1. Development of Self
Chapter 6

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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
more complex descriptions - focus on abilities and interpersonal attributes, social comparison, global self-esteem
“I’m friendly,”

6. 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

7. 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: months old; rouge test

9. 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)

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

11. Influences on Self-Recognition
Female university students, 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)

12. 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

13. 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)

14. (Atance, Bernstein, & Meltzoff, 2010)

15. 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)

16. 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”

17. 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

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

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

20. 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
Age

21. Influences on Self-Esteem
Family
Peers
Teachers and Mentors