Lectures 6-10 - Adolescent Development Exam 2

Lectures Adolescent Development – Exam 2
Lecture 6 Self and identity in adolescence
Why is identity an adolescent issue?
Biological changes  puberty; changes appearance (influences how you perceive yourself)
Cognitive changes  more self-conscious; develop a future orientation (who you want to be)
Social changes  norms and values; social choices; educational choices (broader social world)
Identity: who am I? Can be distinguished in: (1) terms of a sense of self: identifying as someone who…;
central is the process of figuring out who one is = personal identity; (2) terms of group membership:
identifying with…; central is one’s sense of belonging to social groups = social identity. Identity  self-concept
Self-concept: views about the self, including  values; attributes; goals; self-esteem; competence; self-
concept clarity (having a clear sense of who one is).




A. Personal identity
Erikson’s identity development. Adolescence = psychosocial moratorium: time gap between childhood
security and adult autonomy. Adolescents experiment with numerous roles and identities. Crisis in adolescence:
identity diffusion versus achievement.
Crisis outcomes: identity diffusion  failure to form a stable and secure identity <> identity achievement 
establishing a clear and definite sense of who you are and how you fit into the world around you.
Today: exploration, identity development as a lifelong process.
Achieving identity requires:
- Mental and emotional capacity  children can’t do it
- Interactions with others  others inform who you are, what you should and should not be like = crucial to
figure out who you are
- Exploration  trying out possibilities, more interactions = more exploring
- Commitment  making choices among alternatives, what is important to you, what fits you
Marcia’s 4 stages model
Commitment
Present Absent

Presen Identity achievement = did explore, Moratorium = no clear sense of
t at the end commitment to a standard/ identity; exploring
rules - Open to experience
- Open to experience - Flexible
Crisis/exploration




- Flexible - No direction, it depends on the
- Creative situation
- Abstract and critical thinking - Collecting information
- High self-esteem - External doubt
- High in moral reasoning - Anxious
Absent Identity foreclosure = clear sense of Identity diffusion = no clear sense of
identity; no exploration identity; no exploration
- Dogmatic - No direction
- Inflexible - It does not matter
- Intolerant - Unstable self-esteem
- Black and white thinking - Feeling alienated
- Authority sensitive (the situation is - Apathy
formed for you) - Hopelessness
- Obedient - Suicidal thoughts
- Sensitive to rejection
 Identity achievement is generally not established before age 18; college years prolong psychosocial
moratorium; over time (age 30/35), diffusion and moratorium decrease and achievement increases.
 Identity development is dependent on the time and context adolescents grow up in.

,Dual cycle models  view identity development as dynamic and interactive
Adolescents do not begin with a blank slate = already some commitment with who you are. Identity is not a
static process but a cyclic process. Identity formation is a process of continuous interplay between
commitment, reconsideration and in-depth exploration. Identity formation occurs in several domains (e.g.
educational and interpersonal) and becomes increasingly complex over time.
Crocetti et al. model




You stick to current commitments Alternatives = reconsider and change commitments




Reconsider and change commitments
Personal identity: summary
- Refers to identity search and commitment
- Goal is a coherent sense of self
- Continuous process (across time and place)
- Develops through exploration and commitment on various domains
B. Social identity
Social identity theory
Gender; peer group; ethnicity; religion; teams; SES; humanity etc. Belongingness to a group affects self-
definition. Beliefs, interests and actions are aligned with those of the group. Strive to positive self and group
evaluation drives group comparisons and favorable bias towards ingroup.
Identity & gender
Gender identity: one’s sense of oneself as male, female, or transgender. Sexual orientation: whether one is
sexually attracted to individuals of the same sex, other sex, or both. Gender-role behavior: the extent to
which an individual behaves in traditionally ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ ways.
 These concepts are not related, the outcome can be totally different
What do we see in development?
Childhood: labelling around 2, preference for gender-congruent toys, play mates, future professions,
accomplishments; compared to girls, boys have stronger gender-identity, are more content with their gender,
place more pressure on themselves to conform to the expected gender roles.
Adolescence: sexual orientation (i.e. gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual) develops; beliefs about gender
roles become more flexible, more and more androgynous, but… societal pressure for gender-stereotypic
behavior increases (gender intensification hypothesis). During adolescence, boys show a drop in emotional
expressiveness (e.g. being gentle, helpful), but girls do not show a similar decline in instrumentality (e.g. being
competitive, adventurous). For girls it may be more accepted to show this behavior than for boys.
Peer identity. Benefits: secure environment for exploration; more diverse peer groups = more exploration and
smoother transition into adulthood; pathway from external regulation by others to self-determination.
Article Tanti et al: 3 adolescent groups (early; mid; late). Types of ingroups: gender and peer (popular, normal,
nerd). Outcome variables: self-
typicality (how much self is
perceived typical of ingroup) and
ingroup favoritism (allocating
money to ingroup versus
outgroup). Bias towards gender
or peer group.

, Bright side of social identities: increase in sense of identity and sense of belonging; uncertainty reduction;
higher self-esteem. Down side of social identities: exclusion (discrimination, outcast lash-out effect=aggression
when rejected); stereotype threat (performance drops); little autonomy (level of individual voice).
Social identity: summary
- Defining the self in terms of group membership
- Beliefs, interests, and actions are aligned with those of the group
- Identification with social groups increases during adolescence
- Can have both positive and negative effects
C. Self-concept
During adolescence self-concepts become more:
- Abstract, complex and linked to specific situations (related to both traits and personality characteristics)
- Consistent between self-concept descriptions and actual behavior (larger in adolescents than in children)
- Hypothetical and future-oriented (possible selves)
- Able to view themselves from a distance
Due to the capacity of abstract thinking, adolescents can distinguish between the actual self (who I am) and
possible selves (who I might become).
Possible selves – 2 types: (1) positive, hoped-for, or ideal selves (Who I would like to become); (2) negative,
or feared selves (who I wish to avoid becoming).
Possible self categories:
- Achievement  relates to school and school interactions with teachers, achievement-related activities;
- Interpersonal relationships  involve family, friends, relationships, and social interactions;
- Personality traits  relates to personality characteristics, self-descriptions of traits;
- Physical/health-related  relates to physical health, weight, height;
- Material/lifestyles  relates to material possessions and living situation, including moving.
Possible selves motivate action. Possible selves improve well-being and performance because they: articulate
goals; link goals to behavior; provide potential incentives for actions. However, everyone has aspirations and
wants to do well, but not everyone succeeds = aspiration-attainment gap.
Possible selves work best when positive and negative possible selves are balanced (from the same domain);
individuals have incorporated strategies; they are identity-congruent; they fit the context.
Immersed self: self through own eyes; using singular pronouns. Distal self: self through the eyes of others;
using third person pronouns; particularly salient in adolescence; can have negative and positive effects.
Self-concept: summary
- Self-concept refers to beliefs about the self (goals, values, attributes, (perceived) ability)
- Develops in adolescence (more abstract, complex, consistent with behavior, future oriented, distal)
- Possible selves motivate action, but work best under certain conditions
- Imaging a distal self can be adaptive in emotional situations