Self and Identity

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Self and Identity

• Dr Vicky Gunn
• Learning and Teaching Centre

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• What is the self?
• How is it formed, does it emerge?
• What is identity?
• How is it formed?
• How does the self inform identity?
• How does identity influence the self?

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Historical context
James (1890) Subjective
I objective me Freud (1930s) Jung
(1930s,40s) Ego, Id, Super-ego self and
shadow (psycho-sexual dev.) Melanie
Kline (1940s, 50s) Fragmented
self, reintegrated Erikson (Late
1950s-70s) Self identity in the
life-cycle (psycho-social dev)
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• What are the key points?
• What are the key criticisms?
• Once you have read the piece discuss key points
  in your groups and then summarize to whole
  class.

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Eriksons Life Cycle as a context
Stage Age Conflict
Signif. event
Oral sensory Birth to12-18 months Trust vs mistrust Feeding
Muscular-anal 18 mths-3 yrs Autonomy vs Shame, doubt Toilet training
Locomotor 3-6 yrs Initiative vs guilt Independence
Latency 6-12 yrs Industry vs inferiority School
Adolescence 12-19 yrs Identity vs role confusion Peer relationships
Young adult 19 40 yrs Intimacy vs isolation Love relationships
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Self and the young child

• Stipek, Gralinski Kopp (1990) moved studies of
  the self-concept in toddlers from a
  uni-dimensional approach (research into
  subjective I or objective me separately) to a
  multi-dimensional, sequential one.

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Research suggests following sequence

• Perceptual self-recognition (15 months)
• Cognitive self-representation (18 months)
• Linguistic self-description (23-24 months)
• Motivational self-assertion (29-
• 46 months)
• Emotional self-evaluation
  (30 months)
• Social
• self-regulation
• 15 months 2 years 2 ½ years 3 years

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Self, identity, and the adolescent
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Development of gender identity
beware of confusing role with identity, they
may well be interrelated and interdependent but
they arent the same thingbeware of using sex
and sexuality as synonymous with genderbeware
of assuming that transexuality is the same as
transgendered identity.
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http//www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Photos/SomeHot
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http//salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/year1/int
topic/development_nature.gif
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J. Money A. Ehrhardt (1972) Man and woman, boy
and girl. Baltimore.

• Sex refers to physical attributes and is
  anatomically and physiologically predetermined
• Gender psychological transformation of the
  self, the internal conviction that one is either
  male or female (gender identity) and the
  behavioural expressions of that conviction.

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gender identity can be defined as the sameness,
unity, and persistence of ones individuality as
male, female, or ambivalent.. Gender identity is
the private experience of gender role, and gender
role is the public experience of gender
identity. Money Ehrhardt (1972), p.4

• What does such a definition mean for the work of
  psychologists?
• Are sex and gender truly separable?

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Gender identity development basics (1)

1. Gender awareness is an important part of the
   psychosocial development of a child
2. Development typically involves congruence between
   gender identity (inner sense) and gender role
   (outward expressions)

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Gender identity development basics (2)

gendered play develops gender
stereotypes harden gender constancy
begins to dev. Infant recognises male/female
faces Birth 9 months 1yr 2yrs 3yrs 4yrs
Adult
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Approaches to development of gender

• Freudian psychodynamics
• Fast, I. (1993) Aspects of early gender
  development A psychodynamic approach. In The
  Psychology of Gender, ed. A.E.Beall R.J.
  Sternberg. New York, 173-193.
• Social learning
• Jacklin, C.N. C. Reynolds (1993) Gender and
  childhood socialization. In The Psychology of
  Gender (as above), 197-214
• Cognitive development
• Kessler, S.J. W. McKenna (1978) Gender An
  Ethnomethodological Approach. New York.
• Systems approach
• Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000) Sexing the Body
  Gender Politics and the Construction of
  Sexuality. New York

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Freudian perspective

• Child becomes aware of own genitals, this
  awareness leads to erotic fantasies
• This in turn leads to identification with a
  suitable adult and the development of appropriate
  gender role.
• Is this a bit one-sided?

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Social learning

• Main assumption adult awareness of the childs
  genitals leads to differential reinforcement
• This leads adults to offer gender appropriate
  models which the child then internalizes.
• Does a child have any agency in the
  process of gender identity construction?

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Cognitive development

• Basic assumption same as social learning in
  terms of adult perception of childs genitals as
  critical.
• Person other than the child labels childs gender
  and gives them a gender identity.
• This is followed by child acquiring appropriate
  gender role.

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Systems approach

• Gender is represented within both social
  institutions and within individuals.
• Gender identity is effectively constructed within
  a self-perpetuating feed-back loop from
  institution to individual.
• How do social context and daily practice
  of both adults and children generate meaning?

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• What do you think might be the implications of
  these different assumptions to gender identity
  for psychologists?
• (do we need to redefine notion of psychopathology
  with respect to gender identity disorder? For
  example)

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