Re-Thinking the Self in Light of New Technologies

1. Re-Thinking the Self in Light of New Technologies CD 143: Technologies of the Self Spring 2002 Karyn Y. Lu

2. Interesting Questions: • Does the “self” exist? In what context? • What makes a person the same individual as time goes by? • When people develop psychological disorders (such as multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia) or neurological diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease), or suffer from amnesia, do they lose their sense of self? Is “self” rooted in memory? • How do factors such as culture, gender, race, class, and sexual orientation affect identity?

3. What is the self, or identity? Idem: meaning “the same.” (Latin root) “Identity is a self-structure – an internal, self-constructed, dynamic organization of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history. The better developed this structure is, the more aware individuals appear to be of their own uniqueness and similarity to others and of their own strengths and weaknesses in making their way in the world. The less developed this structure is, the more confused individuals seem to be about their own distinctiveness from others and the more they rely on external sources to evaluate themselves” (Marcia, 1980).

4. Overview Traditional and Contemporary Paradigms of Identity Classical psychological theory: Erik H. Erikson Contemporary psychological approaches Romantic / Modern / Postmodern approach Buddhist approach Eastern versus Western perception

5. (1902-1994) Erik H. Erikson • Considered to be one of the most influential of all psychoanalysts, second only to Freud. • A follower of Freud who broke with him over the fundamental point of what motivates human behavior. • Formulated the most well-established theory on identity development. • First to recognize identity as a major personality achievement and as a crucial step toward becoming a productive, happy adult.

6. Erikson’s Developmental Model IDENTITY vs. IDENTITY CONFU- SION Erikson, 1968. Identity: Youth and Crisis.

7. According to Erikson… the identity crisis occurs during adolescence because: • Formal operational thinking develops; • Youth begin to see themselves as possessing specific personality traits that endure across time and situations; • A systematic and integrated sense of self begins to emerge; • Biological and psychological changes occur; • Societal pressure to be useful contributors to the world. “WHO AM I?”

8. The process of identity development During adolescence (between ages 12-18), we must meet and resolve an IDENTITY CRISIS. PSYCHOLOGICAL MORATORIUM – time and energy for role and image experimentation. FIDELITY People who emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self-identity are equipped to face adulthood with certainty and confidence. IDENTITY DIFFUSION Those who fail to achieve a cohesive identity. The don’t know who or what they are, where they belong, or where they want to go.

9. Four identity statuses James Marcia expanded Erikson’s ideas on identity formation and created four possible patterns of coping with the task of identity formation. Adolescents often shift from one status to another while forming their identity: • Identity Achievement • Moratorium • Identity Foreclosure • Identity Diffusion

10. IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT Having already explored alternatives, these individuals are committed to a clearly formulated set of self-chosen values and goals. They feel a sense of psychological well-being, of sameness through time, and of knowing where they are going.

11. MORATORIUM This is a delay or holding pattern. These individuals have not yet made definite commitments. They are in the process of exploration – gathering information and trying out activities – with the desire to find values and goals to guide their life.

12. IDENTITY FORECLOSURE These individuals have committed themselves to values and goals without taking time to explore alternatives. Instead, they accept a ready-made identity that authority figures (e.g. parents, religious leaders, romantic partners) have chosen for them.

13. IDENTITY DIFFUSION These individuals lack clear direction. They are not committed to values and goals, nor are they actively trying to reach them. They may have never explored alternatives, or may have tried to do so but found the task too threatening and overwhelming.

14. Some contemporary approaches to identity PERSON & SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT • Identity develops from relations between the person and social / cultural context. • Regulation of these relations allow us to adapt to the context. • For example, youths from different cultures use different methods (e.g. assimilation vs. emotion-based solutions) of coping with issues such as stress and anxiety. • (Adams, Marshall, Cote, Goossens, Phinney)

15. Some contemporary approaches to identity TRUE AND FALSE SELF BEHAVIOR • Individuals are aware of their true self and real motives. • Behavior does not always reflect the “real me.” • People often consciously violate their own self-concept. • Self-esteem depends on one’s motives for false self-behavior. • Explains instability in self-behavior. • (Susan Harter)

16. Some contemporary approaches to identity THREE IDENTITY STYLES • INFORMATIONAL • Spends considerable amount of time thinking about the self and self-views • Introspective, reflective, willing to entertain new ideas, values, and beliefs • Cognitively-oriented, goal-oriented • DIFFUSE / AVOIDANT • Low self-esteem, poor peer relations • Higher levels of depression and other disorders • Less autonomy, low motivation, less mature relationships • NORMATIVE • Internalizes standards and prescriptions of significant others • Automatic approach to decision making and problem solving • Importance of homeostasis and resistance to conflicting ideas, values, and beliefs • (Michael Berzonsky)

17. Some contemporary approaches to identity SITUATED IDENTITIES Key assumptions: • Self exits only in social contexts. • Self-understanding results from social interaction. • Self develops from social context, not inherent, core traits. • Individuals have as many “selves” as significant social environments. Results in diversified self. • Self is beyond individual control. • Individuals seek contexts that maximize self-fulfillment. (Alexander & Wiley)

