1. A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development 6e
Chapter Eleven:
The Self, Identity, and Personality
John W. Santrock

2. The Self Self-understanding Self: All characteristics of a person
Self-understanding, self-esteem, self-concept
Identity: Who a person is, representing a synthesis of self-understanding
Personality: Individuals’ enduring personal characteristics

3. The Self Self-understanding Infancy:
Cognitive representation of the self, substance of self conceptions
Infancy:
Visual self-recognition tests infants
Emerges gradually up to age 2; first in mirror
By age 3: forms of self-awareness include "mine, me big, me do it"

4. Figure 11.1 - Self-Recognition in Infancy

5. The Self Self-understanding and early childhood
More psychologically aware of self and others
Self-recognition includes visual and verbal
Five main characteristics of self-understanding
Confusion of self, mind, and body
Self described in size, shape, color, etc.

6. The Self Self-understanding in childhood
Five main characteristics of self-understanding
Concrete descriptions: “I live in a big house”
Physical descriptions: “I’m not tall like her”
Active descriptions: "I can play games”
Unrealistic positive overestimations: “I know my ABCs” when s/he doesn’t know them
Occurs in older children as social comparison

7. The Self Self-understanding Early childhood and understanding others
By age 4: realize others make untrue statements to get something or avoid trouble
Individual differences in social understanding; some linked to caregivers’ conversations
More aware of others’ feelings, desires

8. The Self Self-understanding Middle and Late Childhood
Increased awareness of social standing
Self-understanding becomes more complex
Understanding others
Realize others have access to more information
Assume others understand them, too.

9. The Self Self-understanding
Perspective-taking: Ability to assume another’s perspective and understand his or her thoughts and feelings
Important in children developing prosocial and antisocial attitudes and behaviors
Affects peer status and quality of friendships

10. The Self Middle and Late Childhood
Self-understanding: five key changes
Internal characteristics emphasized
More referencing in social descriptions
More use of social comparisons
Distinguish between real self and ideal self
Realistic in self-evaluations

11. The Self Self-understanding in adolescence Abstract and idealistic
Self-conscious; preoccupied with self
Contradictions within the self: has multiple roles
Fluctuating self over time and situations
Real and ideal selves: constructed, compared
Thoughts of “possible selves”
Self-integration in sense of identity

12. The Self Self-understanding in adulthood Self-Awareness
Awareness of strengths and weaknesses
Possible Selves
What one could or wanted to be, afraid to be
Life Review
Review, evaluate life’s successes and failures
Can be intense, quiet; common in old age

13. The Self Self-esteem and self-concept
Self-esteem: Self-worth, self-image
Refers to global self-evaluation
Self-concept: Domain-specific evaluations of self
Distinct: not really interchangeable

14. The Self Issues in self-esteem
Modest correlation with school performance
Linked to job performance; correlations vary
Related to perceived physical appearance across life-span
Depression lowers high self-esteem
Self-esteem in adolescence appears linked to adjustment and competencies in adulthood

15. The Self Issues in self-esteem Narcissism: Too much self-esteem
Self-centered, self-concerned, conceited
Lack of awareness linked to adjustment problems
Happiness strongly linked to self-esteem

16. The Self Developmental changes in self-esteem
Childhood and adolescence
Self-evaluation accuracy increases across elementary school years; more realistic
Majority of adolescents have positive self-image cross-culturally
Girls: small decreases in self-esteem may be related to relationship authenticity

17. The Self Developmental changes in self-esteem
Concern today: Unmerited praise as child linked to inflated self-esteem in college students; difficulty handling competition and criticism
Adulthood
Results vary on self-esteem decreasing
Individual coping skills affects perceptions of changes, events; social context matters

18. Figure 11.3 - Self-Esteem Across the Lifespan

19. The Self Developmental changes in self-esteem Adulthood: Older adults
Emotion-related goals increase
Health evaluation based on peer comparisons
May help maintain positive self-image
Low self-esteem linked to being widowed or institutionalized; experiencing physical decline/impairment; low religious commitment

20. The Self Strategies for increasing self-esteem
Identify causes of low self-esteem
Provide/seek emotional support, social approval
Develop self-confidence and initiative
Achieve
Develop coping skills

21. The Self Self-regulation
Ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on others for help
Includes self-generation and cognitive monitoring of thoughts
Self-regulation linked to higher achievement and satisfaction over the lifespan

22. The Self Self-regulation: Infancy and early childhood
12 to 18 mons.: Depend on caregivers for reminder signals about acceptable behaviors
2 to 3 yrs: Begin to comply with the caregiver’s expectations in the absence of monitoring
Preschool: Learn to resist temptation and give themselves instructions that keep them focused

23. The Self Self-regulation: Middle/late childhood and adolescence
Capacity for self-regulation increases
Few studies done on adolescents
Increased self-control, introspection, risk-taking
More independence, advanced cognitive skills
Better at delaying gratification
More social comparison may increase risks

