Flashcards
Social Self
Cards in this deck (34)
- 1Self-ConceptThe complete set of beliefs people have about themselves (Markus, 1977)
- 2How self-concept is made upMade up of self-schemas
– E.g., someone can be self-schematic on the dimension of extraversion
(this trait is important to them) and self-aschematic on the dimension of
generosity (this trait is not important to them) - 3The role of self-schemasSelf-schemas determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour in specific
contexts (Markus, 1977) - 4Markus (1977) and self schemasParticipants who were more self-schematic on independence or dependence more quickly identified words related to their schema
- 5Self-schemas influence daily aspects of lifeSelf-schemas influence aspects of daily life
– E,g., self-schemas about weight can lead to preoccupation - 6Multiple role theoryIt is beneficial to a person’s health and well-being to have multiple selfidentities
(e.g., Thoits, 1983)
• Opens up new experiences
• …But also the risk of failure and frustration
•Self-schemas that are too extreme can have negative effects - 7Self-Concept ClarityThe extent to which self-schemas are clearly and confidently defined
- 8Nezlek and Plesko (2001) Diary studyover 100 participants completed the self-concept clarity scale developed by campbell et al; some days self-concept was clearer than others
- 9Self-awarenessThe psychological state of being aware of one's characteristics, feelings and behaviors
Develops over time (at about 18 months)
Even animals (dolphin black spot experiment) have a sense of self - 10Public Self AwarenessThe awareness of the public aspects of one's self, and how these aspects may be seen by others
- 11Private Self-AwarenessAwareness of the private aspects of one's self. Can be positive if focusing on the positive private aspects, but can also lead to depression if focusing on the negative
Scheier and Caver - people are more negative about themselves in front of mirror - 12Effects of Private self-awarnessBeing in front of a mirror makes us more privately self-aware so we are more likely to adhere to our attitudes rather than
changing them (Scheier & Carver, 1980)
• It also makes us more moral (Diener & Wallbom, 1976)
• Private self-consciousness (Fenigstein et al., 1975)- Chronic private self-awareness and concern about private
aspects of the self – can have positive and negative effects - 13The two theories of selfTheories that addess why people perceive themselves the way they do
-Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1967)
-Self Discrepency Theory (Higgins, 1987) - 14Self-Perception TheoryBem, 1967
People learn about the self by examining their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors
e.g. if you study hard for an exam, you perceive yourself as quite studious
this can stem from imagined behavior too (Gyn et al. 1990) - 15Self-Discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987)Focus on people’s awareness of discrepancies between the actual self and their perceived and ought selves
– Actual self – how a person sees the self at present time
– Ideal self – how a person would like to see the self
– Ought self – how a person thinks they ought to be - 16Effects of self-discrepancy theorySadness and disappointment from discrepancies between actual and ideal self
Annoyance and irritation from discrepancies between actual and ought self - 17Self-regulationattempt to match discrepancies with an ideal/ought standard of self
- 18Regulatory Focus TheoryBuilds on self discrepancy theory: Two
1) Promotion - seeks to reach the ideal, motivates people towards success
2) Prevention - catiousness, people focus on the "oughts" and tend to focus on failures - 19Control theory of self regulationpeople test the self against self schema and private standards, if they dont meet the standard then they attempt to address the discrepanies until they do, which will exit the feedback loop
- 20Pros and Cons of Control theory of self regulation-allows improvements to the self through self-appraisal and regulation
-can make life more difficult (radish vs chocolate Maruven & Tice 1998, where going against willpower depleted motivation)
-Ego depletion - self control can easily be used up
Strength model of self control - self control cannot be maintained infinitely (Baumeister et al 1998) - 21Social Comparison TheoryPeople compare themselves to others to learn about or define oneself (Festinger)
Upward - negative effect on self esteem
Downward - positive effect on self concept
Temporal - comparing oneself to a self from the past or an anticipated one from the future - 22Self-evaluation maintenance modelHow people maintain their self-esteem in the case of upward comparisons
-exaggerate the ability of the other person
-try to engage in downward comparisons with an other
-Avoid the comparison person in question
-Devaluig the dimension in which this other person is better (e.g. well tennis isn't that great of a sport anyway) - 23How social reflection occurs in the self-evaluation maintenance model-Deriving self-esteem from the achievement of close others
-happens if the domain achievement is not self-relevant
-also if we too are exceptional in this domain - 24Self-esteemCan be positive or negative; a person's subjective appraisal of self
-influenced by upbringing and parenting style
can change over lifetime - 25Sources of Self EsteemCan be internal to the person (emotions, self-schmeas, flexibility of self perception)
Can be external - social acceptance
Scociometer theory - people motivated to maintain high self-esteem and ensure this through social acceptance - 26Contingent self-esteemPeople's self esteem stem from different factors
If they stem from a large range - higher self esteem as it has multiple sources
If they stem from limited range (e.g. appearance only) - low self esteem - 27Self PresentationCan be impression management (the impression you give off to others) or self-monitoring (monitoring how you act around specific people, and how this can benefit you strategically)
- 28What drives self-presentation?• Motives that drive strategic self-presentation (Jones & Pittman, 1982)
• To be seen as competent
• To be liked
• To make people think we are dangerous
• To be seen as morally respectable
• To be seen as helpless and in need of sympathy - 29Motivated social cognition and the selfPeople have a vested interest in their self-concepts
• Motivations that influence social cognition (e.g., Kunda, 1990)
– To find out more about a topic
– To protect or enhance our self-esteem
– To ensure cognitive consistency
– To feel that we are in control of the world in which we live - 30Four key goals in motivates social cognition
- 31Illusion of Control- We like to feel in control
-Lack of control is the source of anxiety
-We therefore sometimes overestimate our control
-We want to maintain the feeling that we are in control - 32Culture and the selfDifference in perception of uniqueness and interdependence depending on culture (collectivist vs. individualistic)
interdependent self construct
independent self construct - 33Self-Definition and Self-enhancement across culturesSelf definition - japanese are more critical of themselves then americans
Self enhancements - east asians respond better to criticism then positive reinforcemnt
bicultural people integrate both cultural standards - 34Summary of this TopicWhat is the self?
• What is it for?
• How the self influences what we think, feel and do
• Theories of the self
• Cultural considerations
Information
- Description
- University Undergraduate Social Psychology Flashcards on Social Self, created by sarahderveeuw on 23/04/2015.
- Created by
- sarahderveeuw
- Views
- 17
- Tags
- Rating
More on Social Identity and the Social Self