Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Self and Personality
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Personality
• An organized combination of attributes,
motives, values, and behaviors
– Unique to each individual
– Traits
• consistent across situations and time
• Self-concept: perceptions
• Self esteem: evaluation
• Identity: overall sense of who you are
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Sigmund Freud
• Three parts of the personality
– Selfish Id; Rational Ego; Moralist Superego
• Stages of psychosexual development
– Biological: ends at sexual maturity
– Personality formed in first 5 years
– Child anxieties become adult traits
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Psychoanalytic
• Erik Erikson
– Emphasized
• Social influences
• Rational ego
• Life-span development
– Crisis-oriented stages result from
• Maturational forces
• Social demands
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Trait Theory
• Psychometric approach
– Personality: a set of traits
– Individual differences in each trait
– Measurement approach
– “Big Five” - Universal and stable
– Evidence of genetic basis
– Universal
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Social Learning Theory
• Personality
– A set of behavior tendencies
– Shaped by interactions
– Found in specific social situations
• No universal stages
• Not enduring traits
• People change as environment changes
• Situational influences important
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Infancy: The Emerging Self
• First 6 months: Discover physical self
• Joint attention – 9 months
– Difference in perceptions can be shared
• Self-recognition – 18 months
• Categorical self (age, sex) - 18 – 24 months
• Based on cognitive development
• Requires social experience
– The looking-glass self: a “reflection”
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Temperament
• Seen in infancy
• Genetically based
• Tendencies to respond in predictable ways
• Building blocks of personality
• Goodness of fit (Thomas & Chess)
– Parenting techniques
– Learning to interpret cues
– Sensitive responding
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
The Child
• Childhood “Self”
• By age 2
– Use of “I” “me” “mine”
– Use physical characteristics to describe
• By age 8
– Social identity
– Personality trait terms used
– Social comparison
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Self Esteem: Multidimentional
• By 3rd grade (Harter)
– Scholastic competence
– Social acceptance
– Behavioral conduct
– Athletic competence
– Physical appearance
• Accuracy improves with age
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Influences on Self-Esteem
• Competence Differences
• Social feedback – positive or negative
• Genetic
• Parents (cross-cultural)
– Warm and democratic
– Enforce clearly stated rules
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Early Temperament and Later Personality
• Some weak links found
– Shy 3 yr-olds become cautious teens
– Difficult 3 yr-olds remain difficult
– Well-adjusted 3 yr-olds also
• Current research
– Temperament and Big 5 related
– May carry-over into adulthood
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Adolescent Integration
• Different selves in different situations
• Storm and Stress in about 20%
• Move to middle school
– Often difficult
– Especially for females
• Most readily regain high self-esteem
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
A Sense of Identity
• Erikson: Identity vs. Role Confusion
• Adolescence
•
– Identity Crisis
– Moratorium
Marcia’s Identity Statuses (next slide)
– Diffusion
– Foreclosure
– Moratorium
– Achieved
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Influences on Identity Formation
• 1. Cognitive growth: formal operations
• 2. Relationships with parents
– Rejection except for diffusion status
– Identification w/parents first helps
– Foreclosure: may not develop own ID
– Achieved more likely if living independently
– Moratorium -> Identity Achieved
• Affection and freedom at home
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Influences on Identity 2
• 3. Experiences outside the home
– E.g., going to college
• 4. Broader cultural context
– Modern Western society
• Forge own ID after exploration of many
– Traditional societies
• Foreclosure may be more adaptive
• Vocational identity: Ginzberg
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Self-Concept and Aging
• Stable self-esteem generally good
• Ability to adjust ideal to real self
• Evaluate self with different standards
• Comparisons with age-mates
• Related to stable personality traits
• Collectivist vs Individualistic culture
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Changes in Personality
• Cross-sectional studies show changes
• Longitudinal/cross-cultural studies
– Adulthood: achievement and confidence
– Older adults
• Activity levels decline
• Introversion and introspection increase
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Costa & McRae: “The Big 5”
• Biologically based
•
– Cross-age consistency
Resistant to environmental changes
– Historical context influential
• Universal maturational change
– Achievement through middle adulthood
– Less N, E, and O
– More C and A
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Influences on Personality Change
• Effects of early experiences
• Stability of environment
• Gene-environment interaction
• Biological factors (disease)
• Social environment
• Poor person-environment fit
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Adulthood: Erikson and Research
• Men: Identity then Intimacy
• Women: Identity & Intimacy together
• Generativity supported
• Integrity supported
– Life review
• Path to adulthood
– EE: Eight stages of Development
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Midlife Crisis
• Stereotype
– Painful self-evaluation
– Dramatic life changes
– Desire to regain youth
• Erikson: Not really
• Levinson: questioning “Life Structure”
• Most evidence for trait stability – not change
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Vocational Development
• Young adults: career exploration
• 1982: average man held 7 jobs between ages
18 and 36
• Women: fewer children = better career
• Career peaks in 40’s
– Define self by their work
– Person/environment fit important
Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. Rider
Chapter 11
Older Workers and Retirement
• Older workers: competent and satisfied
– Selective optimization and compensation
• Retirement phases
– Preretirement: Planning
– Honeymoon: Novelty of lifestyle w/o work
– Disenchantment: Feel aimless, unhappy
– Reorientation: Realistic, satisfying lifestyle
• Activity vs. Disengagement theories