Adolescence 8th edition

1. Adolescence8th edition Insert Photo of text Chapter Eight: Identity By Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D.

2. Chapter 8 Overview • Why is identity development an adolescent issue? • How do self-conceptions change during adolescence? • How does self-esteem change during adolescence? • What is the adolescent identity crisis? • How does ethnic identity develop during adolescence? • How does gender identity develop during adolescence?

3. Identity: Why an Adolescent Issue? • Changes in the way we see and feel about ourselves occur throughout the life span • Adolescence marks the first restructuring of one’s sense of self at a time when he or she can appreciate the significance of these changes

4. Identity: Why an Adolescent Issue? • Physical changes of puberty • Appearance • Relationships with others • Cognitive changes • Imagine possible selves • Develop a future orientation • Social changes • In self-conceptions • In self-esteem • In sense of identity Insert Photo from DAL

5. Changes in Self-Conceptions • Self-conception is the way individuals think about and characterize themselves (traits and attributes) • During adolescence, more complex, abstract self-conceptions develop • Personality is expressed in different ways in different situations • Differentiated self-concept: • Actual self • Ideal self • Feared self

6. The multiple selves of a 15-year-old girl

7. Changes in Self-Conceptions • False-Self Behavior • Acting in a way that one knows in inauthentic or fake • Most likely to happen in dating situations • Least likely to happen around close friends Insert Photo from DAL

8. Personality in Adolescence • The Five-Factor Model of Personality (The “Big Five”): • Extraversion(outgoing and energetic) • Agreeableness (kind or sympathetic) • Conscientiousness (responsibility) • Neuroticism (anxious or tense) • Openness to Experience (curiosity) Insert photo from DAL

9. Personality in Adolescence • “Big Five” personality traits • Influenced by combination of genetic and environmental factors • Strong links between earlier infant temperament and adolescent personality • Adolescence is not a time of rebirth in terms of personality • Most personality traits are quite stable during adolescence

10. Changes in Self-Esteem • Self-esteem • How an individual feels about him or herself • Self-esteem is fairly stable over time • Baseline self-esteem: The way that adolescents typically feel about themselves overall (e.g., “I am a good person”) • Adolescents’ feelings about themselves fluctuate day by day • Barometric self-esteem: The way that adolescents feel about themselves depending on specific events of that day (e.g., “I feel bad that I was mean to my friend”)

11. Changes in Self-Esteem • During early adolescence • Increased volatility in barometric self-image • Different trajectories for different adolescents • Young adolescents with the most volatile barometric self-esteem report the highest levels of anxiety, tension, psychosomatic symptoms, and irritability

12. Sex differences in self-esteem

13. Differences in Self-Esteem • Gender differences in self-esteem (boys > girls) • become smaller over course of adolescence • more pronounced among white and Puerto Rican teens • less pronounced among African-American teens • Middle-class > lower SES • have higher self-esteem than their less-affluent peers • SES discrepancy grows larger over the course of adolescence • African-American girls > white/Hispanic • Do not feel as negative about appearance • Have higher overall self-esteem • Show less of a decline in self-esteem over adolescence

14. Self-Esteem of American Adolescents

15. Ethnic Differences in Self-Esteem During Adolescence • Higher self-esteem among African-American teens • Benefit from support/positive feedback of adults in the African-American community, especially in the family • Focus on areas of strength, not weakness • Have a strong sense of ethnic identity that enhances self-esteem

16. Ethnic Differences in Self-Esteem During Adolescence • Lower self-esteem among Hispanic-American teens • Lower levels of authoritative parenting • Lower levels of perceived teacher support • Weaker sense of ethnic identity • Higher levels of family stress

17. Antecedents and Consequences of High Self-Esteem • Across all demographic groups, self-esteem is related to: • Parental approval • Peer support • Success in school • Teens who derive self-esteem from peers, rather than teachers or parents, show more behavioral problems and poorer school achievement

18. The Adolescent Identity Crisis • Erikson’s Theoretical FrameworkThe establishment of a coherent sense of identity is the chief psychosocial crisis of adolescence

19. The Adolescent Identity Crisis: Identity versus Identity Diffusion • The adolescent’s identity results from a mutual recognition between the young person and society • The adolescent forges an identity, but at the same time society identifies the adolescent • Key to resolution lies in social interactions (according to Erikson)

20. The Social Context of Identity Development • Course of identity development varies by culture and historical era • Many more career options for women than in the past means more complicated choices to make • The more alternatives that are available, the more difficult it is to establish a sense of identity • Because of these complications, adolescents may need a “time out” to figure out identity before entering adult roles

21. The Social Context of Identity Development • Psychological Moratorium • “Time out” from excessive responsibilities and obligations • Experiment with different roles • Luxury of the affluent if introspection interferes with survival

22. Problems in Identity Development • Identity diffusion • incoherent, disjointed, incomplete sense of self • Identity Foreclosure • bypassing the period of exploration and experimentation • Negative Identity • identities that are undesirable to parents or the community

23. Research on Identity Development • Determining an Adolescent’s Identity Status • Degree of commitment • Degree of exploration or crisis

24. Research on Identity Development • Identity generally not established before age 18 • During college, vocational plans solidify • but not religious and political beliefs • College may prolong psychosocial moratorium • especially for political and religious beliefs • Individuals may move from one identity status to another, particularly during adolescent and young adult years

25. Ethnic Identity Development • Ethnic identity has been studied in African- American, Hispanic, Native American, and white youth • Ethnic identity weakest in white youth, overall, but many do identify with particular ethnic groups (e. g., German, Irish, Italian, Jewish)

26. Ethnic Identity: Orientations for Minority Youth • Assimilation • adopting the majority culture’s norms and standards while rejecting those of one’s own group • Marginality • living within the majority culture but feeling estranged and outcast • Separation • associating only with members of one’s own culture and rejecting the majority culture • Biculturalism • maintaining ties to both the majority and the minority cultures

27. Multidimensional Model ofRacial Identity • Three aspects of racial identity influence the effects of discrimination: • Racial centrality – how important race is in defining your identity • Private regard – how you feel about being a member of your race • Public regard – how you think that others view your race

28. Gender-Role Development • Gender Intensification Hypothesis: • Sex differences result from societal pressure to act in stereotypically masculine/feminine ways • Androgyny is being both masculine and feminine • Androgynous females and masculine males report higher self-esteem than do their peers