18. Some contemporary approaches to identity LEVELS OF IDENTITY APPROACH • Explores ethnic and national identity. • Personal (unique to self). • Social (shared by group members). • Cultural (shared among broader group). • Individuals enact social identity to claim / confirm group membership • Enactment stronger when group members are present • In-group favoritism / out-group derogation (Henri Tajfel)

19. Changing notions of the “self” through time Romanticist view of “self” 19th CENTURY Attributes to each person characteristics of personal depth – such as passion, soul, and creativity. Modernist view of “self” 20th CENTURY Characteristics of the self reside in our beliefs, opinions, and conscious intentions. Normal persons are logical, predictable, honest, and sincere. Postmodernist view of “self” 21th CENTURY (and beyond?) Fragmentation. The very concept of personal essences is thrown into doubt. Traditional thoughts of self are dismantled.

20. The “self” in Buddhism • The notion of “self” is illusory. • “Self” grows out of craving and ignorance, and leads to repeated suffering and stress. • Any experience we might characterize as our “self” is impermanent, continually in flux, conditioned from one moment to the next by interrelated, empty phenomena. • If we don’t abandon our sense of self-identity, we are bound to suffer pain and alienation, as our "self" inevitably falls subject to circumstances outside our control. • Through meditation, we enter the present moment by dropping our memories of the past and fantasies about the future. Observing the present, we see that our "self" is simply an internal dialogue of incessant chatter. • As this chatter grows still, a point is reached in which "self," "other," and "present" are transcended. That is where liberation is found.

21. Eastern vs. Western frameworks:Cultural differences in viewing the “self” In general, Western cultures tend to be more individualistic, while Eastern cultures tend to be more collectivistic. • WESTERN • Preoccupation with the individual; • Individual rights and freedoms should form the basis of society; • Independence; • Competition. • EASTERN • Social harmony is more important than individual desires; • Society is like music - all different parts should work together harmoniously; • Emphasis on “fitting in.” VS.

22. Re-Thinking the Self…How does technology influence or alter our sense of the self?What impact does technology have on traditional paradigms of identity? Will they need to be revised? Exploring texts by Gergen, Minsky, and Turkle

23. Kenneth Gergen on The Saturated Self: "I begin this book with two central contentions: first, that we rely heavily on psychological language in making sense of ourselves and others, and second, that this language is built into many of our patterns of relationship… I then propose that Western discourse for understanding self and others is undergoing major transformations, and that as this language is altered, so are traditional patterns of cultural life." Kenneth J. Gergen • Professor of Psychology, Swarthmore College • An authority on cultural change, personal identity, and language and communication. • Co-founder of the Taos Institute, a non-profit institute in New Mexico for the furthering of social constructionist thought in practical settings. K. Gergen’s Home page: http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/kgergen1/

24. The Self Under Siege • We are increasingly immersed in and consumed by social interaction. • New technologies enable us to sustain relationships with an ever-expanding range of people. We are moving toward a state of social saturation. • Social saturation is impacting traditional ways of thinking about the human self and related patterns of social life.

25. Recall Changing notions of the “self” through time Romanticist view of “self” 19th CENTURY Attributes to each person characteristics of personal depth – such as passion, soul, and creativity. Modernist view of “self” 20th CENTURY Characteristics of the self reside in our beliefs, opinions, and conscious intentions. Normal persons are logical, predictable, honest, and sincere. Postmodernist view of “self” 21th CENTURY (and beyond?) Fragmentation. The very concept of personal essences is thrown into doubt. Traditional thoughts of self are dismantled. “THE SATURATED SELF IS NO SELF AT ALL.”

26. Technologies of social saturation • Low Tech: • Railroad • Postal service • Automobile • Telephone • Radio • Motion pictures • Printed books • High Tech: • Air travel • TV and video • Media • Computer • E-mail • Rockets / Satellites • Cellular phones • Fax machines • Digitization of major media

27. The process of social saturation "A century ago, social relationships were largely confined to the distance of an easy walk" Multiplying relationships: perseverance of the past acceleration of the future Bending of life-forms Relating in new keys: friendly lover microwave relationship Intensifying interchange

28. Multiplying Relationships • Preservation of the past • Time and distance are no longer threats to a relationship. • As we move through life, the cast of characters is ever-expanding. • Acceleration of the future • The pace of relationships is accelerated. • With the aid of technology, the number of friendships expands as never before.

29. Bending of life-forms New patterns of relationships are taking place. Television invites us to participate vicariously in relationships. Electronic relationships conceal visual information, so there is greater tendency to create an imaginary other with whom to relate.

30. Relating in new keys • Friendly lover • “Romantic” relationships become unrealistic • Multiplicity of low-level, “friendly” relationships • Microwave relationship • Disappearance of traditional nuclear family • Family members attempt to compensate for vast expanses of nonrelatedness with intense expressions of bondedness.

