Date Time TA Place

Tues Feb 27 10-11am Jaden Sid Smith 4001

Sid Smith 601
Tues Feb 27 3-4pm Alexa
(StarLab)
11am- Sid Smith 507
Wed Feb 28 Jana
12pm (Einstein Lab)
Assignment 1 instructions and questions
 Date Time TA Place
12:30-
Wed Feb 28 Jaden Sid Smith 4001
1:30pm
Sid Smith 507
Thurs Feb 29 10-11 am Jana
(Einstein Lab)
Sid Smith 601
Thurs Feb 29 1-2pm Alexa
(StarLab)
https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/researc
h-opportunities/research-opportunities-program
1. The Self

2. Self-Awareness

3. Self-Control

4. Learning and
the Self

5. The Self 7

Across Time
1. The Self

8
 WHAT IS THE SELF?

★ Your self-identity

★ Personality
★ What makes you who
you are & different from
other people
★ ”Who am I?”

★ Your inner life

★ Have a sense of self

★ What makes you different from an object
★ Common to all people (& other “agents”)
★ “What am I?”
9
 A DUALIST WORLDVIEW

Even very young babies see the world as containing two very different
types of things:

10
 A DUALIST WORLDVIEW

Even very young babies see the world as containing two very different
types of things:

11
 COMMONSENSE DUALISM

“I knew that I was a

substance the whole
essence or nature of
which is to think, and
that for its existence
there is no need of …
any material thing.

That is to say, the soul

by which I am what I
am, is entirely distinct
from body.”
12

René Descartes
 COMMONSENSE DUALISM

“I knew that I was a

substance the whole
essence or nature of
which is to think, and
that for its existence
there is no need of …
any material thing.

That is to say, the soul

by which I am what I
am, is entirely distinct
from body.”
13
COMMONSENSE DUALISM

14
COMMONSENSE DUALISM

15
MATERIALISM

16
MATERIALISM

“Dualism . . . [has] been

relegated to the trash heap of
history, along with alchemy
and astrology.”

Daniel Dennett
(Philosopher)
17
BAD SCIENCE…BUT GOOD PSYCHOLOGY?

★ 71% of Canadians believe they have a

soul which will survive the death of their
body
★ 67% believe in angels
★ 49% believe in God
★ 27% believe in ghosts
★ 14% believe they were once another
person

For context
★ 28% believe in psychics
★ 21% believe aliens have visited Earth
★ 18% believe in ESP (reading minds)
18

2008 Harris Poll

WHERE DO THESE IDEAS COME FROM?

Three possibilities

1. Cultural religious invention – we learn them from school, parents,

society

2. Universal experiences – we create them due to certain universal

experiences that we all face – e.g. dreams, death

3. Hard-wired – as adaptation or accident

19
WHERE DO THESE IDEAS COME FROM?

Three possibilities

1. Cultural religious invention – we learn them from school, parents,

society

2. Universal experiences – we create them due to certain universal

experiences that we all face – e.g. dreams, death

3. Hard-wired – as adaptation or accident

20
DUALISM IN CHILDREN

21

Bering & Bjorklund, 2004

DUALISM IN CHILDREN

Physical
Will he need to eat?
Will he grow up to be an old mouse?
Does his brain still work?

Psychological
Does he love his mom?
Does he know he’s not alive?
Does he want to go home?

22

Bering & Bjorklund, 2004

DUALISM IN CHILDREN

physical
biological psychological

100

50

0
kids adults
23

Bering & Bjorklund, 2004

 CHILDREN’S BELIEFS ABOUT THE BRAIN

Once upon a time there was a boy named

Chris. Whenever someone asked, “Who are
you?” Chris always said, “I’m Chris!” One
cold winter day, Chris was walking in the
woods to his grandmother’s house. He
knew how to get there all by himself. As he
was walking through the woods, he was
thinking about his favorite food, ice cream.
Then he ran into a wizard. The wizard
looked at Chris and said “I’m going to put
a spell on you! I’m going to turn your mind
[brain] into the mind [brain] of a horse.” The
wizard waved his magic wand and Chris
turned into a horse. His body was still the
same, but his mind [brain] had turned into
the mind [brain] of a horse. 24

Corriveau et al., 2005

 CHILDREN’S BELIEFS ABOUT THE BRAIN

Test Questions

Name If you asked him who he was, what would he say “I’m Chris!” or
“I’m a horse”?

