A comparative, semi structured interview from two female participants, and how their age gap influences the focus of their self-descriptions based on Rosenbergs study of self-descriptions.

by louiesmith (student)

A comparative, semi structured interview from two female participants, and how their age gap influences the focus of their self-descriptions based on Rosenberg’s study of self-descriptions.

Abstract

This research was conducted into an investigation into the findings of Rosenberg (1979) in which he suggests that there is a developmental trend in the way children describe themselves which changes through stages with age. In a comparative study, semi structured interviews were carried out by The Open University on two female pupils of differing age. The interviews were transcribed and analysis was carried out in which the findings agreed with that of Rosenberg’s study. The results did show that the older female participant did use more self-descriptions that were in the category of character, relationships and inner qualities, whereas the younger participant used majority physical descriptions. The thematic analysis carried out which included a study of Rosenberg’s ‘locus of self-knowledge’ and other themes such as ‘pride and shame’, did not agree with Rosenberg entirely.

Introduction

Piaget believed that children developed through stages and schemas. (Oates et al, 2005). Piaget’s theory was revolutionary in many respects. It recognised that children thought differently to adults. (Oates et al, 2005). Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a social constructionist who agreed with some aspects of Piaget’s work. Vygotsky proposed that it is through social interaction that ways of thinking begin to be appropriated by children, not, as Piaget thought, by children constructing them on their own. (Oates et al, 2005). Like Vygotsky, Mead (1934) saw the importance of the social interaction for identity. Mead was one of the founders of the ‘symbolic interactionist’ school of thought which emphasized the importance of language and interaction. He saw the self and the social world as inextricably bound together (Miell and Ding, 2005). Another researcher, Cooley coined the term ‘looking-glass self’. Cooley believed that people build up their sense of identity from the reactions of others to them and from the view they believe others have of them (Miell and Ding, 2005). Harter (1983) outlined a developmental sequence in which young children described behaviour and objective facts which could potentially be described by others. As the children became older the focus moved to ‘qualities of character’ (happy, cheerful etc,) and then to intrapersonal traits (shy, friendly etc,). Bannister and Agnew (1977) found that children were more able to describe themselves psychologically in terms of thoughts of emotions and beliefs much more easily than younger children completing the same task. It was Rosenberg (1979) who then followed up from the work of Bannister and Agnew. Rosenberg conducted a study in which he interviewed a large population of students from 8 to 18 years old about their sense of self. Rosenberg found that there was a developmental trend in his study in that younger children tended to describe themselves by using physical traits, where older children would use more inner qualities and state more about relationships and their character. Rosenberg explored one further aspect of self- development. He was interested in what he called the ‘locus of self-knowledge’. This is about how far children have developed an independent, self-reflective sense of self, separate from others (notably parents or other attachment figures), (Open University, 2011). The Open University conducted this research based on Rosenberg’s categories of self-descriptions and conducted semi structures interviews in order to further look at Rosenberg’s locus of self-knowledge.

Design

This was a non-experimental comparative design semi structured interview conducted by two male researchers at The Open University. The research is both quantative and qualative as answers will be placed into a table as well as being thematically analysed. The study is based on Rosenberg theory of self-descriptions. ‘I’ statements were collected from two participants. Once the participants had written ‘I’ statements then recording began and the participants were interviewed about their ‘I’ statements. The data was transcribed and the ‘I’ statements were categorised to fit into either; physical, character, relationship or inner. Calculations were then done to get ...

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Design

Participants

Two female participants aged 16 and 8 years old. No further information was provided as to any cultural or background information.

Materials

Video recorder
Pen
‘I’ statement sheet with ten lines
Category analysis sheet x 2
Transcript of video recording
Standardised instructions

Procedure

The Open University contacted local schools to identify participants who would be willing to talk about themselves. As the participants were children, parents had to sign a consent form. Interviews were carried out in the school day in a building familiar to participants; also present at interviews were the sound recordist and the producer. Equipment was placed so that the participants were not inhibited. There were background noises such as traffic and if noise became a problem then recording was stopped until noise levels were suitable. Participants were informed at the beginning of the interview that they could stop at any time or if they felt that they had said something that they didn’t wish to be recorded then it would be taken out.

Ethics

We were advised that the research had met with BPS guidelines.

Analysis

The ‘I’ statements were noted down onto the category analysis sheets and then coded into one of the four categories below:-

Physical – descriptions of self which could be observed or described by others, they are mainly about physical features or activities.

Character – Descriptions that refer to personal characteristics, such as qualities of character, emotional characteristics and emotional control.

Relationships – Descriptions of self that refer to relationships with others.

Inner – Descriptions of self that refer to more private inner emotions, attitudes, wishes and secrets, only things the individual would know.

The results were put into a pie chart to see if a developmental trend could be established. Thematic analysis was done to look at Rosenberg’s idea ‘locus of self-knowledge’.

Results

A comparative analysis comparing one child against another, both children were female but of differing ages. The aim of the study by The Open University was to research Rosenberg’s theory of self-descriptions.

Physical – Annie used 56% physical statements, whereas Kirsty used 7%.