31. Intensifying exchange Technology intensifies the emotional level of many relationships. It is more difficult for relationships to normalize (“comfortable depth”). Breakdown of surveillance. Occasional meetings are intensified by fantasy, fleetingness.

32. POPULATING THE SELF The acquisition of multiple and disparate potentials for being We become pastiches, imitative assemblages of each other. We harbor multitudes of hidden potentials. Invisible ghosts, social ghosts, shadow realities, possible selves Onlooking audience of the intererior: for each belief there exists a strong countertendency. Splitting of the self into a multiplicity of self-investments • Vertigo of the Valued • Expansion of Inadequacy • Rationality in Recession Destroys traditional views of committed self MULTIPHRENIA

33. Marvin Minsky • Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, at MIT. • His research has led to both theoretical and practical advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, neural networks, and the theory of Turing Machines and recursive functions. • Pioneer of intelligence-based mechanical robotics and telepresence. He designed and built the first LOGO "turtle." • In the early 1970s, Minsky and Seymour Papert began formulating a theory called The Society of Mind which combined insights from developmental child psychology and their experience with research on Artificial Intelligence. The Society of Mind proposes that intelligence is not the product of any singular mechanism, but comes from the managed interaction of a diverse variety of resourceful agents. M. Minsky’s Home Page: http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/minsky.html

34. The Society of Mind • A theory of the workings of the mind • How can intelligence emerge from nonintelligence? • The Society of Mind is a scheme in which each mind is made of many smaller processes called agents. • Each mental agent by itself can only do some simple thing that needs no mind or thought at all. But when we join these agents in societies – in certain very special ways – this leads to true intelligence.

35. The mind and the brain Common sense The Society of Mind as a metaphor for the society of mind The society of mind The self The agents of the mind Agents and agencies Exploitation One self or many? The soul The conservative self The world of blocks Long-range plans Ideals Self-control

36. The “Self” according to Minsky “Self” is not definable… but we can ask: What are our ideas about Selves? What psychological functions do those ideas serve? SELF • SELF-IMAGES • Beliefs about what we are • Beliefs about what we are capable of doing • Beliefs about what we may be disposed to do • SELF-IDEALS • Ideas about what we’d like to be • Ideas about what we ought to be • Inaccessible to consciousness

37. The “Self” in a society of mind framework Is the concept of a Self necessary at all? The Self not as a centralized and all-powerful entity, but rather as a society of ideas that include both our self-images and self-ideals. Does a single, central, ruling Self exist? Is it a myth? “Perhaps it’s because there are no persons in our heads to make us do the things we want – nor even ones to make us want to want – that we construct the myth that we’re inside ourselves.

38. The conservative self Ordinary view: “Selves are magic, self-indulgent luxuries that enable our minds to break the bonds of natural cause and law… they embody special kinds of liberty.” Selves are practical necessities. For example, one function of the Self is to keep us from changing too rapidly. It’s a way of constraining the changes we might later make to our long-range plans.

39. Sherry Turkle • Professor of the Sociology of Science (Program in Science, Technology, and Society) at MIT. • Sociology and personality psychology background. • Licensed clinical psychologist. • Turkle has written numerous articles on psychoanalysis and culture and on the "subjective side" of people's relationships with technology, especially computers. • Turkle’s current research is about the psychological impact of computational objects as they become increasingly "relational" artifacts. She is studying a range of objects, from "affective computers" to robotic dolls and pets. S. Turkle’s Home page: http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/

40. The Cyberspace society • The computer has become more than a tool and mirror: we are able to step through the “looking glass.” • In cyberspace, we can talk, exchange ideas, and assume personae of our own creations. • Eroding boundaries between the real and virtual, the animate and the inanimate, the unitary and the multiple self. • In cyberspace, the self is constructed and the rules of social interaction are built, not received. A nascent culture of simulation is affecting our ideas about mind, body, self, and machine.

41. Your identity on the computer = the sum of your distributed presence(The self as a multiple, distributed system) WINDOW 1: MUD (“shooting the breeze”) WINDOW 2: MUD (“flame war”) WINDOW 3: MUD (“heavy sexual things”) WINDOW 4: Word Processing (“Physics homework”)

42. REAL LIFE: R.L. JUST ONE MORE WINDOW? (“and not usually my best one”?)

43. Something to think about… • Cyberspace provides worlds for anonymous social interaction in which one can play a role as close to or as far away from one’s “real self” as one chooses. • We have parallel identities, lead parallel lives. • Identity is constructed and reconstructed over and over again. What impact does this phenomenon have on Erikson’s theory of identity development? Does the internet extend the moratorium period indefinitely? Does technology enable us to know ourselves better? Or cause us to understand ourselves less? Are our virtual personae fragments of our real-life personality? Is it psychotherapy or addiction?

44. The shift to postmodernism Modern Romantic Postmodern Centered Decentered Linear Nonlinear Transparent Opaque Unitary Multiplicity Whole Fragmented Rigidity Flexibility