Psikologi Anak

Pertemuan 7The 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 • 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 • Confusion of self, mind, and body• Concrete descriptions• Physical descriptions• Activities – what they do• Overestimation of abilities

Middle and late childhood

• Shift to internal traits and abilities• Social role descriptions• Real and ideal selves• More realistic about abilities

Adolescence • 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 self-worth 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

• Career• Political views• Religious beliefs• Relationships• Ethnic identity• Personality• Body image

EriksonIdentity 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 InfluencesDifferences 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