Preference Does he think about eating grass, or about eating ice cream?

Memory When he remembers being little, does he remember being a little

boy, or being a little horse?

Knowledge Does he know the way to his grandmother’s house, or does he

know where to find good grass to eat?

Identity What is Chris now really, a boy or a horse?

25

Corriveau et al., 2005

 CHILDREN’S BELIEFS ABOUT THE BRAIN

100
Percent answering “correctly”

75

Name
50
Preference

Memory

25 Knowledge

0
Brain Mind Brain Mind Brain Mind
Adults 7 year olds 5 year olds
26

Corriveau et al., 2005

 CHILDREN’S BELIEFS ABOUT THE BRAIN

100
Percent answering “correctly”

75

Name
50
Preference

Memory

25 Knowledge

0
Brain Mind Brain Mind Brain Mind
Adults 7 year olds 5 year olds
27

Corriveau et al., 2005

WHERE IS THE SELF?

28

Starmans & Bloom, 2012

WHERE IS THE SELF?
WHERE IS THE SELF?
WHERE IS THE SELF?
WHERE IS THE SELF?
WHERE IS THE SELF?
 WHERE IS THE SELF?

N = 50 4-5 yos; 52 adults Starmans & Bloom, Cognition, 2012

 WHERE IS THE SELF?

N = 50 4-5 yos; 52 adults Starmans & Bloom, Cognition, 2012

WHERE IS THE SELF?
 WHERE IS THE SELF?
The picture can't be displayed.

N = 41 4-5 yos; 51 adults Starmans & Bloom, Cognition, 2012

 WHERE IS THE SELF?
The picture can't be displayed.

N = 41 4-5 yos; 51 adults Starmans & Bloom, Cognition, 2012

 CHILDREN’S BELIEFS ABOUT THE SELF

★ There is some support for the idea that a dualist

worldview, that intuitively sees a body and a
separate “soul” or “self”, is present in very young
children

★ Children view the brain as a “tool” used by the self,

rather than equal to the self

★ Children (like adults) have an intuitive sense that

the self is located in the head, near the eyes.
39
2. Self-Awareness

40
SELF-AWARENESS

★ The ability to recognize oneself as an

individual separate from the environment
and other individuals

★ Consciousness: being aware of the

environment (including one’s own body, etc.)

★ Self-awareness: The ability to reflect on that

awareness

41
SELF-AWARENESS

★ Inherently first-person, very hard to test!

★ Indirect evidence:
★ 2-4 months: sense of ability to control objects
★ 12 months: Joint attention
★ 18-20 months: Mirror self-recognition
★ 25-30 months: Can recognize photo of self
★ 2-3 years: asserting own opinions/goals
★ 3 years: self-conscious emotions
shame, pride, embarrassment 42
MIRROR-SELF-RECOGNITION TEST

43
MIRROR-SELF-RECOGNITION - APES

44
Mirror-self-recognition - Elephants

45
MIRROR-SELF-RECOGNITION – WHO ELSE?

46
MIRROR-SELF-RECOGNITION TEST

Yes No (so far!)

Humans >18 months Humans <18 months
(across cultures, with Small Apes (Gibbons)
some age differences)
Monkeys
Great Apes
Dogs
Elephants* Cats
Dolphins* Humans with…
Magpies* schizophrenia, autism,
right-hemisphere brain
damage, mental
disabilities 47

*some controversy about these

MIRROR-SELF-RECOGNITION TEST

Does the test require too much?

