Psikologi Anak
Pertemuan 7
The self, identity, and gender
development
SELF
• All the Characteristics of the Person
• Self-concept: everything the person believes to be
true about him/herself
• Includes traits, preferences, social roles, values,
beliefs, interests, self-categorization
• Self-understanding develops throughout the
lifespan
Infancy
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Dot-of-rouge experiment
Recognize selves in mirror at 15-18 months 15-23 months
Personal pronoun use
Picture recognition
Self-referencing, ownership, self-monitoring
Early childhood
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Confusion of self, mind, and body
Concrete descriptions
Physical descriptions
Activities – what they do
Overestimation of abilities
Middle and late
childhood
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Shift to internal traits and abilities
Social role descriptions
Real and ideal selves
More realistic about abilities
Adolescence
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Abstract-idealistic
Self-conscious/ preoccupied
Contradictions within self
Fluctuating picture across time/situations
Possible selves
Self-integrations as they get older
Perspective Taking
• Opposite of egocentrism – the ability to
assume another’s perspective
• Children who are good at this are popular
• Development progresses through stages
(Selman)
• What Are Self-Esteem and Self-Concept?
– Self-esteem
• A person’s global evaluation of the self; also called selfworth or self-image.
– Self-concept
• Domain-specific evaluations of the self.
• Self-esteem reflects perceptions that do not always
match reality.
Self-Esteem
• Evaluative part of the self-concept
– emotional
• Difference between the real and ideal self
– Have you realized your potential?
– Do you value the trait, but have little potential?
– Ideal self includes the “ought” and the “wish” selves
• Measure of our sense of meaning in life
– This includes purpose
– Self-respect (Have you lived up to who you are?)
• Influenced by the reactions of others
– Generalized other, great ubiquitous “they”
• It is tougher to accept criticism
• Basis for conformity
Components of Identity
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Career
Political views
Religious beliefs
Relationships
Ethnic identity
Personality
Body image
Erikson
Identity vs. Identity Confusion
• Identity crisis - exploration
• Identity commitment
• Problems:
– Weak sense of trust
– Little autonomy or initiative
– Lack of industry
Paths to Identity
• Identity diffusion
– No crisis/ commitment
• Identity foreclosure
– Commitment/ no crisis
• Identity moratorium
– Crisis/ no commitment
• Identity achievement (goal)
– Commitment following crisis
Gender Development
• Gender — social dimension of being female or
male
– Gender role: set of expectations prescribing
how females and males should act, feel, and
think
– Gender typing: process by which children
acquire thoughts, behaviors, and feelings
culturally appropriate for their gender
• Sex — designates the biological aspects of being
female or male
Biological Influences
• Chromosomes — 23rd pair with X and Y
• Hormones
– Estrogens
• Estradiol influences development of female physical
sex characteristics and helps regulate menstrual
cycle
– Androgens
• Testosterone promotes development of male
genitals and secondary sex characteristics
Evolutionary Psychology
View of Gender
• Differing roles in reproduction placed
different pressures on males and females
• Key gender differences in sexual attitudes
and sexual behaviors
– Males — competition, violence, risk-taking
– Females — parenting effort, selection of
successful mate
Social Influences
Differences due to social experiences
– Social role theory: gender differences result
from contrasting roles of men and women
– Psychoanalytic theory of gender: claims child
identifies with same-sex parent by age 5 or 6
• Many disagree, claiming gender learned much earlier
(even in absence of same-sex parent)
– Social cognitive theory of gender — gender
development results from observation and
imitation, use of rewards and punishments for
gender-appropriate behaviors
Cognitive Influences
• Cognitive development theory of gender
– Children’s gender typing occurs after they think of
themselves as boys and girls; gender constancy must be
achieved first
– Once consistently conceived as male or female, children
prefer activities, objects, and attitudes consistent with this
label
• Gender schema theory
– Gender typing emerges gradually in gender schemas of
what is culturally gender-appropriate and inappropriate
– Gender-typed behavior can occur before children develop
gender constancy
– Gender schemas fuel gender typing
Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny
• Androgyny — presence of masculine and feminine
characteristics in same individual
– Bem Sex-Role Inventory:
• Instrumental, expressive traits
• Context influencing gender role is adaptive
– Gender-role transcendence — people should be
evaluated as persons, not in terms of femininity,
masculinity, or androgyny
Bem’s Gender-Role Classification
Gender Development in Childhood
• Children form many ideas about what
the sexes are like from about 1½ to 3
years of age
• Boys receive earlier and more intense
gender socialization
• Children show clear preference for
same-sex peers
• Gender roles becoming more flexible
Gender Development in Adolescence
• Transition point; changes in puberty
• Gender-intensification hypothesis
– Psychological and behavioral differences
between boys and girls become greater during
early adolescence
– Increased socialization pressures to conform to
traditional gender roles
– Mixed messages and special problems