FIGURE 11.1 Developmental differences in adolescents’ perceptions of opposing and conflicting self-attributes When asked about their characteristics, 7th-graders were much less likely than older adolescents to report contradictions in their characteristics. Older adolescents, especially 9th-graders, reported that such contradictions caused them to feel internal conflict such as confusion or negative emotion. (Adapted from Harter & Monsour, 1992)