1. Chapter 12 Development of the Self and Social Cognition

2. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Self-Differentiation in Infancy –2 months – a limited sense of personal agency – they are responsible for some events

3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Self-Recognition in Infancy –Self-concept – who or what we are 5 months – recognize the self as familiar –Self-recognition Rouge test –18-24 months, most realized the person in the mirror was them –2 to 3 years, limited to present self –4 to 5 years, extended self

4. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT –Contributors to Self-Recognition Cognitive development is necessary Social experience –Secure attachment –Parents provide descriptive information Cultural differences –Younger self-recognition if autonomy was stressed

5. Figure 12.1 Average scores on a test of self-knowledge as a function of age and attachment quality. ADAPTED FROM PIPP, EASTERBROOKS, & HARMON, 1992.

6. Table 12.1 Proportion of mothers adopting different parenting styles with 3-month-olds and the proportion of those children achieving self-recognition when they were 18- to 20-months old. ADAPTED FROM KELLER ET AL., 2004.

7. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT –Social and Emotional Consequences of Self-Recognition Necessary for self-conscious emotions Infants become more socially skilled May begin to cooperate Begin to categorize themselves on dimensions of how people differ

8. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Who Am I? Responses of Preschool Children –3 ½ - 5 – use psychological dimensions Sociability Intelligence Athleticism –Tends to be stable over time

9. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Conceptions of Self in Middle Childhood and Adolescence –Becomes more abstract with age –Recognize they are not the same in all situations –May use false self behaviors – acting out of character to improve image, etc. –Becomes more integrated with age

10. Figure 12.2 Average number of inconsistent attributes reported by 13-, 15-, and 17-year-olds (panel A) and the percentages of 13-, 15-, and 17-year-olds who said they were confused or “mixed up” by these inconsistencies in their self-portraits (panel B). ADAPTED FROM HARTER & MONSOUR, 1992.

11. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT Cultural Influences on the Self-Concept –Self descriptors American students – more likely to be personal or individualistic Japanese students – more likely to be social or relational

12. Figure 12.3 Average percentages of personal/individualistic and social/relational attributes listed as core dimensions of the self-concept by American and Japanese students who responded to a “Who Am I?” questionnaire. ADAPTED FROM COUSINS, 1989.

13. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Origins and Development of Self-Esteem –4 – 5 years, an early, meaningful, stable sense of self-esteem Securely attached children more likely to have high sense of self-esteem Reasonably accurate with how others (teachers) evaluate their social competencies

14. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Components of Self-Esteem Academics, social acceptance, appearance, athleticism, and behavior –4 – 7 years – positive on all –8 years – based on others evaluation –Adolescence – relational self-worth, importance of relationships »Females – supportive friendships »Males – influencing friends

15. Figure 12.4 A multidimensional and hierarchical model of self-esteem. ADAPTED FROM HARTER, 1996.

16. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Changes in Self-Esteem Some children experience a decline into middle and high school Multiple stressors likely to contribute to declines Overall stability is lowest in childhood and early adolescence Relatively stable in late adolescence and early adulthood

17. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Social Contributors to Self-Esteem –Parenting Styles Warm, supporting, nurturing / democratic leads to high self-esteem –Peer Influences Social comparison, especially in individualistic societies Social support from peers – high esteem

18. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Culture, Ethnicity, and Self-Esteem Self-Esteem appears lower in collectivist societies –But being lower may make individuals feel good, as it is what society wants Ethnic minorities express lower levels of esteem in elementary school, but equal or higher by adolescence –Support and pride in ethnic group

19. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Development of Achievement Motivation and Academic Self-Concepts –Achievement motivation Willingness to strive to succeed at challenging tasks To meet standards of accomplishment –Mastery motive Inborn motivation to master the environment

20. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Early Origins of Achievement Motivation –Phase 1: Joy in Mastery Prior to 2 years, pleased with successes, but do not seek recognition, failures don’t matter –Phase 2: Approval-Seeking Near age 2, seek approval for successes, expect disapproval for failure

21. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Phase 3: Use of Standards Adopted objective standards –Pride after success, shame after failure –Less dependent on others evaluations

22. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Achievement Motivation During Middle Childhood and Adolescence –Home Influences on Mastery Motivation and Achievement Quality of attachment –Secure attachment results in being more self-assured, and comfortable about taking risks and seeking challenges

23. Figure 12.5 Scenes like this one were used by David McClelland and his associates to measure achievement motivation.

24. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF The home environment –66% of children from intellectually stimulating homes doing well in school »Led to intrinsic orientation to achievement –70% of children from unstimulating homes were doing poorly

25. Table 12.2 Relation between Quality of Home Environment at 12 Months of Age and Children’s Grade-School Academic Achievement 5 to 9 years later. SOURCE: Adapted from Doorninick, Caldwell, Wright, & Franenberg, 1981.

26. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Child-rearing and achievement –Independence training –Achievement training –Praising successes, not being overly critical of occasional failures aids achievement motivation –Authoritative parenting – style described above (warm, firm, democratic)

27. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Peer Group Influences African American and Latino peer groups in low-income areas may discourage academic achievement Parents value education, individuals may associate with peers sharing those values

28. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Cultural Influences Chinese children much more critical of personal failures in learning versus American children

29. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Beyond Achievement Motivation: Development of Achievement Attributions –Types of Achievement Attributions Ability – stable, internal Task difficulty - stable, external Effort – unstable, internal Luck - unstable, external

30. Table 12.3 Weiner’s Classification of the Causes of Achievement Outcomes (and Explanations of How You Might Explain a Terrible Test Grade).

31. Figure 12.6 An overview of Weiner’s attribution theory of achievement.

32. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF –Age Differences in Achievement-Related Attributions Prior to age 7, unrealistically optimistic –Incremental view of ability: ability is changeable and increases with effort 8-12 – distinguish ability from effort –Entity view of ability: ability is a stable trait

33. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF Dweck’s Learned-Helplessness Theory –Mastery orientation: attribute successes to ability, externalize failures or attribute them to unstable causes Persist after failure, increase effort –Learned helplessness orientation: attribute failures to stable and internal factor Stops trying Tends to persist over time

34. Figure 12.7 Characteristics of the mastery-oriented and learned-helplessness achievement orientations.

35. SELF-ESTEEM: THE EVALUATIVE COMPONENT OF SELF How does learned helplessness develop? –Praise hard work if child succeeds, and criticize ability when failure occurs –Want to criticize lack of effort when failure occurs –Can be changed relatively easily through attribution retraining

36. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY Identity – firm and coherent sense of who one is, where one is heading, and where one fits into society –Identity diffusion: not yet thought about or resolved identity issues –Foreclosure: committed to identity but without a crisis of decision

37. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY –Moratorium: identity crisis, actively asking questions and seeking answers –Identity achievement: resolved identity issues by making personal commitments to goals, beliefs, and values

38. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY Developmental Trends in Identity Formation –12-18 – majority are identity diffused or foreclosed –21 and older – moratorium status or achieved a stable identity Women place more importance on sexuality, gender roles, family/career –Likely to be at different statuses in different domains

39. Figure 12.8 Percentages of participants in each of Marcia’s four identity statuses as a function of age. Note that resolution of the identity crisis occurs much later than Erickson assumed: Only 4 percent of the 15-year-olds and 20 percent of the 18-year-olds had achieved a stable identity. FROM MEILMAN, 1979.

40. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY How Painful Is Identity Formation? –Moratorium - not a stressful status –Identity achievement – healthy, leads to higher self-esteem, fewer personal concerns than other statuses –Long-term failure to establish an identity is negative Small minority of adolescents

41. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY Influences on Identity Formation –Cognitive Influences – formal-operational thought helps imaging and contemplate future identities –Parenting Influences Being neglected/rejected = diffused Too controlling = foreclosed Affection, mutual respect = moratorium, achievement

42. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY –Scholastic Influences College pushes people toward career setting College students behind working peers in terms of political or religious identities –Social-Cultural Influences Desire to choose a personal identity after exploration may only apply in industrialized societies today

43. WHO AM I TO BE?: FORGING AN IDENTITY Identity Formation Among Minority Youth –Deciding to establish an ethnic identity Once achieved –Higher self-esteem, relationships with parents and peers of other ethnicities Parents need to –Teach traditions and foster pride –Prepare children to handle prejudice –Be warm and supportive confidants

44. Table 12.4 Based on a sample of 1,989 adolescents, the data show the percent of multiracial adolescents (based on their parent’s races) who self-identified with each single race, and those who refused to self-identify with a single race. ADAPTED FROM HERMANN, 2004.

45. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS Age Trends in Person Perception –Younger than 7-8, characterize people in same concrete, observable terms used to describe the self –4-6 are capable of thinking about traits in meaningful ways Less likely to think they are stable Traits are used to describe recent behavior

46. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS –6-8: used many behavioral comparisons –8-11: rapid increase in psychological constructs (traits) –12-16: use of psychological comparisons –14-16: recognize dispositional similarities, and situational factors both affect behavior

47. Figure 12.9 Percentages of descriptive statements classified as behavioral comparisons, psychological (traitlike) constructs, and psychological comparisons for children between ages 6 and 11. FROM BARENBOIM, 1981.

48. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS Theories of Social-Cognitive Development –Cognitive Theories of Social Cognition Cognitive-development theory –Growth of social-cognitive abilities is related to cognitive development Selman’s role-taking theory –Role-taking skills allow one to assume a different perspective –Developmental sequence

49. Table 12.5 Selman’s stages of social perspective taking.

50. Table 12.5 Selman’s stages of social perspective taking.(continued)

51. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS Role-taking and thinking about relationships –Preschool – any positive interaction equals a friendship –6-8 years – common activities and one-way friendships –8-10 – reciprocal friendships –Adolescence – exchange of intimate thoughts or feelings

52. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS –Social Influences on Social-Cognitive Development Social experience as a contributor to role-taking –Equal-status contacts with friends and peers are important

53. THE OTHER SIDE OF SOCIAL COGNITION: KNOWING ABOUT OTHERS Social experience as a direct contributor to person perception –Experience with others teaches what others are like »Motivation and practice to understand others