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How Children Construct Views of Themselves: A Social-Developmental Perspective
Eddie Brummelman1,2, Sander Thomaes3
1Stanford University.
Child Development
|September 15, 2017
Summary
Children develop their self-concept through social interactions, feedback, comparisons, and cultural values. Understanding these origins highlights the social nature of self-development in children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Children form self-concept as they mature, influencing their views of themselves and their world.
- While social and developmental psychology have studied self-concept, its origins remain under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advocate for research integrating social and developmental psychology to understand self-concept origins.
- To present findings from a social-developmental approach on how children construct self-concept.
Main Methods:
- This research adopts a social-developmental perspective.
- It examines the role of social relationships, feedback, social comparison, and cultural values.
Main Results:
- Children's self-concept is actively constructed based on social input.
- Social relationships, received feedback, social comparisons, and endorsed cultural values are key factors.
Conclusions:
- Self-concept development is fundamentally a social process.
- Integrating social and developmental psychology is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of self-concept origins.
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