Self and Identity in Modern Psychology and Indian Thought by Anand C. Paranjpe

Author:Anand C. Paranjpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer US
Published: 2015-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Conceiving of the Future Selves: Hazel Markus’s Approach

In a series of publications, Hazel Markus and her associates (Markus, 1977, 1983; Markus & Nurius, 1987; Markus & Wurf, 1987) have conceptualized the self as a cognitive schema, and have tried to account for its role in conceiving of the future states as well as in directing ongoing behavior. Markus’s conceptualization of cognitive schema follows the pioneering work by Frederic Bartlett (1932), and the seminal contributions ofPiaget (1951) and Kelly (1955). Markus (1977) defines self-schemata as “cognitive generalizations about the self, derived from past experience, that organize and guide the processing of self-related information” (p.64). In her initial studies, Markus (1977) experimentally demonstrated that self-schemata facilitate the processing of information about the self, give confidence in predicting their own future behaviors, and resist counterschematic information. In the light of her own and other empirical studies, she tried to show how self-schemata shape the perceiver’s expectations, determine the way in which a situation is framed or interpreted, and selectively influence attention (Markus, 1983). An important aspect ofher work is concerned with the potential or possible selves, i.e., conceptions of the self in future states (Markus & Nurius, 1987). The future selves may be positive states hoped for, such as a rich and famous self that is esteemed and revered by others, or a feared self sick, unemployed, penniless, and unloved. The construction of future selves is thus inextricably associated with affective states like hope and fear, and accordingly guides one’s course of action so as to avoid undesirable future states and to attain the desirable ones. The connection pointed out by Markus between the cognitive construction of the self on the one hand and the emotion and action on the other is important in the study of the self. We shall discuss the nature of this connection wherever relevant in the following chapters.

In a series of publications, Hazel Markus and her associates (Markus, 1977, 1983; Markus & Nurius, 1987; Markus & Wurf, 1987) have conceptualized the self as a cognitive schema, and have tried to account for its role in conceiving of the future states as well as in directing ongoing behavior. Markus’s conceptualization of cognitive schema follows the pioneering work by Frederic Bartlett (1932), and the seminal contributions of Piaget (1951) and Kelly (1955). Markus (1977) defines self-schemata as “cognitive generalizations about the self, derived from past experience, that organize and guide the processing of self-related information” (p.64). In her initial studies, Markus (1977) experimentally demonstrated that self-schemata facilitate the processing of information about the self, give confidence in predicting their own future behaviors, and resist counterschematic information. In the light of her own and other empirical studies, she tried to show how self-schemata shape the perceiver’s expectations, determine the way in which a situation is framed or interpreted, and selectively influence attention (Markus, 1983). An important aspect of her work is concerned with the potential or possible selves, i.e., conceptions of the self in future states (Markus & Nurius, 1987). The

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