Self-development, Wang (2012) what is self?

Self-development, Wang (2012) what is self?

1. Useful framework proposed by- Ulric Neisser to answer question of what is self?

   • Conceives - the facets of self in terms of different forms of information.
     • Neisser - suggests the self begins with the human body, 'the ecological self'. - directly perecieved in relation to the immediate physical environment. Ecological self - specified by primarily kinetic information through perceptual modalities. We perceive our physcal existence with respect to the environment. This facet of the self is based on online perception - may be present at birth.
       • The self- produced acts enable infants to perceive that they are distinguishable from objects and other people. By 5mths - infants are able to differentiate their own leg movements on videos from those of another infant -suggesting an early form of visual self-recognition
         • The ecological self entails a sense of personal agency, which is experienced through actions and interactions that entail contingency responding. Infants realising that they are able to initiate actions and elicit responses from objects and people, develop a sense of personal control over the environment.

2. Another facet of the self is the 'interpersonal self'. Specified by primarty kineteic information. Self that is engaged in immediate social interaction. During interation - a state of intersubjectivity is established when the nature, direction, timing and instensity of actions mesh appropriately between the interacting partners.

   • The interpersonal self is based on online perception and is in place in very early infancy.
     • Newborns as early as 3-96 hours old have been found to decrease their eye contact, show increased distress, and cry longer when the interacting partner displays unresponsiveness in the still-face paradigm.
       • When there is a certain mismatch between their mothers and their own responses, infants 6-12 weeks of age show distress.
         • By 8-9 months of age infants are able to perceive & experience what Stern labels as affect attunement, whether infants & the interacting social others are sharing an affect. Such cooridinated responses in actions &affect constitute intersubjectivity that is evident in the 1st year, marking the emergence of the interpersonal self.

3. The ecological and interpersonal self are situated in the here and now and do not involve internal self-representations.