24. The Self Self-regulation: Adulthood
Increase in self control in middle years
Older adults have decline in perceived self-control
Aware of age-related losses
Decline of physical and cognitive skills may be buffered by flexible adaptation
Selective optimization with compensation effective when pursuing successful outcomes

25. The Self Self-regulation Selective Optimization with Compensation
Selection: Reduction in performance
Optimization: Continue practice, use of technology
Compensation: Concealment; offsetting or counterbalancing a deficiency

26. The Self Self-regulation: Personal control Primary control striving
Try to change external world for needs and desires
Attain personal goals, overcome obstacles
Secondary control striving
Targets one’s inner worlds: motivation, emotion, and mental representation

27. Figure 11.5 - Changes in Primary and Secondary Control Strategies Across the Life Span

28. Identity What is identity? A self-portrait composed of many pieces
Vocational/career, political, religious
Relationship, achievement/intellectual
Cultural/ethnic, sexual, physical
Personality and interests

29. Identity Erikson’s view Need to understand adolescent development
Identity versus identity confusion
Adolescents examine who they are, what they are about, and where they are going in life
Psychosocial moratorium
Gap between childhood security and adult autonomy, part of exploration for identity

30. Identity Contemporary thoughts on identity
Lengthy process, gradual and not crisis
Begins as attachment in infancy
Involves commitment/purpose, making decisions
Years of physical, cognitive, socioemotional development can be merged into one path
Some emerge with multiple identities
Concerns today: many not resolving identity

31. Identity Developmental changes Identity statuses by Marcia
Crisis: Period for exploring alternative identities
Commitment: Personal investment in identity
Young adolescents primarily in statuses of diffusion, foreclosure, or moratorium

32. Figure 11.6 - Marcia’s Identity Statuses

33. Identity Developmental changes Early adolescence to adulthood
Key changes occur in early adulthood
Most dramatic change — vocational
Increased complexity in reasoning, experiences
Increased freedom has impact
Higher education linked to positive outcomes
Identity consolidation complete in middle age

34. Identity Family influences Individuality: Two dimensions
Self-assertion: Ability to have, give opinions
Separateness: Communicates individuality
Connectedness: Two dimensions
Mutuality: Respect, sensitivity to others’ views
Permeability: Openness to others’ views

35. Identity Ethnic identity
Ethnic minority groups struggle to blend into dominant culture and keep cultural identities
Enduring aspect of self with sense of membership in ethnic group; related attitudes and feelings
Affected by sociocultural contexts
Positive ethnic identity linked to:
HS achievement, low aggression, good coping
Affected by higher education

36. Personality Definition: Enduring personal characteristics
Trait theories
Traits: Ways to describe a person by behaviors
Basic units/building blocks of personality
Five big factors: OCEAN
Led to advancements in assessing personality
Most believe personality is result of trait-situation interaction

37. Figure 11.7 - Big Five Factors of Personality

38. Personality Views on adult personality development
Stage crisis view: Erikson, Levinson
Levinson’s seasons of a man’s life
Stage and transitions occur in life span
Tasks/crisis in each stage shape personality
Levinson’s midlife crisis in 40s: try to cope with gap between past and future
Vaillant’s Grant Study

39. Levinson’s Seasons of Life
Early Adult Transition: 17 to 22
Entry life structure for early adulthood: 22 to 28
Age 30 transition: 28 to 33
Culminating life structure for early adulthood: 33 to 40
Middle Adult Transition: ages 40 to 45
Entry life structure for middle adulthood: 45 to 50
Age 50 transition: 50 to 55
Culminating life structure for middle adulthood: 55 to 60
Era of late adulthood: 60 to ?
Late Adult Transition: 60 to 65

40. Personality Individual variations
Individuals have different experiences, ways of adapting, expectations, perceptions of needs, and giving meaning to one’s life
Stage theories stress stage crises too much
Too much emphasis on midlife crisis
Great variation in how individuals experience stages (coping abilities, emotions)

41. Figure 11.9 - Emotional Instability and Age

42. Personality Life events approach Alternative to stage approach
Contemporary life-events approach
How a life event influences individual’s development depends on
The life event
Individual’s adaptation to the life event
Life-stage context
Sociohistorical context

43. Figure 11.14 - Life Events Framework

44. Personality Generativity Erikson’s generativity versus stagnation
Seventh stage; important dimension in middle age
Generativity: Taking care of next generation
Middle-aged adults develop in many ways
Stagnation
Self-absorption, develops when one senses s/he has done nothing for next generation

45. Figure 11.12 - Changes in Generativity from the Thirties to the Fifties

46. Personality Stability and change
Many longitudinal studies have found evidence for both change and stability in personality in adulthood
Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study
Stability of big five factors in college educated
Berkley Longitudinal Studies
Helson’s Mills College Study
Vaillant’s studies

47. Personality Cumulative Personality Model
With time and age, people become more adept at interacting with environment in ways that promote stability
Overall, personality is affected by
Social contexts
New experiences
Sociohistorical changes

48. Figure 11.13 - Links Between Characteristics at Age 50 and Health and Happiness at Ages 75-80

49. The End