Week 7 Lecture in the module 'Cognition & Development'. Conceptualisations of Self and Identity. Learning Outcomes: Define the concept of self and identity. Identify key milestones in the development of self. Outline theories of identity development.

1. Cognition and
Development
Conceptualisations of Self
and Identity
Dr Simon Bignell
Simon Bignell, N208
s.bignell@derby.ac.uk
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2. Learning Outcomes
By the end of today‟s lecture, with the help of
private study you should be able to:
•
•
•
Define the concept of self and
identity.
Identify key milestones in the
development of self.
Outline theories of identity
development.

3. Two quick fun tasks….
1. Draw a picture of yourself (in 30 seconds).
2. Write a few sentences that describe who
you really are (in 60 seconds).
*Optional
1. Show the picture to a person sitting near
you. *
2. Read out the description you wrote to the
person. *
How did that feel?

4. Two quick fun tasks….
Self Description:
I am a lecturer, husband and a parent with
broad interests. I am often socially quiet but
can adapt fairly easily to new situations. I like
to think that I’m a creative and mindful person
who enjoys his own company and learning
about new things.

5. Defining the Self
 “…conceptual system made up
of one‟s thoughts and attitudes
about oneself. It encompasses
ones thoughts on their physical
being, social roles and
relationships, and spiritual or
internal
characteristics”.Siegler, DeLoache
and Eisenberg (2003 p. 424)
 Therefore, studying the self is
important as the way we view
and feel about ourselves
influences our overall sense 5
of
well being.

6. The Developing Sense of Self
 Children‟s sense of self emerges in the
early years of life and continues to
develop into adulthood, becoming
more complex as the individual‟s
emotional and cognitive development
deepens.
 Adults contribute to the child‟s selfimage by providing descriptive
information about the child.
 Self-esteem grows in relation to these
factors.
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7. Self-concept
Self-awareness
Self-esteem
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8. The „Self‟
 Self-concept
 A multi-dimensional construct that
refers to an individual‟s perception
of „self‟ in relation to any number of
characteristics, e.g. gender roles
and sexuality, racial identity, and
many others.
 Self-awareness
 An individual‟s awareness of their
self.
 Self-esteem
 The evaluative element of the selfconcept.
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9. The „Self‟
 Self / ‘not others’
 Conceptions of the Self
 A conceptual system made up of one‟s thoughts and attitudes
about oneself.
 An individual‟s conceptions about the self can include thoughts
about one‟s own physical being, social roles and relationships,
and „spiritual‟ or internal characteristics.
 Conceptions of ‘Identity’
 Used interchangeably with Self.
 The idea of selfhood based on the uniqueness and individuality
which makes a person distinct from others.
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10. The Rouge (Mark) Test
 A self-recognition test that identifies
a child‟s ability to recognise a
reflection in a mirror as his or her
own.
 A measure of self-concept; the child
who touches the rouge on their own
nose upon looking into a mirror
demonstrates basic ability of
understanding global awareness.
Amsterdam (1972)
 Using makeup, an experimenter surreptitiously places a dot on
the nose of the child.
 The child is then placed in front of a mirror and their reactions
are monitored; depending on the child‟s development, distinct
categories of responses are demonstrated.

11. The Rouge (Mark) Test
 6 to 12 months - the child simply
sees a „sociable playmate‟ in the
mirror‟s reflection.
 12 months - self-admiring and
embarrassment begin.
 14 to 20 months - most children
demonstrate avoidance behaviours.
 18 months half of children recognise
the reflection in the mirror as their
own.
 20 to 24 months self-recognition
climbs to 65 percent.
Video
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12. The Developing Sense of Self
 Infants have a rudimentary
sense of self in the first months of
life, as evidenced by their control of
objects outside of themselves.
 Their sense of self becomes more
distinct at about 8 months of
age, when they respond to
separation from primary caregivers
with separation distress.
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13. The Developing Sense of Self
 By 18 to 20 months of age, many children can look
into a mirror and realise that the image they see there
is themselves.
 By 30 months of age, almost all children recognise
their own photograph.
 By Two-years-old children‟s exhibition of
embarrassment and shame, their self-assertive
behaviour, and their use of language also indicate
their self-awareness.
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14. The Developing Sense of Self
 At age 3 to 4, children understand themselves
in terms of concrete, observable characteristics related
to physical attributes, physical activities and abilities,
and psychological traits.
 Their self-evaluations during the preschool years are
unrealistically positive.
 Children begin to refine their conceptions of self in
primary school, in part because they increasingly
engage in social comparison, the process of comparing
aspects of one‟s own psychological, behavioural, or
physical functioning to that of others in order to evaluate
oneself.
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15. The Developing Sense of Self
 By middle to late primary
school, children‟s
conceptions of self begin to
become integrated and
more broadly
encompassing, reflecting
cognitive advances in the
ability to use higher-order
concepts.
 In addition, older children can coordinate opposing selfrepresentations and are inclined to compare themselves
with others on the basis of objective performance.
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16. The Developing Sense of Self
 The ability to use abstract
thinking allows adolescents to
think of themselves in terms of
abstract characteristics that
encompass a variety of
concrete characteristics and
behaviours.
 Adolescents can also
conceive of themselves in
terms of a variety of selves,
depending on the context.
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17. The Developing Sense of Self
 In early adolescence, thinking about the self is
characterised by a form of egocentrism called the personal
fable, a story that adolescents tell about themselves that
involves beliefs in the uniqueness of their own feelings and
their immortality.
 The kind of egocentrism that forms the basis for
adolescents‟ personal fables also causes many adolescents
to be preoccupied with what others think of them.
 The imaginary audience refers to the belief that
everyone is focused on the adolescent‟s appearance
and behaviour.
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18. The Developing Sense of Self
 In their middle teens,
adolescents often begin to
agonise over the
contradictions in their
behaviour and
characteristics.
 Most, however, still do not
have the cognitive skills
needed to integrate their
recognition of these
contradictions into a
coherent conception of self .

