Question

Self-Representations in Childhood and Adolescence

Task: Below are several statements that describe the self from children and adolescents of various ages.

A. You are to match which statement goes with which child.

B. Once you have figured out the developmental sequence, reflect on what concepts and ideas are changing in children's self-descriptions as they get older. What exactly is developing? How is it changing?

Child A: a 3-year-old
Child B: a 5-year-old
Child C: a 9-year-old
Child D: a 12-year-old
Child E: a 16-year-old

Children and adolescents of various ages

Which child?	Self-Description
	I'm an extrovert with my friends: I'm talkative, pretty rowdy, and funny. I'm fairly good-looking if I do say so. All in all, around people I know pretty well, I'm awesome, at least I think my friends think I am. With my parents I'm more likely to be depressed. I feel sad as well as mad and also hopeless about ever pleasing them. They tell me I'm lazy and not very responsible, and it's hard not to believe them. I get real sarcastic when they get on my case. It makes me dislike myself as a person. At school, I'm pretty intelligent. I know that because I'm smart when it comes to how I do in classes, I'm curious about learning new things, and I'm also creative when it comes to solving problems. I get better grades than most, but I don't brag about it because that's not cool. I can be a real introvert around people I don't know well. I'm shy, uncomfortable and nervous. Sometimes I'm simply an airhead. I act really dumb and say things that are just plain stupid. Then I worry about what they must think of me, probably that I'm a total dork. I just hate myself when that happens.
	I have a lot of friends. I'm good at schoolwork, I know my words, my letters and my numbers. I can run fast, and I can climb high, a lot higher than I could when I was little and I can run faster, too. I can do lots of stuff real good, lots! If you are good at things you can't be bad at things, at least not at the same time. I know some other kids who are bad at things, but not me! Well, maybe sometime later I could be a little bad, but not very often. My parents are real proud of me when I do good at things. It makes me really happy and excited when they watch me!
	I'm pretty popular, at least with the girls. That's because I'm nice to people and helpful and can keep secrets. Mostly I am nice to my friends, although if I get in a bad mood I sometimes say something that can be a little mean. I try to control my temper, but when I don't, I'm ashamed of myself. I'm usually happy when I'm with my friends, but I get sad if there is no one to do things with. At school I'm feeling pretty smart in certain subjects like Language Arts and Social Studies. I got A's in these subjects on my last report card and was really proud of myself. But I'm feeling pretty dumb in Math and Science, especially when I see how well a lot of the other kids are doing. Even though I'm not doing well in those subjects, I still like myself as a person because Math and Science just aren't that important to me. I also like myself because I know my parents like me and so do other kids.
	I live in a big house with my mother and father and my brother Jason and my sister Lisa. I have blue eyes and a kitty that is orange. I know all my ABC's, listen: A B C D E F G H J L K O M P Q X Z. I can run real fast. I love my dog Skipper. I can climb to the top of the jungle gym, I'm not scared! I'm never scared! I'm always happy. I have brown hair. I'm really strong. I can lift this chair, watch me!
	What am I like as a person? You're probably not going to understand. I'm complicated! With my really close friends, I am very tolerant. With a groupof friends, I'm rowdier. I'm also usually friendly and cheerful but I can get pretty obnoxious and intolerant if I don't like how they are acting. I'd liketo be friendly and tolerant all the time, that's the kind of person I want to be, and I'm disappointed in myself when I'm not. At school, I'm serious, even studious every now and then, but on the other hand, I'm a goof-off too, because if you're toostudious, you won't be popular. But that causes problems at home, where I'm pretty anxious around my parents. They get pretty annoyed with me when report cards come out. I care what they think about me, and so then I get down on myself, but it's not fair! But I really don't understand how I can switch so fast from being cheerful with my friends, then coming home and feeling anxious, and then getting frustrated and sarcastic with my parents. Which one is the real me? Sometimes I feel phony. I'll be a real extrovert, fun-loving and even flirtatious, and I think I am really good-looking. And then everybody, I mean everybody else is looking at me like they think I am totally weird! They don't act like they think I'm attractive so I end up thinking I look terrible. I just hate myself when that happens! Because it gets worse! Then I get self-conscious and embarrassed and become radically introverted, and I don't know who I really am! Am I just acting like an extrovert, am I just trying to impress them, when I'm really an introvert? But I don't really care what they think, anyway. I just want to know what my close friends think. I can be my true self with my close friends. I can't be my real self with my parents. They don't understand me. What do they know about what it's like to be a teenager?

Answer 1

• Child A : a 3- year- old :- The 4th Statement goes with a 3 year old as:
  • The thinking is highly egocentric as the child is not taking up the perspective of others.
  • Language is still developing.
  • High concrete thinking and as the statement goes around things and people around the child.
  • Physical abilities are developing.

• Child B: a 5-year-old:- The 2nd statement goes with a five year old as:
  • Language is developed.
  • Statement indicates better physical coordination in physical activities.
  • Thinking is shifting from egocentrism, as child is able to take others perspective, but, still struggles
  • Finds worthiness when praised by parents and strives for it.

• Child C: a 9-year- old:- The third statement goes with a nine year old child as:
  • Takes others perspective, understand how others can feel.
  • Can think logically.
  • High sense of duty and obligations.
  • Sense of worthiness on the basis of others (parents) value the child.

• Child D: a 12-year-old:- The first statement goes with a twelve years old child as:
  • Can hypothetically induct concepts and ideas.
  • Logic thinking in abstract way.
  • Increase in problem solving abilities.
  • Consciousness of being judged by the people.
  • Finding difficulty to choose the right way of actions.

• Child E: a 16-year-old:- The fifth statement goes with a 16 year old child as:
  • Can think abstractly both inductively and deductively.
  • Importance of peers can seen in child's life in the statement.
  • In search of self identity.
  • Likes to be popular among peers.