(Can have self-awareness, but fail)
★ Must understand how mirror works
★ Must notice mark
★ Must be interested in/dismayed by mark
★ Must attempt to remove mark

…or not enough!

(Can pass, but no self-awareness)
★ Synchrony without self?
★ Simple feedback? 48

★ General capacity for modeling?

3. Self-Control

49
SELF-REGULATION

★ The ability to monitor and control our own

behavior, emotions, or thoughts, altering them in
accordance with the demands of the situation.

★ Delaying immediate gratification in favor of

long-term gains

★ Studied extensively in
childhood by Water Mischel,
primarily using a task known
as the Marshmallow Task
50
SELF-REGULATION

51
SELF-REGULATION

Children do better when:

★ They think about distracting “fun” thoughts, instead
of thinking about the rewards
★ They think about abstract features of the reward
(big white blob), rather than the exciting features
(sweet, tasty gooeyness)
★ All rewards are covered up/hidden
★ BUT – they do even better if there are images of the
rewards
★ This works even if the real rewards are there, but the
kids imagine that they are just pictures
52
SELF-REGULATION

Early performance on marshmallow task predicts adult

behaviors such as:

★ Higher SAT scores

★ Better coping with stress
★ Less drug use
★ Higher education levels
★ Lower BMI
★ Better close relationships
53
FACTORS INFLUENCING SELF-REGULATION

★ Environmental reliability

★ Self-consciousness

54
★ Culture practices/teaching/expectations
SELF-REGULATION FOR OTHERS

★ Children participate
in a marshmallow
task either for
themselves, or for
the experimenter

Now After experiment

55
“What do you want to do?” vs “What should I do?”

Principe and Zelazo (2005)

 GRIT

https://pc.tedcdn.com/talk/podcast/2013S/None/AngelaDuckworth_2013S-480p.mp4
4. Learning and
the Self

57
MINDSET

★ Our beliefs about learning and intelligence and

our own minds can have a huge impact on
how we learn, and what we achieve

★ “Mindset” is an idea developed over decades

by prominent psychologist Carol Dweck

★ Investigates how children think about these

issues, and what impact this has on their
achievement

58
TWO MINDSETS

Fixed mindset: you’ve got a certain amount of

intelligence, and that’s that.

Growth mindset: intelligence can be improved

and realized through learning

59
TWO MINDSETS

Fixed mindset: you’ve got a certain amount of

intelligence, and that’s that.

Growth mindset: intelligence can be improved

and realized through learning

Fixed mindset associated with less motivated to

learn, less effort, likely to want to quit after
setbacks
60
CAROL DWECK -- MINDSET

https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Procedure: First, children are asked to solve an easy set of problems

62

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Manipulation: Children get 1 of 3 types of praise

Ability praise: “You must be smart at these problems!”

Effort praise: “You must have worked hard at these problems!”

Control condition: no additional praise, just told they did well and
got a high score

63

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Measure:
What kind of problems do you want to solve next?

Performance goal:
“Problems that I’m pretty good at, so I can show
I’m smart”

Learning goal:
“Problems that I’ll learn a lot from, even if I don’t
look so smart”
64

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Proportion Choosing Performance goal

65

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Proportion Choosing Performance goal

66

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Proportion Choosing Performance goal

67

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

 EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Procedure: Now, children are asked to solve a difficult set of problems

All children given negative feedback that they did poorly

68

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET

Measure: Back to easy problems – how many do children solve??

69

Mueller
Mueller& Dweck, 1998
& Dweck, 1998
EFFECTS OF MINDSET

70

Mueller & Dweck,

Mueller 19981998
& Dweck,
EFFECTS OF MINDSET

71

Mueller & Dweck,

Mueller 19981998
& Dweck,
EFFECTS OF MINDSET

72

Mueller & Dweck,

Mueller 19981998
& Dweck,
EFFECTS OF MINDSET

73

Mueller & Dweck,

Mueller 19981998
& Dweck,
EFFECTS OF MINDSET
Measure: Children asked whether they believe
intelligence is fixed or changeable; solve hard problems

74

Mueller
Mueller& Dweck, 1998
& Dweck, 1998
EFFECTS OF MINDSET
Belief that intelligence is fixed

75

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET
Belief that intelligence is fixed

76

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

EFFECTS OF MINDSET
Belief that intelligence is fixed

77

Mueller & Dweck, 1998

WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET?
http://blog.mindsetworks.com/what-s-my-mindset
5. The Self 79

Across Time
IDENTITY OVER TIME
What makes us the same person over time?

