The Construction of the Self: A Developmental Perspective

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Guilford Publications, Apr 19, 1999 - Psychology - 413 pages
How do children and adolescents see themselves, and how do their self-perceptions relate to their relationships with others? How do cognitive and social processes interact in the development of each person's unique sense of self? Drawing upon the author's decades of innovative research, this long-awaited volume traces the stages of self-development and examines how self-representations affect functioning across diverse domains. With special attention to gender and cultural variables, chapters cover such topics as pathways to low self-worth and depression; the effects of child abuse; conflict provoked by shifting roles and self- representations in adolescence; and the authenticity of the self. The concluding chapter covers interventions designed to promote adaptive self-evaluations.

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About the author (1999)

Susan Harter, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Head of the Developmental Psychology Program at the University of Denver. Her research, supported by funds from NIH for over 20 years, has resulted in the construction of a lifespan battery of self-report instruments to tap dimensions of the self-concept. These instruments are currently in use throughout the United States and internationally. In addition, she has received two major faculty awards, University Lecturer of the Year and the John Evans Professorship Award, the highest award to be bestowed upon a faculty member. Both awards are for national and international recognition in one's chosen field of research. Dr. Harter has written numerous journal articles and chapters, including chapters on self-concept, self-esteem, as well as motivational and emotional development in the 1983 and 1998 Handbook of Child Psychology. She has also served on National Institute of Mental Health study sections, chaired the Cognition, Emotion, and Personality Committee, and currently is on the Editorial Boards of a number of journals, including Developmenal Psychology, Child Development, Psychological Bulletin, Development and Psychopathology, and American Educational Research Journal.

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