Editing Adolescence (section)

====Self-concept====
{{See also|Self-concept}}
The idea of self-concept is known as the ability of a person to have opinions and beliefs that are defined confidently, consistent and stable.<ref name="Valkenburg & Peter 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Valkenburg |first1=Patti M. |last2=Peter |first2=Jochen |title=Online Communication Among Adolescents: An Integrated Model of Its Attraction, Opportunities, and Risks |journal=Journal of Adolescent Health |date=February 2011 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=121–127 |doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.08.020 |pmid=21257109 |s2cid=205650071 }}</ref> Early in adolescence, [[cognitive development]]s result in greater self-awareness, greater awareness of others and their thoughts and judgments, the ability to think about abstract, future possibilities, and the ability to consider multiple possibilities at once. As a result, adolescents experience a significant shift from the simple, concrete, and global self-descriptions typical of young children; as children, they defined themselves by physical traits whereas adolescents define themselves based on their values, thoughts, and opinions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlson|first=Neil R.|title=Psychology: the science of behaviour|year=2010|publisher=Pearson Education Canada|location=Toronto, Ontario}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref>

Adolescents can conceptualize multiple "possible selves" that they could become<ref name="Markus1986">{{cite journal|author1=Markus H. |author2=Nurius P. |year = 1986 | title = Possible selves|journal = American Psychologist|volume = 41|issue = 9| pages = 954–969 | doi = 10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954 |s2cid=550525 }}</ref> and long-term possibilities and consequences of their choices.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9780471726746.ch4 |chapter=Socialization and Self-Development: Channeling, Selection, Adjustment, and Reflection |title=Handbook of Adolescent Psychology |year=2004 |last1=Nurmi |first1=Jari-Erik |pages=85–124 |isbn=978-0-471-20948-5 }}</ref> Exploring these possibilities may result in abrupt changes in self-presentation as the adolescent chooses or rejects qualities and behaviors, trying to guide the [[self-discrepancy theory#Actual|actual]] self toward the [[self-discrepancy theory#Ideal|ideal]] self (who the adolescent wishes to be) and away from the feared self (who the adolescent does not want to be). For many, these distinctions are uncomfortable, but they also appear to motivate achievement through behavior consistent with the ideal and distinct from the feared possible selves.<ref name="Markus1986" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oyserman |first1=Daphna |last2=Markus |first2=Hazel R. |title=Possible selves and delinquency |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=1990 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=112–125 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.59.1.112 |pmid=2213484 }}</ref>

Further distinctions in self-concept, called "differentiation," occur as the adolescent recognizes the contextual influences on their own behavior and the perceptions of others, and begin to qualify their traits when asked to describe themselves.<ref name="Harter, S. 1999">Harter, S. (1999). ''The construction of the self''. New York: Guilford Press.{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref> Differentiation appears fully developed by mid-adolescence.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marsh |first1=Herbert W. |title=Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early adulthood |journal=Journal of Educational Psychology |date=September 1989 |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=417–430 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.81.3.417 }}</ref> Peaking in the 7th-9th grades, the [[personality traits]] adolescents use to describe themselves refer to specific contexts, and therefore may contradict one another. The recognition of inconsistent content in the self-concept is a common source of distress in these years (see [[Cognitive dissonance]]),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harter |first1=Susan |last2=Monsour |first2=Ann |title=Development analysis of conflict caused by opposing attributes in the adolescent self-portrait. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=March 1992 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=251–260 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.28.2.251 }}</ref> but this distress may benefit adolescents by encouraging structural development.