19. The Developing Sense of Self
 In late adolescence and early adulthood, the
individual‟s conception of self becomes both
more integrated and less determined by what
others think.
 Older adolescents‟ conceptions of self also
frequently reflect internalised personal values,
beliefs, and standards.
 Support and tuition from parents, teachers,
and others is important in helping adolescents
understand the complexity of personalities.
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20. Erikson‟s Views
 Erik Erikson argued that the
resolution of these many
issues, the crisis of identity
versus identity confusion, is
the chief developmental task in
adolescence.
 During this stage, the
adolescent or young adult
either develops an identity or
experiences one of several
negative outcomes:
"Human personality in principle
develops according to steps
predetermined in the growing
person's readiness to be driven
toward, to be aware of and to
interact with a widening social
radius"
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21. Erikson‟s Views
 Identity confusion: An incomplete and sometimes
incoherent sense of self, with resulting feelings of
isolation and depression.
 Identity foreclosure: Can arise if adolescents
prematurely commit themselves to an identity without
adequately considering their choices.
 Negative identity: An identity that represents the
opposite of what is valued by people around the
adolescent.
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22. Erikson‟s Views
 Due to the complexity of achieving an identity in modern
society, and because of the negative consequences of
failing to do so, Erikson argued for the importance of a
psychosocial moratorium.
 A time-out period during which the adolescent is not
expected to take on adult roles and can pursue
activities that lead to self-discovery.
 Only possible in some cultures and only to the more
privileged classes.
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24. Marcia’s Categories
Based on Erikson‟s work on identity formation, James Marcia developed
a method of classifying adolescents and young adults into one or other of
four identity-status categories:
1. Identity-diffusion status: The individual does not have firm
commitments and is not making progress toward them.
2. Foreclosure status: The individual is not engaged in any identity
experimentation and has established a vocational or ideological
identity based on the choices or values of others.
3. Moratorium status: The individual is in the phase of
experimentation with regard to occupational and ideological choices
and has not yet made a clear commitment to them.
4. Identity-achievement status: The individual has completed a
period of exploration and has achieved a coherent and consolidated
identity based on personal decisions regarding occupation, ideology,
and the like.

25. Marcia’s Categories
 On the whole, adolescents and young
adults who have attained identityachievement status are socially more
mature and higher in achievement
motivation than their peers
 In the course of adolescence and
early adulthood, people in identitydiffusion and moratorium statuses
tend to move into identityachievement status, whereas those in
a foreclosed state often remain there.

26. Josselson’s (1980) Individuation Theory
Individuation is the process by which a unique
personal identity or sense of self, one that is
different and distinct from others is developed.
Individuation consists of four separate phases:
1. DIFFERENTIATION (early adolescence): Recognizes psychological difference
between self and parents.
2. PRACTICE AND EXPERIMENTATION (14- 15 YRS.): Feels all-knowing, selfsufficient; actively challenges parents and seeks approval of peers.
3. RAPPROCHEMENT (mid-adolescence): After achieving a fair degree of
separateness from parents, returns to home base and conditionally and partially
reaccepts parents' authority.
4. CONSOLIDATION OF SELF (until end of adolescence): Develops a sense of
personal identity, which serves as the basis for self-understanding and for
maintaining a sense of autonomy, independence, and individuality.
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28. Summary
This lecture has looked at the following:
•
•
•
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Self Recognition
Concept of self and identity.
Key milestones in the development of self.
Some theories of identity development.
• Erikson suggests that in order to obtain a coherent
sense of self adolescents must successfully resolve
the identity versus role confusion crisis.
• Josselson‟s individuation theory suggests that the
search for ourselves is a natural process which
involves
differentiation, practice, experimentation, rapprochem
ent & consolidation of self.
• Marcia‟s four categories were developed from
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Erikson‟s work.

29. Recommended Reading
 Shaffer, D. and Kipp, K. (2010) Developmental
psychology. Childhood and adolescence 8th edition.
Wadsworth: Belmount (chapter 12).
 Siegler, R, DeLoache, J.S. and Eisenberg, N. (2006)
How children develop (2nd Ed.) NY: Worth (chapter
11).
 Bee, H. (1998). Lifespan development (2nd Ed)
London: Harper Collins. (Chapter 6).
 Jaffe, M.L. (1998). Adolesence. New York: Wiley.
 Seifert, K., Hoffnung, R., and Hoffnung, M. (2000)
Lifespan Development (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin:
London. (Chapter 11).
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