Communication and Personal Identity

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The Self Arises in Communication with Others

• Self-fulfilling prophecies involve acting in ways
  that bring about our expectations or judgments of
  ourselves.

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The Self Arises in Communication with Others

• Communication with family
• Direct definition is communication that
  explicitly tells us who we are by labeling us and
  our behaviors.
• Identity scripts are guides for living that
  define our roles and how we are to play them.
• Attachment styles are patterns of parenting that
  tell children who they are, who others are, and
  how to approach relationships.

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Attachment Styles

• A secure style occurs when the caregiver responds
  in a consistently attentive and loving way.
• A fearful style is cultivated when the caregiver
  in the first bond communicates in negative,
  rejecting, or abusive ways to the child.
• A dismissive style is promoted by caregivers who
  are disinterested, rejecting, or abusive.
• The anxious/resistant style is inconsistent
  treatment from the caregiver.

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Views of Self
Positive
Negative
Secure
Anxious/ Resistant
Positive
Views of Others
Dismissive
Fearful
Negative
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The Self Arises in Communication with Others

• Communication with peers
• Reflected appraisal refers to the idea that we
  reflect the appraisals that others make of us.
• Social comparison involves comparing ourselves
  with others to form judgments of our own talents,
  abilities, and qualities.

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Influences on Self-Concept
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Influences on Self-Concept
Self-Concept
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The Self Arises in Communication with Others

• Communication with society
• The perspectives of society (generalized other)
  are revealed to us in two ways
• Through interactions with others who have
  internalized cultural values and pass them on to
  us
• Through media and social institutions such as
  judicial and educational systems

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• The self arises in communication and is a
  multidimensional process that involves importing
  and acting from social perspectives.

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The Self is Multidimensional

• There are many dimensions to self
• Physical
• Cognitive
• Emotional
• Social roles
• Sense of morality

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The Self is a Process

• We are not born with selves but acquire them. We
  change again and again during life. We are self
  renewing and ever growing.
• Ego boundaries define where an individual stops
  and the rest of the world begins.
• Babies literally have no ego boundaries.

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The Self Internalizes Social Perspectives

• We rely on social perspectives to define
  ourselves and to guide how we think, act, and
  feel.
• Particular others are specific individuals who
  are significant to us.
• The generalized other is the collection of rules,
  roles, and attitudes endorsed by the whole social
  community in which we live.

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Social Perspectives on the Self are Constructed
and Variable

• Social perspectives are constructed in particular
  cultures at specific times.
• The constructed and arbitrary nature of social
  values differs from culture to culture.
• Just as our culture shapes us, so we shape our
  culture.
• Each of us has the responsibility to speak out
  against social perspectives that we perceive as
  wrong or harmful.

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Guidelines for Improving Self-Concept

• Make a firm commitment to change.
• Gain knowledge as a basis for change.
• Set goals that are realistic and fair.

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Guidelines for Improving Self-Concept

• Create a context that supports change.
• Uppers are people who communicate positively
  about us and who reflect positive appraisals of
  our self-worth.
• Downers are people who communicate negatively
  about us and our self-worth.
• Vultures are an extreme form of downers.
• Self-sabotage involves telling ourselves we are
  no good, we cant do something, there is no
  point, etc.

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Experiencing Communication in our Lives . . .

• View the following video clip and then answer
  the questions that follow based on material
  presented in this chapter. A script of the
  scenario can be found at the end of Chapter 3.

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Wadsworth Thomson Wood Scenarios
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• Identify examples of direct definition in this
  scenario.
• Identify examples of reflected appraisal. What
  appraisals of her son and daughter does Kate
  reflect to them?
• What do Emma and Jeremys responses to Kate
  suggest about their acceptance of her views of
  them?
• To what extent does Kates communication with her
  children reflect gender expectations in Western
  culture?
• You may go to your student CD that accompanies
  the text to compare your answers to Julia Woods.

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