Character – Annie used 13% character statements and Kirsty used 27%.

Relationships – Annie used 6% relationship statements and Kirsty used 13%.

Inner – Annie used 25% inner statements and Kirsty used 53%.

For a full breakdown of the results see appendix A and B.

Locus of self-knowledge

Rosenberg felt children developed an independent sense of self with age which is separate their parents or attachment figures.

Annie was asked by the interviewer who would know more about how she was getting on at school, herself or her mom:-

Annie [16.01] I think we both would because she’s seen all my Maths works from reception.

The interviewer then pushes for an answer based on if Annie and her mother gave different responses:-

Annie [16.28] – if she was with me and she said something and I heard it, I’d know if she was right or wrong. But I need to know what she’d say to know if she was right or wrong.

Kirsty is asked who would be right if he asked if she was well behaved at home, Kirsty or her mom:-

Kirsty [21.16] We see it in very different ways

The above both showed an independent way of thinking even at different ages.

Other Themes

Pride and shame

Rosenberg found that older children were more likely to use interpersonal traits such as friendly or shy, unlike younger children. The below shows both participants used interpersonal traits.

Annie [18.23] That I’m a kind person and if you got to know me, you’d like me, probably.

Kirsty [15.44] I don’t have that much confidence

The results based on the ‘I’ statements do support Rosenberg’s findings. The thematic analysis is not clear cut and as documented above there are elements that would disagree with Rosenberg’s ideas.

Discussion

The research aim was to find there would be a developmental trend by using Rosenberg’s categories of self-descriptions. The hypothesis was that there would be a difference in both the self-descriptions and the ‘locus of self-knowledge’ when analysis was carried out on the interviews of the participants of differing age. Within the analysis carried out, It was possible to agree with Rosenberg and his categories of self-descriptions as shown in the results section, but it wasn’t possible to totally agree on the area of ‘locus of self-knowledge’ as both Annie and Kirsty showed that they had the ability to think independently, again highlighted in the results section. It is important to recognise that the research carried out by The Open University was not perfect and had many flaws which would possibly affect the outcome. Firstly, there is no information known about the participants or their backgrounds other than where they go to school and there ages. It’s possible the study have been differently reflected had there been more information known about the participants and their background. The study is based on two interviews and does not give a large enough sample to give accurate results as to whether we could fully agree with Rosenberg or not as Rosenberg study was indeed much larger in scale. Vygotsky emphasized the importance of cultural tools. Perhaps one of the most significant cultural tools people use is language (Oates et al, 2005) and yet within this research this was not considered. The interview instructions and set up was the same for both participants and yet there was a big difference in age. It’s possible that the results would have been different if the interviews had been approached differently to suit the age of the participant. Also the results may have been different if both interviews had been carried out by the same researcher, as with two different researchers there may have been some subtle differences in their technique or questioning that had an effect on the participant’s answers. Other areas in which the results may have been affected is in the actual coding. The analysis of the ‘I’ statements may have been coded different from one researcher to another; it was extremely difficult at times to select a definite category. Depending on where you categorised the ‘I’ statements, it would have had a knock on effect to the calculations and result. The thematic analysis again was a challenge. It was possible to choose segments out that could prove one area or another depending on the interpreters view. The research could be doctored to prove or disprove any theory potentially depending on the desired outcome by selectively choosing a segment to suit. Looking at the Rosenberg study it could be said that his finding although true within his historical time may have very different results now. Children today are not the same as children were thirty years ago and to conduct studies today it would be important to look at how children are today and what has changed. I would certainly think about how children now communicate, as much communication is done through technology such as email and mobile phones. Also look at how children’s everyday lives have progressed since Rosenberg’s study. There is more pressure today for children to fit in, where the right clothes which has a knock on effect with their confidence and supports Cooleys ‘Looking Glass-Self’ Theory. Looking at the categories Rosenberg used, I would look to use more defined categories that made coding easier and have more categories to get a better overall view. When interviewing the children, it may have been best to have a group discussion as children feel more comfortable with others peers and maybe more able to speak freely. In the Open University study conducted, It would have been beneficial to have been present at the interviews and had some input into the questions and got more involved. There was evidence overall to support Rosenberg’s finding but it has opened more questions and to get a complete picture, further research is required.

Conclusion

The aim of the study was to see if there was a developmental trend in Rosenberg’s categories of self-descriptions and also to investigate further his idea ‘locus of self-knowledge’. The results did show there was a developmental trend but didn’t agree with his idea ‘locus of self -knowledge’.

Word Count - 1995

References

Littleton and Miell (2005) ‘The early developemt of identity’, p. 129 – p. 137 in Ding, S, and Littleton, K. (eds) Children’s Personal and social development’ Oxford, Blackwell/The Open University

Oates, Sheehy and Wood (2005) ‘Theories of development’ p. 63 – p. 75 in Oates, J, wood, C, and Grayson, A. (eds) Psychological Development and Early Childhood’ Oxford, Blackwell/The Open University

Rosenberg (1979) cited in the Open University (2011) ED209 Child Development, Assignment Booklet, Milton Keynes: The Open University.