2. • How we see & evaluate ourselves over the
lifespan.
• How we go about choosing our life’s work.
• Developing positive & negative self-view.
• Social comparison & self-view.
• Work & identity.
• Why we work.
• Choosing a career.
• Problems of work & self.
4. • We are not born with a sense of self it is a
learned concept.
• self-awareness- knowledge of oneself.
5. • Rouge Test: red makeup on a baby’s
forehead, placed in front of a mirror.
• 17-24 months onset of recognition of self.
(Gallup, 1977).
6. • Culture affects age of self-recognition.
• Greece- autonomy emphasized, early onset.
• Cameroon- interdependent, later onset
(Keller et al., 2004).
7. • Theory of Mind
• An infant’s perspective of the mental lives of
others—and themselves.
• First distinction is that other people are capable of
compliance to one’s desires.
• Infants begin to realize
• Intentionality & causality (meaning in the actions
of others).
OTHERS AS COMPLIANT AGENTS
8. • By 2 years old infants demonstrate empathy.
• At 24 months, infants can show concern &
comfort others.
• 1 year-olds can identify emotional cues of person
on TV.
• When pre-school age children are asked what
makes them different from others they give
physical answers,”I’m a good runner” .
9. • Children’s self-concept are unrealistic, they
overestimate their skills & knowledge. They
expect to win every game they play, view
the future as a great success.
10. • Culture & Self-Concept
• Collectivist orientation of the self-
responsibility to others
• Identity based on fitting in.
11. • Individualistic orientation of the self-
competitive & self-concerned
• Identity based on standing out.
• captivation-in-an-acceptedness- not overtly
learned, but absorbed through the structure
of the culture (Husserl).
12. • Self-concept, attitude toward gender, race,
& ethnicity
• gender- sense of maleness or femaleness
• Established by the preschool years.
13. • Personal & academic self-view
• Personal self-view
• 1. looks
• 2. peer relations
• 3. physical ability
• Academic self-view
• 1. English
• 2. Math
• 3. nonacademic (music & art)
14. • ADOLESCENCE
• Erikson: Identity versus role confusion
• Adolescents typically describe how they
think others view them (Harter, 1990).
18. • racial awareness in pre-school age. 3-4
years
• meaning attribution to physical features
comes later. (arbitrary good/bad, us/them)
• race dissonance- preferring characteristics
of centralized other.
19. • Minority/Majority –versus-
centralized/marginalized
• 90% of African-American children showed
preference for lighter skinned images
(Holland, 1994).
• Ethnic Identity emerges later than racial
identity (Bernal, 1994).
20. • MIDDLE CHILDHOOD & ADOLESCENCE
• Middle childhood actively seeking, “who am I?”
• Erikson Industry vs. Inferiority
• self-view shifts from physical characteristics to
psychological sense.
21. • Personal & academic self-view
• Personal self-view
• 1. looks
• 2. peer relations
• 3. physical ability
• Academic self-view
• 1. English
• 2. Math
• 3. nonacademic (music & art)
22. • ADOLESCENCE
• Erikson: Identity versus role confusion
• Adolescents typically describe how they think
others view them (Harter, 1990).
• Struggle between ideal self & real self (Adler).
• Friends & peers become increasingly important.
24. • Marcia’s elaboration on Erikson’s Identity
versus Role Confusion
• An adolescent can be focused on crisis
(choosing between) or commitment
(investing in an ideology).
• Marcia views commitment as healthful.
25. • Marcia’s 4 categoris of identity
• 1. identity achievement -decided on a self, passed
through alternatives.
• 2. identity foreclosure- committed to an identity
without crisis of alternatives.
• 3. moratorium- not decided on a self
• 4. identity diffusion- not exploring or committing
to a sense of self.
26. • ADULTHOOD
Life events shape & reshape sense of self in
adulthood
• marriage, love, hate, divorce, health, death,
economy, profession, education, regret,
children
27. • social clock- culture-specific, sense of “should” in
adult life.
• milestones measured against others & cultural
norms.
• 20s, middle class: education, career, marriage,
family.
• Women’s social clocks- family social clock, career
social clock, or individualistic social clock.
(Helson, 1960s-2006)
28. • Women assessed at 21, 27, & 43 (Helson)
become more disciplined & committed to
their pursuits. Greater independence, &
cope with stress and adversity more
effectively.
29. • Traditional feminine behavior (21-27) find
a spouse, have a child (Helson).
• For women, it is not which path is pursued,
but rather, how dedicated to their pursuit
that determines contentedness in adulthood.
30. • Work & adult sense of self.
• Career consolidation (Valliant, 1930s)- (20-40
years) centered on careers.
• 20s influenced by parent’s authority
• 30s greater autonomy with own family & career
• Typically hard workers, rule-followers,
conforming to professional norms.
• Erikson- Intimacy versus isolation
34. • Middle childhood & adolescence- different
self-esteems (academic, physical, social,
athletic, musical).
• Adult self-esteem- how we manage the
transition from being cared for to being
caretakers.
35. • Race & self esteem
• Clark & Clark (1947) lower self-esteem
amongst minority groups.
• A shift in adulthood with a sense of pride in
ethnicity.
36. • Social Identity Theory- members of a
minority group will only accept negative
views if they have a sense that it is
impossible to change the situation.
37. • Gender differences & self-esteem
• Adolescence- girls have lower self esteem
than boys (Watkins et al., 1997)
• Girls more concerned with physical
appearance at this age.
• Boys focus on rejection from females &
athletic prowess.
38. • Socio Economic Status & self-esteem
• Typically lower SES is correlated with
lower self-esteem in adolescents.
39. • Social Comparison- comparing our abilities
to that of others (Leon Festinger, 1954)
• We compare ourselves mostly to those who
share our qualities (age, gender, etc…)
40. • Downward Social Comparison- self-esteem
enhanced through comparing to those less
competent in an area.
