Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
Clark University
Cultural-Developmental questions
 When and how does the dialogical self emerge?
 How does it change with age and stage?
 Socialization/Acculturation.
 Not just a dialogue; a battle: The Will vs. the Other.
 Two Others: External Other and Internalized Other.
 What is the range of cultural variation?
Neonatal period (early weeks)
 Is there a self? Some (dim) awareness of self-other
distinction (sound, smell, touch).
 Communication with others, shared routines, but no
internal self-dialogue.
Infancy
st
(1
year)
 Attachments to Others.
 Greater bodily self-other awareness; mobility,
intentional behavior.
 Comprehension of language; limited production.
 Socialization: The Will vs. the Other: NO! Esp. once
mobility begins.
 Cultural variations: Carried v. mobile.
Todderhood (years 2-3)
 Mastery of language.
 Birth of self-recognition: the red-nose test.
 Cultural requirements for self-regulation: toilet
training, mobility, aggression.
 The internalized Other: “A garrison in a conquered
city.” (Freud)
 Sociomoral emotions: guilt, shame.
Toddlerhood
 Evading the Other.
 Lene: Miles, stop hitting the tree with that stick, you’re
damaging it.
 Miles (age 2): How about if I go someplace where you
can’t see me?
 Lene: No, that still won’t do.
 Miles: How about if I go someplace where I can’t see
you?
Early childhood (ages 3-6)
 Cultural moral socialization advances via physical and
psychological control.
 Rising expectations for self-regulation.
 Cultural variations: self-esteem v. humility.
 Shweder: by age 5, morally wrong in India to eat beef;
morally right for father’s inheritance to go to son (not
daughter); in the U.S., the reverse.
Early childhood
 Evading the Other.
 Jeff: Who scratched the leather chair?!
 Paris (age 4): It wasn’t us, Dad.
 Jeff: Well, then, who was it?
 Paris: Santa Claus.
Middle childhood (ages 6-10)
 “School-age” means rising requirements for self-
regulation.
 Relatively uncomplicated internal life; the Will
subdued by the Other (temporarily); compliant and
happy.
Adolescence (ages 11-17)
 Puberty  sexual Will.
 Cognitive development: self-reflection, identity.
 Self differentiation: actual, possible, ideal, feared,
false.
 The Will vs. the Other: sex, aggression, substance use,
crime.
 More advanced Theory of Mind  better at evading
the Other. What lie will you buy?
 Cultural variations: greater restriction or greater
freedom?
Emerging adulthood (ages 18-29)
 Family ties diminished; new social roles not yet





established.
The Will unleashed: Nadir of the Other.
Evading the Other: Deception and self-deception
(throughout adulthood).
Peak of risk behavior: substance use, sexual behavior,
crime.
Self-esteem rises.
Cultural variations: self-focused vs. family obligations.
Young adulthood (ages 30-45)
 The Other returns: Stable adult roles in love and work.
 Peak intensity of family and work responsibilities.
 Peak of community involvement.
 Becoming the Other.
 Cultural variations: How much of the Will is
subsumed, in love and work? Soul mate marriage and
identity-based work vs. arranged marriage and work as
duty.
Middle adulthood (ages 46-65)
 Peak of expertise, authority.
 The Will vs. the Other subsides: stability in love and
work, rising well-being.
 Cultural variations: Social responsibilities vs.
individual goals.
Late adulthood (beyond age 65)
 Withdrawal from social roles.
 Diminished position as the Other.
 The Will fades.
 Well-being rises still further: Peace at last.
 Cultural variations: How dependent? How
autonomous?
Concluding suggestions
 More attention to developmental changes in the DS.
 More attention to the role of socialization in the
development of the DS.
 The Will vs. the Other.
 Internal conflicts between competing aspects of the
Self.