The Self

The Developing Self

➢ Newborns

➢ Types of self-perceptions
⚫ I Self (Subjective sense of self)
• Knowing the “self” is separate from others
• “Self” is enduring

⚫ Me Self (Objective sense of self)

• Descriptive self, self-concept, self-representations
 Subjective Self
➢ How do babies learn they are distinct from other
objects/people?
⚫ By acting on the world
⚫ Personal agency- believing you can control external
events

➢ Environment reinforces this learning

⚫ Play, Shared experiences

➢ Allows attachment to occur

⚫ Individuation and connectedness
Objective Self-- Self-Awareness
➢ Recognizing “self” in the world
⚫ Rouge test
➢ Other Signs of Self-Recognition
⚫ Language
⚫ “Terrible twos”
 Objective Self
➢ Self-Concept versus Self-Esteem

➢ Domain-specific self-perceptions can have

evaluative content.
➢ Harter (1982)
⚫ Scholastic ability + Athletic competence+ Physical
appearance+ Behavioral conduct+ Social acceptance
≠ Global Self-Esteem
➢ Domain-specific self-perceptions are related to
positive outcomes in that domain.
 Objective Self
➢ Developmental Differences in Self-Concept
(i.e., Self-description)
⚫ “What are you like as a person?”

⚫ Age 2
• Basic descriptive words
• Simple evaluative terms
• Individual differences?
 Objective Self

“I have blue eyes and a kitty that is orange and a

television in my room. I know all of my ABC’s,
listen: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, K, O, M, P, Q,
X, Z. I can run real fast…I can climb to the jungle
gym—I’m not scared! I’m never scared!”
(Harter, 1999, p. 37)
 Objective Self
➢ Ages 3-4
⚫ Usually concrete and observable
⚫ Specific, not global
⚫ No conflicting descriptions
⚫ Very Positive!
➢ “Single Representations Stage”
⚫ Piagetian concept?
 Objective Self
➢ Age 5
⚫ “Representational mappings”
• Descriptions are linked for rudimentary conclusion
⚫Still all or nothing (non-conflicting)
⚫ Still positive

⚫ Global self-worth (esteem)?

• Sense of worth, but can’t verbalize
• Options?
⚫ Puppet Interview
⚫ Behaviorally Presented Self-Esteem
⚫ Domain-specific self-perceptions
• New research uses methods that might be tapping into this
(Cimpian et al., 2017)
 Objective Self
➢ 5-7 year shift
⚫ Competence relative to others
• *Becoming less positive
• Sometimes conflicting (I’m good at this, but bad at
this)
• Affiliations

⚫ * different from textbook

 Objective Self
➢7 or 8 -10 years
⚫ “Representational systems”
• Breadth and integration
⚫ (trait labels are meaningful→ “smart”)
• Become aligned with the values, roles and
preferences of their cultural community.
• More realistic perceptions
• Global self-worth
 Objective Self
➢ Early Adolescence
⚫ Interpersonal attributes and social skills
⚫ Competencies
⚫ Emotions
• Different selves in different contexts
 Objective Self
➢ Middle Adolescence
⚫ Middle- more introspection and preoccupied
with what others think.
• More abstract, integrated view of self.
• Question self-truths
⚫ More roles, more “mes”
 Objective Self
➢ Late Adolescence
⚫ Personal beliefs, values and moral standards
⚫ Future and possible selves
 The Developing Self
1) Concrete to abstract
2) Unidimensional to multidimensional
3) Constant to contradictory
4) Positive to realistic
 Are preschoolers overly positive?

➢ Child overrating found in only some domains!

➢ Age, gender differences???
➢ “Impossible” items?
 Why are most children’s perceptions
positively biased?
➢ Theories?
⚫ Cognitive limitations (Harter, 1988)
⚫ Children don’t distinguish between effort and ability
(Nicholls, 1978)
⚫ Rapid developmental change (Harter, 1999)
⚫ Evolutionarily adaptive
⚫ Ecological influences (Stipek & Daniels, 1988)
 Ecological Explanation
➢ Content of the environment

⚫ Little negative feedback

⚫ Social comparison isn’t encouraged
⚫ Do some environments differ?
 Ecological Explanation (cont.)
➢ Children’s inability to use environmental cues
Can children use cues to inform their
perceived competence?

Experimental Condition PRE-test YCPC POST-test YCPC

Score Score
Negative Feedback (n = 50) 3.25 (.45) 2.95 (.79)
Social Comparison (n = 42) 3.37 (.41) 2.95 (.71)

➢ On average… yes!
➢ However, individual differences in children’s ability to use this!
⚫ SDs
⚫ Maternal reports of didactic instruction
➢ PC scores were still high! (actual ability)
 Implications
➢ Positive
bias may be beneficial during the
early years.
⚫ PC maintains motivation to begin and
continue difficult tasks.
⚫ PC is related to:
• School liking
• Persistence motivation
⚫ Is positive bias beneficial later in
development?