'Who Am I'
Spontaneous Self-Descriptions

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

'Who Am I':
General Information 

Spontaneous self-descriptions are assessed in BASE using an open "Who am I?" question adopted from Bugental & Zehlen (1950; cf. Freund, 1995; Freund & Smith, 1999a). The "Who am I?" task required subjects to describe themselves in ten short statements as shown in the instructions (Freund & Smith, 1999b). The "Who am I?" question was the first task of the Self and Personality questionnaire at Time 1.
Subjects' responses were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. These transcriptions were subsequently content analyzed and rated. Responses were segmented into theme units. These units were randomized and each was coded in terms of domains (e.g., personal characteristics, health, etc.) and further dimensions with reference to time-frame, valence, and globality. Segmenting and coding were done independently of each other by two different coders (cf. Freund, 1995). Different scores of elaboration where calculated.

Literature: Freund, 1995; Smith & Baltes, 1996, 1999.

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

'Who Am I':
Instructions used in BASE

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

'Who Am I':
Domains

The domains consisted of the following:

1. Socio-demographic character

Responses including one or several socio-demographic variables (e.g. nationality, place of residence, age, marital status); variables are not necessarily socio-demographic in the strict sense, but can have other connotations (e.g. a focus on age).

2. Financial and material concerns

All responses focusing on monetary or other closely connected areas (e.g. property and possessions).

3. Personality traits

Description of participant's approach towards him/herself and/or objects; adjectival self-description using general personality features. This category also covers questions of taste and preferences and dislikes with regard to objects.

4. Emotions

Responses explicitly incorporating feelings, moods, or emotional and affective reactions. Many of the statements included here focus on anxiety, anger, happiness, sadness, joy, worries.

5. Physical image

Descriptions of one's own body and physical appearance, but not of one's health.

6. Health

Responses focusing on one's own health (both well-being and ailments/illnesses), as well as one's general state of health.

7. Cognitive ability

Descriptions (including critical evaluations) of one's mental or intellectual skills and capabilities (including memory); statements about cognitive style, i.e. the participant's intellectual approach to the environment.

8. Occupation (professional or other)

Responses refering to the participant's (former) occupation (professional or other), education or training. "Other" occupations are those which do not involve payment (e.g. voluntary work) and may take up less time, but can still be attributed to an existing professional field. This category incorporates all responses in which these topics are mentioned; the occupation (professional or other) is not necessarily actively pursued. Responses which focus on the fact that the participant no longer works (but is retired) are also included in this category.

9. Interests and hobbies (at home)

Responses refering to hobbies in which the participant is actively involved, as well as interests which do not require any activity on the part of the participant (i.e. simple declarations of interest), as long as these are pursued at home. Participation (active or passive) in societal matters, such as social commitments (as long as these are not classified as category 8; occupation) and interest in politics and world events or in public and cultural life are understood as societal participation. All other types of interests or activities (at home) are characterized as hobbies.

10. Activities (away from home)

Responses focusing on activities pursued away from home. Participation in societal or public/cultural events is understood as societal participation. Sport and other activities which are pursued outside the home, including travel, belong to the subcategory hobbies.

11. Daily activities (routines)

Descriptions of the daily routine, simple enumeration of a sequence of everyday actions, events or routines, e.g. housework.

12. Everyday competence

Responses focusing on the participant's level of everyday independence or dependence in coping with the daily routine.

13. Experiences/life events

Responses describing experiences or life events which cannot be assigned to another category, in particular political or societal experiences which had a profound influence on the participant's life.

14. Social contact / social relations (friends, relatives, acquaintances, pets)

All responses explicitly focusing on social contact (or the absence of social contact), i.e. responses in which social partners such as friends, acquaintances or pets are mentioned.

15. Family / relatives

All responses focusing on relatives, family, or the participant's own role within the family.

16. Interpersonal style

Descriptions of the participant's socially interactive behavior and approach to others.

17. General rules / life knowledge

General maxims, rules, principles, or knowledge about life, not necessarily explicity related to the participant him/herself ("wisdom").

18. Reflections on own life

This includes statements which show contemplation of one's own life, one's own biography (usually taking stock); reflections about what has or has not been achieved; evaluation of the course of one's life. This category also comprises responses which focus on life to come, i.e. prospective views.

19. Death and dying

Responses referring to death and dying or, more generally, the end of life and one's own mortality.

20. Existential and religious attitudes

This includes membership of religious communities and professions of faith, but also more general ideological attitudes revealing a certain view of the world, including political convictions and beliefs. Statements expressing a very fundamental relationship to life or to the world are also assigned to this category as they reflect basic "world views" and conceptions of life.

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

'Who Am I':
Further Dimensions

A. Time-frame

This dimension reflects the time-frame of the self-descriptions. Segments were coded as to whether or not their content referred to present, past and/or future.

B. Valence

Under the dimension of valence, the self-description was coded in terms of whether it reflected satisfaction or dissatisfaction, happiness or sadness. Four codings where possible: pure description, positive, negative or ambiguous evaluation.

C. Globality

The dimension globality reflects the extent to which self-descriptions were general or specific. Possible codings were global/expansive, detailed/specific, and mean level of specificity. A self-description was coded as global/expansive if its content could be exemplified in several ways. A self-description was coded as detailed if the content could not easily be further specified. If a global statement was exemplified, the self-description was coded as global, if it was restricted to a more detailed level, it was coded as specific. Interest in activities was given a lower specificity rating than actual performance of activity, interest in a number of areas was given a lower specificity rating than a single interest. If non-related statements were of different specificity, the self-description was coded on the highest level of globality found.

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

As several domains could be mentioned in participants answers and each domain mentioned could be described in more than one theme unit, elaboration scores were calculated after segmenting and coding. For the WBI-Task three variables indicating the level of elaboration are part of the data bank. These are the number of different domains, absolute elaboration corresponding to the number of theme units, and the product of both as a summary indicator of general elaboration.

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

'Who Am I':
Raw Constructs Created in BASE

• General Information
• Instructions used in BASE
• Domains
• Further Dimensions
• Elaboration
• Raw Constructs Created in BASE

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