THE INTERPLAY OF AFFECT AND COGNITION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY AS REVEALED IN CHILDREN'S FIGURE DRAWINGS.
Item
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Title
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THE INTERPLAY OF AFFECT AND COGNITION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY AS REVEALED IN CHILDREN'S FIGURE DRAWINGS.
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Identifier
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AAI8312379
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identifier
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8312379
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Creator
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WEIN, CATHY LEA.
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Contributor
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Dr. Gilbert Voyat
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study investigated the interplay of affect and cognition in the development of the sense of identity in children. Both generic identity--the invariance of a living being, and individual identity--the unique self, as well as the child's understanding of identity as an intellectual concept, were examined from both psychoanalytic and Piagetian perspectives.;In tracing the infant's progress from a global to a more differentiated psychic state, several factors were emphasized: the child's object-relations, especially the attachment to the primary caretaker; the construction of the permanent object and a separate and distinct self; the capacity for symbolic representation; and the establishment of gender constancy. The role of maturation and experience, and of imitation and identification, were also discussed.;These issues were explored in relation to hypotheses pertaining to the qualitative and quantitative changes which are assumed to occur in the child's sense of identity in the course of development. Significant relationships between affect and cognition, and age and conceptual ability, were postulated.;Thirty children between 3.7 and 8.11 years participated in the study. The experiment consisted of (1) a conservation of matter task; (2) human figure drawings; (3) reordering and labeling the drawings; (4) verbal exploration of identity-awareness; and (5) spontaneous comments. Measures related to identity-issues were derived from both established norms and from relevant behaviors observed during the experiment. The measures assessed cognitive level and affective criteria underlying the identity-concept and the child's conscious experience of self.;A scale of cognitive maturity was developed which was highly related to several variables: the ability to transform mental images while maintaining a sense of inherent integrity and continuity; the complexity of the graphic image and, by implication, the corresponding nature and structure of the internal image; the recognition and representation of differentiated affective states; and the level of identity-awareness and capacity for self-reflection. The group trends indicate that cognitive maturity is a good, but not perfect, predictor of degree of identity-awareness. Intense affect and/or instability of the child's emotional ties and identifications appear to account for any disparities noted.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
