The Development of the Self-System during Adolescence

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Abstract
The influence of cognitive structural changes upon the development of the self-system during adolescence was explored. The three major hypotheses of this study were as follows: As one proceeds through adolescence, there will be greater (a) differentiation, (b) abstraction, and (c) integration. To test these hypotheses, 10 middle-class males in each of three age groups, 10-, IS-, and 20-years-old, were employed as Ss. Three free response, self-referent tasks were presented. The classification systems which were devised for this research had sufficient interrater reliability. The three major hypotheses were supported. The evidence suggests that the emergence of the ability to abstract is the most important cognitive development in the adolescent's self-system. The data indicate that the major transformations in the development of the adolescent self-system occur after age 15.