Transcript CHAPTER ONE
Conceptions of the Self • Self: A conceptual system made up of one’s thoughts and attitudes about one’s self, including one’s – – – – – Gender Physical Appearance Possessions Values, Beliefs, Preferences Psychosocial characteristics The Early Self Infants’ sense of the ability to control objects develops at 2–4 months (sense of self efficacy) • By ~ 20 months, children can recognize their self-image in a mirror. • By age 2-3, children may exhibit shame and embarrassment • By age 2, children use language (“me,” “I”) to refer to self. • Age 3-5 (temporally extended self) A sense of self over time—coincides with first autobiographical memory in preschool years The Self in Childhood • Preschoolers engage in little social comparison= lack objective comparisons of performance (e.g. test scores), high self-esteem/over-confidence • By elementary school, children comparing self with others in terms of characteristics, behaviors, and possessions – self-concept is based on relationship with others, and thus children are vulnerable to low self-esteem if others view them negatively The Self in Adolescence • There is concern with social competence and social acceptance – Girls concerned with physical appearances and relationships – Boys with performance • Adolescents can conceive of themselves in terms of a variety of selves, depending on the context (with friends, siblings, parents)—a mild identity crisis? Personas • Personal Fable = self is regarded as unique and special (“You don’t know how I feel!”). • Adolescents develop belief in an Imaginary Audience • In late adolescence, self-concept becomes less determined by what others think and more determine by personal values. Schemas • Self schemas = lens on the world, what is important to you (gender, ethnicity, weight, intelligence, friendly) • Judge self and OTHERS according to this schema--A pseudo-halo effect Factors that Influence Self • Biological – Gender – Attractiveness – Weight, ethnicity, etc. etc. • Social – peer and family interactions • Cultural and environment – Schemas – Context cues • Psychological – Beliefs and theories – Depression/mood Self-Esteem • Partially results from difference between perceived self and ideal self What does atypical development tell us about self? DID (formerly MPD) Dazed and bruised from a beating, Eric, 29, was discovered wandering around a Daytona Beach shopping Mall…transferred 6 weeks later to a Human Resources Center, Eric began talking to doctors in two voices: the infantile rhythms of ‘young Eric’, a dim and frightened child, and the measured tones of ‘older Eric’ who told a tale of terror and child abuse. According to ‘older Eric’ after his immigrant German parents died, a harsh stepfather and mistress took Erick from his native South Carolina to a drug dealers’ hide-out in in a Florida swamp. Eric said he was raped by several gang members and watched his stepfather murder 2 men. One day an alarmed counselor watched Eric’s face twist into a violent snarl. Eric let loose an unearthly growl and spate out a stream of obscenities…who insolently demanded to be called Mark…Eric’s other manifestations emerged over the nexts weeks: quiet, middle-aged Dwight, the hysterically blind and mute Jeffrey; Michael, an arrogant Jock; the coquettish Tian, whom Eric considered a whore; an argumentative lawyer…Eric gradually unfurled 27 different personalities, including 3 females… DID The diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of DID are: • (1) the existence within the person of two or more distinct personalities or personality states, each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self, • (2) at least two of these personality states recurrently take full control of the person's behavior, • (3) the inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness, and • (4) not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. blackouts due to alcohol intoxication) or a general medical condition • 80-100% of people diagnosed with DID also have a secondary diagnosis of PTSD (APA, 1994). DID Symptomatology/Description Subpersonalities or “Alters” are either: • Mutually amnesic • Mutually cognizant • One-way amnesic (most common) co-conscious alters Prevalence = 1% of the population o women receive diagnosis 3 times more than men • Average # of alters = 15 for women, 8 for men DID: Symptomatology Cont’d • “Alters” often display differences in gender and age (there is almost always a child “alter”)! • Alters also typically differ in preferences, religious beliefs, political beliefs, knowledge and abilities they possess and languages they speak. • Have their own proper names, often describe themselves as differing in appearances (race, hair color, weight, attractiveness) DID: Symptomatology Cont’d • Lending credibility to the disorder are differences across personalities (when dominant) in: – – – – – – handedness Handwriting Voice Vision vital stats and cerebral blood flow and brain electrical activity – (e.g. study comparing DID patients and pretenders) DID: Possible Cause(s)? • • • • Demonic Possession? Genetic predisposition? Iatrogenic? A naturally occurring adaptive response to severe and often prolonged physical, sexual, or psychological abuse (97% of patients in early childhood--before age 12 mostly before age 5!) • Extreme and rigid state dependent memory? • Self-hypnosis (DID = highly suggestible and children are highly suggestible) Restriction on Information Flow (e.g. information encapsulation) Restriction on Information Flow http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/fcs_hollow-face/index.html Ambulance Video! DID • “Dissociation serves as a temporarily adaptive function (escape) e.g. surgeons, parents, • Repeated reliance on dissociative defenses can lead to the inability to properly process information from past events into a narrative • repeated use of dissociation can lead to the development of a series of separate mental states that may eventually take on an identity of their own • these personality states are created to “house” the fragmented memories related to different traumatic incidents DID: Implications/Thought Questions • What does this tell us about the development of self? Identity? Personality? Memory? Gender? • Is there a critical/sensitive period for the development of self (ves) • Why the need for so many alters? • Is integration of the “selves” necessary (common treatment)? • Is DID an extreme case of different personas? • Once an alter is generated, what is the purpose of having different names, genders, appearances, preferences…?