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The Self

The Self. The science behind “who am I?”. Three components to the self. Self-concept Self-esteem Social identity. Three components to the self. Beginning in infancy, we develop sense of self. Then we evaluate events and objects in the world.

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The Self

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  1. The Self The science behind “who am I?”

  2. Three components to the self • Self-concept • Self-esteem • Social identity

  3. Three components to the self • Beginning in infancy, we develop sense of self. • Then we evaluate events and objects in the world. • Finally, we determine the self that is shown to other people.

  4. Development of the self-concept • Distinction made in infancy between own body and everything else. • Around 2 years expectations are noticed. • 2-3 years, sex and age are identified. • Exploration • 3-12, self-concepts are based mainly on developing talents and skills.

  5. Development of the self concept • Compared to children, adolescents have a more differentiated self. They exhibit abstract thinking. • Teenagers differentiate between their own opinions of the self and that of others. • E.g. “people think I am shy..” • Their newly minted cognitive skills can create some problems….video clip.

  6. Development of self-concept • Erikson: Identity vs. identity diffusion occurs in adolescence • Erikson argued a need for a psychosocial moratorium. • Role play • Problems with identity development: • Identity diffusion (Catcher in the Rye) • Identify foreclosure • Negative identity

  7. Self-schemata • People have different different ideas of the self that guide behavior. • Therapy may guide a person to change their vision. • Remember that a differentiated self is helpful to mental health and well-being.

  8. Self-esteem • Floccinaucinihilipilification: The action or habit of estimating as worthless.

  9. Self-esteem • Is literally defined by how much value people place on themselves (Baumeister). • It does lead to greater happiness. • It does lead to persistence. • It is not a direct cause of violence, quality of relationships, or good school performance. • Remember third variables and direction of causation.

  10. Self-esteem • Attribution to prejudice, in-group comparison, and selective valuation may protect the self-esteem of minority group members. • Some Asian cultures do not value self-esteem. • Albert Ellis: “Self-esteem is the greatest sickness known to man or woman because its conditional.”

  11. Self-esteem • Problems and challenges: • Measurement • Heterogeneity • Perhaps study pattern of scores across multiple instruments. • Self-esteem variability • E.g. high but unstable self-esteem, score higher on measures of hostility than people with low self-esteem.

  12. Social identity • Continuity is necessary for a healthy personality. • Personality disorders = lack of continuity. • Strength of identity is an individual difference. • There is no universal identity crisis either in adolescence or midlife.

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