User:Mlt4k8/sandbox

== Article Evaluation: Self-Concept ==
 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * The first few sections of the article are extremely relevant to the topic. They focused on the idea of what a self-concept is and how they are developed. I found it particularly helpful that they discussed developmentally how a self concept can emerge. The section on history also seemed very relevant to the topic. However, the last few sections entitled gender differences and media really seemed out of place and the cultural differences paragraph was not tied in as well as it could have been. While I do think gender roles and culture have an impact on the way a person views themselves, these two sections seemed to be pulled straight from an article on their heading as opposed to being used to support the idea of self concept. I think these topics have a place in this article, it just needs to be tied in better. Perhaps they should explain how gender can impact the way a person views themselves and how the role they assume in society impacts their demeanor and self-image/concept.The media section simply lost me as to how the author was trying to relate a persons self concept to the form of media they are most involved with.
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * The article seemed very neutral to me. The author never seemed to take a side in an argument and they always seemed to present information from a variety of sources. The article was in no way opinionated and they seemed to just be giving the facts and not trying to take any particular position.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * This article seems to take a very general viewpoint and represents all ideas equally. No one topic seems to be outweighing the others. The article seems to equally represent information discovered by multiple psychologists. The only area I can see where it would have been helpful to have more information is in the non academic development section. While the article covers development, it focuses more on the development in an academic sense as opposed to just general development.
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * The majority of the citations seem to be working, with the exception of just a few of the 40 listed. The sources I looked at all seem to be valid and support the ideas expressed in the article. They all seemed to come from academic journals about the specific topics for which they were referencing.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Each fact seems to be appropriately referenced. The majority of the sources are psychology journals, academic articles, or books which are all generally neutral sources.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Some of the sources are as old as the late 90's, but on a topic such as self-concept, there aren't a lot of things that have changed over the years. I think that though these sources are almost 20 years old, the material found in them still seems to be reliable as the knowledge on this topic has not changed a whole lot in the past 20 years. I think it would be nice if they included more information about how early childhood and outside of school helps to develop the self concept, the development section focuses rather heavily on academic development as opposed to just development in general.
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * The talk page is discussing things such as merging the page with that of self-image, two things that, in psychology, are distinctly different. It also discusses how the article seems to be written at a very high academic level, therefore leading it to be incomprehensible to the average wiki user. There are also a few conversations about the point of view of the article and external citations.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * This article is rated as a high importance, start class article. It is a part of the Psychology, Sociology and Cognitive Science WikiProjects.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * So far in class we have not talked a whole lot about self-concept. I would imagine this article is pretty on par with how we would discuss it, except in much more detail. In class we will probably focus more on self concept as it is related to personality, and this article focuses more on the broad idea of what is a self-concept and how is it developed.
 * Suggestions:
 * If I was to edit this article, I would first look at the section on media and see if I could find more evidence to justify it as a topic on this article and if not I would consider deleting it. I would also rewrite the majority of the article using more user friendly language. The facts and ideas in the article are fairly good, they are just not written in a way that the average person with minimal psychology knowledge could read and comprehend the ideas. I would add more to the introductory paragraph, outlining a little better what exactly self concept is and giving more of a summary of the following topics in this part, because generally people just look at the top section of a wiki article.
 * Suggestions:
 * If I was to edit this article, I would first look at the section on media and see if I could find more evidence to justify it as a topic on this article and if not I would consider deleting it. I would also rewrite the majority of the article using more user friendly language. The facts and ideas in the article are fairly good, they are just not written in a way that the average person with minimal psychology knowledge could read and comprehend the ideas. I would add more to the introductory paragraph, outlining a little better what exactly self concept is and giving more of a summary of the following topics in this part, because generally people just look at the top section of a wiki article.

Week 7: Sources
Measuring Self-Concept Across the Life Span: This book can be used to better define how to measure self-concept throughout a persons life and how to interpret the data based on personality.

Building Positive Self Concept: This book covers the development of self concept from youth to young adulthood and encompasses the ideas of how to develop more positively. The Role of Cultural Identity Clarity for Self-Concept Clarity, Self-Esteem, and Subjective Well-Being: This journal article has information regarding the impact of culture and cultural norms on a person's self-concept. Sdkvd (talk) 15:51, 6 March 2018 (UTC) Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation: This article has information regarding Independent vs Interdependent cultural views on self-concept. Sdkvd (talk) 16:02, 6 March 2018 (UTC)

Cultural Differences
Sdkvd (talk) 03:22, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
 * 1) Additional information regarding the independent and interdependent cultures, and their effects of self-concept.
 * 2) Additional information and sources from studies conducted on other cultures (possibly including Japanese, Chinese and Canada, as well as Hindu and Quakers)
 * 3) Information comparing urban versus rural areas.

