11 Chapter
11 Chapter
11 Chapter
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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