1. PSYC 1040: Developmental Psychology
Week 8: October 26, 2011
Middle Childhood & Adolescence:
Self Concept & Identity Development

2. Self Concept
Between 6 & 12 years children develop increased understanding of themselves
Consists of two components
Psychological self
Understanding of enduring psychological characteristics
Unique characteristics
Self-judgments of competency
Valued self
Self Esteem based on evaluative judgments
Influenced by mental comparisons of ideal selves with actual experiences

3. Identity Development
Begins with an infant’s discovery of self, continues through childhood with the realization that they are a separate and unique individual and becomes a focus during adolescence.

4. Identity Development
During childhood, self- awareness grows and changes.
Preschoolers describe themselves in terms of observable behaviours including physical attributes, preferences, and competencies.
School-aged children begin to acknowledge and talk about their feelings and how they fit into the social world.
Exploring skills, abilities, attitudes incorporate this into view of self

5. Identity Development
Erik Erickson (psychosocial theorist) claimed that the goal of adolescence is achieving a coherent identity and avoiding identity confusion. Identity is multidimensional and may include physical and sexual identity, occupational goals, religious beliefs and ethnic background. During adolescence we explore these dimensions and make commitments to aspects of our identity.

6. Identity Development
During adolescence description of self expands to include personality traits and attitudes. The development of abstract reasoning allows adolescents to think about the future and experiment with different identities

7. Identity Development
Who Am I?

8. Identity Development Who Am I?
As we develop from childhood our self-descriptions become more complex and comparative, centered on feelings and ideas and less focused on external or surface traits.

9. Identity Development Halloween Costumes and construction of identity.

10. Identity Development
The Pink Dragon is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers “On the surface the selection and purchase of Halloween costumes for use by children may simply appear to facilitate their participation in the world of fantasy play”

11. Identity Development
The Pink Dragon is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers Costumes can be classified as masculine, feminine or gender neutral. What are some examples of costumes that fall into these three categories?

12. Identity Development
The Pink Dragon is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers
Costumes further categorized using Klapp’s schema representing three dimensions of human behaviour:
Heroes – praised and function as positive role models
Invite feelings of awe, admiration & respect
Includes traditional heroes, individuals of high occupational status & prosocial conformity to traditional gender roles
Villains – negative and representing evil or something to be feared
Elicit feelings of fear and loathing
Includes symbolic representations of death, monsters, and anti-heroes
Fools – negative and representing figures of absurdity and ridicule
Evoke feelings of laughter and perceptions of cuteness
Includes figures of mirth (clowns) and non-human / inanimate objects

13. Identity Development
The Pink Dragon is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers
Most societies have some form of masking, costuming or dress up. Why do you think this is?
What influences our choice of costumes?
What do these costumes say about us?

14. Take Home Quiz
Esther Entin’s article in The Atlantic “All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids are More Anxious, Depressed” looks at how the concept of play has changed in society. The Research Report in Chapter 9: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood of your textbook “The Effects of Video Games” looks at some of the effects of video games on development. Using examples from your text book together with your own insights and experiences discuss how play is important in the developmental process and in what ways (positive and / or negative) video games have changed the nature of play. Consider cognitive, social, psychological and physical development in your answer. You may wish to include other sources or research in your response. Make sure you credit and reference any sources used. Your responses should be approximately 3 – 5 double spaced pages.