller et al; 2004) Body Contact, Body Stimulation, Object Stimulation, Face-to-Face, Mutual Gaze Proximal Parenting Style – body contact and stimulation (Cameroonian Nso farmers) Distal Parenting Style – face-to-face exchange and object stimulation (Greek urban, middle-class families) Combo Style – autonomy and relatedness (Costa Rican middle-class families) Session 1: 3-months old; free play with mother Session 2: 18-20 months old; rouge test

Influences on Self-Recognition - Maltreatment 19-month old infants IV: Lower-class, Maltreated Lower-class, Healthy Strange Situation: to assess quality of attachment relationship Then, mirror-and-rouge test Visual S-R present = touch nose while looking at reflection Coded emotions before and after rouge applied Smiles, laughs, surprise facial expressions, stares, concetrates, puzzled (Schneider-Rosen & Cicchetti, 1984)

Of those infants with visual self-recognition (Schneider-Rosen & Cicchetti, 1984)

Influences on Self-Recognition Female university students, 18-27 years old and 1 friend Recognition of own face vs. Recognition of Familiar Face Right inferior frontal gyrus, Right insula Recall: Right hemispheric lateralization Replication in children needed right inferior frontal gyrus (Devue et al., 2007)

Theory of Mind – Developing Knowledge about others ToM: Ability to explain and predict other people’s behavior by attributing them to independent mental states (e.g., beliefs, desires) Quickly increases from ages 2 to 6. Development due to maturation of pre-programmed brain functioning and with experiences (# siblings, parental interaction) Inferential False Belief Tasks Universally failed at age 3 Universally mastered at age 4 o 5

Inferential False Belief Tasks Litmus test for ToM Assesses False-Belief Understanding Understanding that an individual’s belief or representation about the world may contrast with reality (Dennett, 1978) First-Order False Belief Tasks – Fail to recognize own past beliefs were false Unexpected Contents task (“Smarties;” Gopnik & Astington, 1988) Second-Order False Belief Tasks – Fail to recognize the false belief another person holds Ice-Cream Van Story (Perner & Wimmer, 1985)

(Atance, Bernstein, & Meltzoff, 2010)

ToM: Influences and Outcomes Siblings, Friends, Family Discussions (McAlister & Peterson, 2012) Pretend Play; Dispute Resolution Older siblings – Yes!, Twins - No!; Birth Order Prefrontal Cortex (Bedny & Saxe, 2012) Activated when listened to descriptions of character’s mental states (vs. descriptions of physical events) 5-11 year-old children and adults Outcomes Higher IQ, More prosocial behaviors ToM in early childhood (3 yrs – 5 yrs) linked to greater executive functioning 1 year later (McAlister & Peterson, 2012)

Selman’s (2003) Perspective-Taking Stages Description Before 6 0: Egocentric Understand people have different opinions from their own, but often confuse their thoughts/opinions with others’ 6-8 1: Differentiated Realize that people may have the same or different perspective from themselves. But, still cannot judge another person’s perspective accurately. 8-10 2: Reciprocal Look at themselves through another person’s eyes and know others can do the same. Anticipate and consider other’s thoughts/feelings 10-12 3: Mutual Children can view their own perspective, a peer’s perspective, and their shared perspective from the view of a third person. 12+ Societal or in-depth Understand another’s perspective by comparing to a “generalized other”

Global Self-Esteem Self-esteem - The evaluative component of self that taps how positively or negatively people view themselves in relation to others Children who have high self-esteem view themselves as competent, capable, and are pleased with who they are Individuals with high self-esteem are happier than those with low self-esteem High self-esteem in childhood is linked to a variety of positive adjustment outcomes including school success, good relationships with parents and peers, and less anxiety and depression But, direction of effects is unclear

Domain-Specific Self-Esteem Five Domains of Self Perceptions Scholastic Ability Athletic Competence Physical Appearance Behavioral Conduct Social Acceptance Global Self-Esteem

Global Self-Esteem: Group Differences Gender Ethnicity/culture Age

Mean-Level Changes in Self-Esteem Explain the changes!! Age 15: Self-esteem decreases Mid-20’s: Self-esteem increases Age 65: Self-esteem decreases High SE LowSE 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 Age

Influences on Self-Esteem Family Peers Teachers and Mentors