The Self
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida
The Self
• Development of identity grounded in:
– Cognitive development
• Emergence of self reflection on emotions and
relationships
– Experiences with peers & family
• Changing roles, expectations & responsibilities
– Experiences with culture at large
• Changing expectations in autonomy (broad
socialization) & interdependence (narrow
socialization)
The Selves
• Ideal Self—the optimal state of the
individual
• Actual Self—reality
• Possible Self—likely outcome
• Feared Self—worst possible
• False Self—one’s image management
Identity and Self
• Self Concept:
– Generalized view of self
• Childhood—more physical
• Adolescence—more psychological
• Social Comparison
– Estimation based on social comparisons
– Upward comparison: realistic comparison can
lead to improved functioning; unrealistic
comparison can lead to frustration
– Downward comparison: can lead to lower
efforts to improve
Identity and Self
• Outcome of Social Comparison:
– Baseline Self Esteem
• Ambient level of evaluation
• Stable yet malleable
– Barometric Self Esteem—
• Moment to moment/day to day sense of self
evaluation
• Contextually determined
Identity and Self
• Outcome of Social Comparison: Self Esteem
– Harter’s work: Perceived Competence
• Eight scales (pg. 152)
• Scale with highest impact is physical appearance
– Impacts females more than males
– Peers & Families tend to relate to which domains are more
influential
• Issues surrounding self esteem/social
comparison tends to be more focused in USA
culture
Identity and Self
• Emotionality and Identity Development:
– Neurological Basis:
• Amygdala more active than frontal lobes in adolescents
• Frontal lobe more active than amygdala in adults
– Higher reports of negative emotions (self-
conscious; embarrassed; lonely)
• Likely based on multiple life changes with onset of
adolescence (e.g. school, family, peers)
• Feminine girls reported less sense of voice than
any other group
Identity: Key Constructs
• Autonomy
– A sense that the individual participates
actively and with some degree of control in
decision-making:
• About self
• In interactions with others
– Patterns of family interactions inhibit or
enhance this decision-making
Identity: Key Constructs
• Individuation:
– As adolescents make decisions and
experience consequences they begin to
define themselves as different from others
– Adolescents begin to separate the affective
element of an event and the intellectual
analysis of that event
Identity: Key Constructs
• Individuation (cont’d)
– Families impact this process
• Allowing decision-making within boundaries
supports the process of individuation
• Openness of emotions within family supports this
process
• Supporting exploration within boundaries can lead
to free but cautious explorations by the adolescent
• Positive outcomes follow from a balance of
independence and familial closeness
Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev.
• Fifth stage in Erikson’s psychosocial
theory of development
• Individual has likely acquired major tools
of the culture
• Emphasis shifts to establishing an identity
separate from but related to family of
origin
Erikson’s Perspective on Identity Dev.
• Explorations beyond the family system
increase and provide a sampling of
alternatives to that family system
• Individuals who explore and internalize a
set of values, beliefs, expectations, and
norms will likely reach an identity achieved
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Major constructs:
– Commitment: construction of a relatively
stable set of values, beliefs, roles, norms, and
expectations
– Exploration: behaviorally or vicariously
seeking out experiences typically beyond the
family or origin
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Diffused
– Neither committed nor engaged in
exploration;
– May have some explorations but more of a
―meandering rather than intentional
exploration
– Seem to be more of a carefree drifting than
exploration.
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Foreclosed—
– Committed to an identity without significant
exploration;
– Focused on well defined goals
– Behavior conforms to expectations of
authority
– Lack flexibility and can be defensive
– Adopt values, beliefs, etc. of authority figures
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity Moratorium
– Engaged in exploration of roles, values, etc.
– Tend to move between conformity and
rebellion
– Tend to be more anxious than other statuses
Marcia’s Identity Status Model
• Identity achieved
– Tend to have resolved questions about their
own values, norms, etc.
– More thoughtful and introspective
– Can explain their explorations and choices
– Perform well under stress
– Tend to resolve moral dilemmas at high levels
of moral reasoning
Domains of Exploration
• Gender Role/Sexual Identity
• Ideological/Political/Theological
• Career
• Interpersonal (may be beyond gender role)
Intimacy/Isolation: Emerging Adlthd
• Erikson’s 6th Stage: Intimacy vs. Isolation
– Forming a close and committed relationship
– Beyond sexual intimacy to emotional intimacy
– Based on sharing with another without losing one’s
own identity
– Typically is observed during emerging adulthood
Postmodernism and Identity
• One’s Achieved identity is
– More malleable
– Grounded in Situational and Temporal
variables
– Requires a longer course of time
Ethnic Minority Identity Development
• Defining Minority Status
• Phenny’s Work
– Stages of Ethnic Identity Development based
on:
• Interaction with the dominant culture
• Interaction with one’s own culture
• Internalization of ethnic and cultural values, beliefs,
& traditions
Ethnic Minority Identity Development
• Cross’s Stages (Vandiver, Cross, Worrell,
& Fhagen-Smith, 2002):
– Pre-encounter: Assimilation & Self-Hatred
– Encounter: Experience of events leading to
reexamination of ethnic perspective
Ethnic Minority Identity Development:
Cross (cont’d)
– Immersion-Emersion: deep immersion into
one’s own culture and potential hatred of the
other
– Internalization-Commitment: self acceptance,
other acceptance; bi-cultural
Evaluating the Self
• Perceived Self-Efficacy: The perception
that some outcome can be achieved
through current knowledge and skills or
knowledge and skills that can be obtained
Strategies for encouraging perceived
self efficacy
• Mastery Experiences—opportunities to succeed
given challenging but attainable goals
• Vicarious Learning—observing others similar to
oneself acting and attaining goals
Strategies for encouraging perceived
self efficacy
• Verbal/Social persuasion—encouragement and
instructional (not evaluative) feedback
• Positive Affective Environment—experiences of
attempting challenging tasks with instructional
not evaluative feedback; encouragement of
attempting tasks, not simply succeeding;
Relationship between Self-Efficacy
and Identity
• mood regulation, and generalized self-
efficacy were (as expected) important
codeterminants of late-adolescent identity
among women, and men’s late adolescent
identity (Lopes et al, 1992)
Relationship between Self-Efficacy
and Identity
• It was found that identity exploration and
commitment, self-efficacy, control, and
responsibility were predictive of future
orientation. For younger adolescents,
greater perceived control and
responsibility was related to a stronger
future orientation. (Kerpelman & Mosher,
2004)
The Self Alone
• Two aspects:
– Social Loneliness: number of social contacts
– Emotional Loneliness: quality of social
contacts
• Emotional Loneliness predictive of
negative outcomes
– Emerging adulthood has higher levels of
emotional loneliness than either adolescence
or adulthood.
Discussion Questions
• List 4-5 terms you would use to describe
yourself as you remember it during middle
school.
• List 4-5 terms you would use to describe
yourself as you are now
• Compare the two lists and describe how
they are alike and how they are similar.