4- Self Concept & Identity

Question 1

Self-Concept

-KNOW

Answer 1

• answer to “who am I?”

- everything i am

Question 2

self-schema

-KNOW

Answer 2

Schema: mental representation of idea
Self-schema: a label we give to ourself which means certain qualities
ex) athlete- I’m fit, hard-working
-if you identify as one thing, even if you don’t have those qualities you begin to adopt them
–this is why kids become parents like how their parents are

-identifying aspects of identity + qualities

Question 3

identity

-KNOW

Answer 3

• changes from situation to situation
• based on groups you affiliate w/ or belong to
  ex) Christian, Walmart Employee

Your behavior changes based on the identity important to you at the moment

Question 4

Types of identity

Answer 4

-Gender identity, Ethnic, National

• Gender identity: x-axis = masculinity, y-axis = femininity
• can be high Masculine, high Feminine, Androgyny = high both, Undifferentiated = low both

Ethnic- what you’re born into- which culture

• common language, ancestry, heritage, symbols
  ex) Menorah - Jewish

National- political borders

• where you’re living now
• shared media, history, cuisine
• symbols

Immigrants have a conflict b/w ethnic and national identity
-esp 1st and 2nd gen immigrants

Question 5

Self-Evaluation

Answer 5

Self-Discrepancy theory
–each of us has 3 selves
Actual self: the self you believe yourself to be, based on self-concept
Ideal self: the person you’d like to be
Ought self: The self you feel others want you to be

Self-discrepancy theory: The further away these 3 selves are from e/o, the more stress you feel
The closer they are, the happier you are

Self-Efficacy

• if you feel capable of doing well
• our belief in ability to succeed
• in general or for specific activities
• low voter turnout

Overconfidence- too much self-efficacy

Learned-helplessness

• locked dogs in cages, administered shocks they couldn’t escape from- after a while the dogs stopped trying, even when cage was opened
• -you learn that you don’t have self-efficacy so you stop trying

Locus of Control
-how we characterize the influences in our lives

i was late for a meeting
Internal LOC- I lost track of time; I did things; I control env
External- The meeting was too early, Traffic- blame env/others

Health- balance of loci
Intrapersonal intelligence = introspective- understand self; see when it’s your fault and when it’s not