★ We change a lot, both physically and

psychologically, over development

★ As adults, we think that the infant, the toddler,

the teenager, the adult, the senior citizen – are all
one person over time

★ How do children reason about identity over time?

80
IDENTITY OVER TIME
What makes us the same person over time?

★ Older work suggests that 6-year-olds place high

importance on outward appearance and
name

★ Claim that they would no longer be “the

same person” if their name were to change

★ Claim that they are not now the same

person they were when they were a baby,
and that they won’t be the same person
they are now once they grow older 81

(Guardo & Bohan, 1971)

 IDENTITY OVER TIME
But, even for adults, the phrase “the same
person” is ambiguous. Name Change
Fender’s owner
changed his name
to Gibson, so now
everyone calls him
Gibson

Appearance Change
Fender’s owner
didn’t like the way
he looked, so he
Fender took him to an
animal doctor who
Most dogs don’t like to take baths
trimmed his fur and
Fender really likes to take baths. 82
dyed it brown
Gutheil and Rosengren (1996) Does this dog like to take baths?
IDENTITY OVER TIME
Can children use spatiotemporal history to track
individual identity?
4-year-olds
★ Draw a picture and show it to Pooh
★ Hide the picture

New experimenter enters room

★ Brings new Pooh
★ Does Pooh know what you drew?

80% of 4-year-olds correctly said

the new Pooh did not know what
was on the picture
83
CHANGE IN THE SELF

Do kids expect that people change over time?

★ We discussed studies in a previous lecture that

suggested 6-7-year-olds think they will change
physically but not psychologically

★ Other studies suggest that children think a lot of

change is possible – but only positive change!

85
 CHANGE IN THE SELF
Imagine someone who had these negative
characteristics at age 5, and also age 10.
What will they be like at age 21?
Stay negative Become average Become amazing

100%
Missing a finger
Excessively freckled skin 80%
Poor eyesight
Ugly 60%
Clumsy
40%
Slow learner
Excessively shy 20%
Unusually mean
0%
5-6 7-9 Adults

Lockhart, Chang,& Story (2002)

 CHANGE IN THE SELF
Imagine someone who had these negative
characteristics at age 5, and also age 10.
What will they be like at age 21?
Stay negative Become average Become amazing

100%
Missing a finger
Excessively freckled skin 80%
Poor eyesight
Ugly 60%
Clumsy
40%
Slow learner
Excessively shy 20%
Unusually mean
0%
5-6 7-9 Adults

Lockhart, Chang,& Story (2002)

 CHANGE IN THE SELF
Imagine someone who had these negative
characteristics at age 5, and also age 10.
What will they be like at age 21?
Stay negative Become average Become amazing

100%
Missing a finger
Excessively freckled skin 80%
Poor eyesight
Ugly 60%
Clumsy
40%
Slow learner
Excessively shy 20%
Unusually mean
0%
5-6 7-9 Adults

Lockhart, Chang,& Story (2002)

CHANGE IN THE SELF
★ Children do have some understanding that identity
stays the same despite changes
★ But this understanding isn’t fully clear at ages 4 &
5, and they may see some changes, such as
appearance, as changing identity.

★ By age 4, children can use spatiotemporal history to

track individuals, and know that identical individuals
don’t share the same knowledge

★ Young children are very optimistic about the types

of changes that will occur over time, though this
becomes more adult-like by about age 7.
1. The Self

2. Self-Awareness

3. Self-Control

4. Learning and
the Self

5. The Self
Across Time