CHAPTER 14

Approaches to
the Self
LECTURE
OUTLINE
• Descriptive Component of the Self
• Development of the Self-
Concept
• Self-Schemata
• Evaluative Component of the Self
• Evaluation of the Self
• Self-Esteem Research
• Social Component of the Self
• Nature of Identity
• Identity Development
• Identity Crises

2
THREE COMPONENTS OF THE SELF

Self-concept The way you see and describe yourself

(Descriptive)

Self-esteem The value you place on your self-concept

(Evaluative)

Social Identity The façade (mask/face) of who you are which

(Out there)
you present to others
DESCRIPTIVE COMPONENT
OF THE SELF: SELF-CONCEPT
 Self-concept is basis for self-understanding;
Why?
 Knowledge about self
 Self-concept forms answer to question, “Who
am I?”
 Development of the Self-Concept
Gradually, infant realizes that it is separate from rest of world—this forms basic sense of self-
awareness of own body

Age 2-3:
First aspects of self children learn to identify & associate with themselves, are sex and age

Age 2-3:
Expand self-concept to include reference to family

Age 3-4:
Children’s self-concept based mainly on developing skills & talents
Development of the Self-Concept

Age 5-6:
Children increasingly begin to compare their skills
Child learns that he can keep secrets and lie—
& abilities with those of others (social
based on development of private self-concept
comparison)

Teens:

Perspective taking: Ability to see oneself from

another’s perspective, including objective self- Objective self-awareness is the beginning of
awareness—seeing oneself as the object of social identity
others’ attention
Self-Schemata: Possible Selves,
Ought Selves, and Undesired Selves
Self-concept gives us sense of continuity & framework for understanding own past and present &
for guiding future behaviour

Self-concept is like network of information in memory that organizes and provides coherence for
how we experience the self

Self-concept also guides It is easier to process information that is consistent with our self-
how each person concept; why?
processes information
about themselves
Self-schema: Specific knowledge structures, or cognitive representations (pictures), of
self-concept
Self-schemas are built on past experiences and guide processing of
information about self, esp. in social interaction
Self-Schemata: Possible Selves, Ought
Selves, and Undesired Selves
Schemata for selves in the future; many ideas each person has about who they
Possible might become, hope to become, or fear they will become

selves: Act as inspiration/motivation and incentive for behaviour

Some possible selves are undesired—these are the possible selves the person does
not want to become

Ideal Self: What a person herself wants to be

Ideal Self - If actual self not similar to ideal self (self-discrepancy): sad, disappointed
vs Ought Ought self: Person’s understanding of what others want her to be
Self - If actual self not similar to ought self: guilty distressed, anxious
Ideal and ought selves are self-guides—they represent standards a person uses to
organize information and motivate appropriate behaviour
 Evaluative Component Self: Self-Esteem

Beginning of When child identifies expectations for behaviour and either does
self-esteem: or does not live up to them – mastery increases self-esteem

Later Next shift in source of self-esteem occurs when child begins to

childhood: engage in social comparison – better than others boosts self-
esteem

Even later: People develop internal standards as part of self-concept

Behaviours or experiences inconsistent with internal standards

can cause decrease in self-esteem
Evaluation of Oneself
Self-esteem:

• General evaluation of self-concept

• Along good-bad or like-dislike dimension

How we feel about ourselves can vary from day-to-day, hour-

to-hour, but:

• Always around some average level of self-esteem

People can evaluate themselves differently in different areas

of life or different aspects of self
Research on Self-Esteem: Reactions to criticism and
failure feedback
For a low self-esteem person:
• More likely to perform poorly and give up earlier
on subsequent tasks
• Generalize failure to other areas of life
• Most concerned with avoiding failure

For a high self-esteem person:

• Pushes them into action on subsequent tasks,
where they are less likely to give up, and work just
as hard as they did on first task
• Focus on successes in other areas of life
• Concerned with projecting successful, prosperous,
and thriving self-image
Protecting vs. Enhancing the Self

High self-esteem people:

• Motivated to enhance self-concept by taking risks and
striving for successes

Low self-esteem people:

• Motivated to protect self-concept by avoiding failure
• Avoid new negative information about themselves through:
• Defensive pessimism:
• Expect to fail; when failure occurs, no new negative information
about self is revealed
• Self-handicapping:
• Person deliberately does things that increase chance of failure—
when failure occurs -> has excuse for failure (then failure is not
attributable to self)
Self-Esteem Variability

Individual difference Refers to size of short-term fluctuations (changes) in self-

characteristic esteem

How much does your self-esteem change over short period

of time?

Thought to be caused by Some people’s self-esteem gets affected by life events much
particular vulnerability of easier than other people’s
person’s self-worth to events of
everyday life
Social Component of the Self: Social
Identity

Identity: Self we show to others

Part of ourselves we use to create impression, to let

others know what to expect from us
Includes sex, ethnicity, and height

Different Identity contains elements that are socially observable,

from self- publicly available expressions of self
concept:
Identity has element of continuity because many of its
aspects, such as sex and ethnicity, are constant
The Nature of Identity
Self that is Refers to social knowledge or what others think of you
known to other
people

Identity has two Continuity: People can count on you to be the same person tomorrow as you
key features: were today

Contrast: Your social identity differentiates you from others; makes you unique
in eyes of others
Identity Development
According to Erikson, identity Experimenting with different identities
can be achieved in several ways

Adopting a ready-made social role (e.g., taking over the

family business, arranged marriages)
 Coined by Erikson
• “Identity crisis”: anxiety when one tries to define or redefine one’s individuality
Identity and social reputation
• Can occur anytime; more likely in adolescence, middle adulthood
Crises
Acc. to Baumeister 2 types of identity crises:
• Identity deficit: when a person has not formed adequate identity and then has
trouble making big decisions
• Identity conflict: incompatibility between two or more aspects of identity

Resolving identity crises:

• Involves two steps:
• Decide which values are most important
• Change these abstract values into desires and behaviours