The Role of Cultural Identity Clarity for Self-Concept Clarity, Self-Esteem, and Subjective Well-Being by Esther Usborne and Donald M. Taylor

Self-Concept Consistency and Culture: The Differential Impact of Two Forms of Consistency by Tammy English and Serena Chen

The independent and the interdependent selves: different meanings in different cultures  by Anit Somech

A Cross-Cultural Validation of Adolescent Self-Concept in Two Cultures: Japan and Sweden by Saori Nishikawa and Torsten Norlander

Copied from article for editing, updates made by sdkvd:

Worldviews about one's self in relation to others differs across and within cultures.[33] Western cultures place particular importance on independence and the expression of one's own attributes[34] (i.e. the self is more important than the group). This is not to say those in an independent culture do not identify and support their society or culture, there is simply a different type of relationship. Non-Western cultures favor an interdependent view of self:[33] I nterpersonal relationships are more important than one’s individual accomplishments, and individuals experience a sense of oneness with the group.[33] Such identity fusion can have positive and negative consequences.[33] Identity fusion can give people the sense that their existence is meaningful provided the person feels included within the society (e.g. In Japan, the definition of the word for self (jibun) roughly translates to “one’s share of the shared life space”). Identity fusion can also have a negative impact on one's self-concept because one's behaviors and thoughts must be able to change to continue to align with those of the overall group.

Additionally, one’s social norms and cultural identities have a large impact on self-concept and mental well-being. When a person can clearly define their culture’s norms and how that plays a part in their life, they are more likely to have a positive self-identity,leading to better self-concept and psychological welfare. One example of this is in regards to consistency. One of the social norms within a Western, independent culture is consistency, which allows each person to maintain their self-concept over time. The social norm in a Non-Western, interdependent culture has a larger focus on one’s ability to be flexible and to change as the group and environment change. If this social norm is not followed in either culture, this can lead to a disconnect with one’s social identity, which effects personality, behavior, and overall self-concept.

A small study done in Israel showed that the divide between independent and interdependent self-concepts exists within cultures as well. Mid-level managers in an urban community were compared to those in a kibbutz (collective community). The managers from the urban community followed the independent culture. When asked to describe themselves, they primarily used descriptions of their own personal traits without comparison to others within their group. When the independent, urban managers gave interdependent-type responses, most were focused on work or school, due to these being the two biggest groups identified within an independent culture. The kibbutz managers  followed the interdependent culture. They used hobbies and preferences to describe their traits, which is more frequently seen in interdependent cultures as these serve as a means of comparison with others in their society. There was also a large focus on residence, lending to the fact they share resources and living space with the others from the kibbutz. .[35] Sdkvd (talk) 22:53, 12 March 2018 (UTC) These types of differences were also seen in a study done with Swedish and Japanese adolescents. Typically, these would both be considered non-Western cultures, but the Swedish showed more independent traits, while the Japanese followed the expected interdependent traits. Sdkvd (talk) 16:51, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

Media
In this day and age, social media is where people experience most of their communication. With developing a sense of self on a psychological level, feeling as part of a greater body such as social, emotional, political bodies can effect how one feels about themselves. If a person is included or excluded from a group, that can impact how they form their identities. Growing social media is a place for not only expressing an already formed identity, but to explore and experiment with developing identities. In the United Kingdom, a study about changing identities revealed that some people believe that partaking in online social media is the first time they have felt like themselves, and they have achieved their true identities. They also revealed that these online identities transferred to their offline identities.
 * Self-Concept is one part personal identity and one part social identity. Social media is currently something that influences one's social identity. One way the media shapes self-concept is through persuasion. Seeing certain things in the media, like someone with a "perfect" life, could persuade someone to act a certain way, or buy a certain thing, to become what that life appears to be.
 * Elaborate on how Social Media effects Mental Health/Sense of Self:

A 2007 study was done on adolescents aged 12 to 18 to view the ways in which social media impacts forming an identity. The study found that it impacted the formation in 3 different ways: risk taking, communication of personal views, and perceptions of influences. In this particular study, risk taking behavior was engaging with strangers. When it came to communication about personal views, half of the participants reported that it was easier to express these opinions online, because they felt an enhanced ability to be creative and meaningful. When it came to other's opinions, one subject reported finding out more about themselves, like openness to experience, because of receiving differing opinions on things such as relationships. Mullin.rae (talk) 17:48, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Rewrite whole media section: it seems out of place.

Gender Differences
~Marisa Intended Edits:
 * Provide additional information about how the genders develop differently in their self-concepts.
 * Additional information on how the described characteristic have an kind of impact on self concept.
 * Locate newer research to try to further support the claims made in the first paragraph.
 * Provide additional information about how these supposed differences have an impact on the persons life.
 * Argue that these are not actually inherently personality of self-concept differences, but the influence of social norms affecting how a person develops.
 * Possible Sources
 * Gender Differences in Self Concept and Psychological Well Being in Old Age: A Meta-analysis
 * Gender differences in math and verbal self-concept, performance expectations, and motivation

Paragraph 1: In addition to their view of interdependence, men and women also view themselves differently in regards to several other traits that have to do with self-concept. For instance, in a study conducted in 1987, men were found to consider themselves more achievement and financially oriented as well as more competitive than their female counterparts. In contrast to this, the women were more likely to view themselves as sociable, moral, dependent and less assertive than the men. These differences potentially have an impact on the individuals subjective well being.

Paragraph 2: Once I locate more research, I plan to discuss how these differences begin and what drives the development of differing self concepts for the two genders. I also plan to look at the impact of organized sports and the fact that boys are more heavily encouraged to participate and how this impacts their self concept at a young age as well as its effects later in life.

In early adolescence, males are more likely to have a positive physical self-concept. During this developmental stage, boys who develop early tend to have a more positive view of themselves as opposed to early developing females who view themselves more negatively. The largest difference during this developmental stage between males and females is the way they view their appearance. It is assumed at this age that a more attractive person has more social power. By the time they reach college-age, females continue to have lower physical self-concepts than males. Mlt4k8 (talk) 00:59, 31 March 2018 (UTC)   Sdkvd (talk) 01:40, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Paragraph 3: I will look more at play and how mixed gender play, or having opposite gendered siblings can impact the development of a self concept.

Additional paragraph 4:

I will add a paragraph about the gender differences impact on academic beliefs and abilities. This will focus on self-fulfilling prophecy with math and english abilities as well as the students perceived confidence in the subject.Mlt4k8 (talk) 14:30, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Several studies have shown a difference between men and women based upon their academic self-concept. In general, men are more likely to view their overall academic self-concept higher, especially in the areas of math, science and technology. Women tend to have higher perceived abilities in their language related skills. This differing view of academic abilities has resulted in an academic achievement gap in countries such as Norway. These perceived self-concepts tend to reflect the typical gender stereotypes that are featured prominently in most cultures. In recent years, more women have been entering into the STEM field, working in predominantly math and science related careers. Many factors play a role in females adjusting their self-concept to accommodate more positive views of math and science such as; gender stereotypes, family influence and personal enjoyment of the subject. Mlt4k8 (talk) 03:03, 18 March 2018 (UTC) Females also tend to be more critical of their STEM abilities, leading them to require a higher level of achievement in order to have an equivalent level of self-value as their male counterparts. This leads females to, in general, be less successful in the STEM area, because a higher self-concept is associated with higher levels of achievement in that area.

Peer Review by BDHXVC

 * Many of your points about weaknesses in the article are absolutely correct. Media section belongs, but could be grouped together into an "External influences to self-concept" section. If you are having trouble finding resources, I suggest the library website http://libguides.mst.edu/az.php.


 * Note that in today's age the differences between men and women are smaller than 60 years ago. The women who are ~20-30 today may end up being just as active as the men. The data collected on those older individuals is skewed to the lifestyle those people had at the time they were ~20-30.
 * That being said, the data does exist for the current time. If data comes about to disprove the differences, Wiki can be updated again to reflect such.
 * You are certainly on the right track for improving the page. Ensure someone reads through your edits for spelling or grammatical mistakes prior to posting it. If possible, translate some of the higher language to a mid-level or layman's terms.
 * Keep up the good work! User talk:BDHXVC
 * Peer review response: Thank you for the review! I have adjusted the statements about the activity levels and will probably end up taking out that section due to lack of obtained research. I have found more information that is current on academics and basic differences and intend to work more on these topics.Mlt4k8 (talk) 21:28, 22 March 2018 (UTC) We will also ensure we review our changes for spelling and grammatical issues prior to updating the wiki page. Thank you, again! Sdkvd (talk) 16:06, 23 March 2018 (UTC) Thank you! I was finding it rather difficult to find sources on media. I also agree that Media section could be grouped into "external influence to self-concept". If I do not find more sources for this particular topic, I will follow through with that idea!Mullin.rae (talk) 02:58, 24 March 2018 (UTC)