4 - Self & Others Flashcards
What was William James’ multidimensional - ‘me’ & ‘I’ self?
‘I’ = subject, agent, knower. i.e.
‘Me’ = object of reflection, know.. sets of beliefs, evaluations, attitudes (social psych interest).
What is self-concept?
Mental representation of all of a person’s knowledge about his/her attributes… beliefs, thoughts, values etc.
What are self-aspects?
Summaries of beliefs about the self in specific domains;
- personal aspects ~ what distinguishes you from others e.g. traits
- social aspects ~ social identities, e.g. friends.
- domains ~ work, home, friends (often overlap).
What are the big two dimensions of self-concept?
Communion - warmth, social identity.
Agency - competence, goal attainment
What are schemas?
A knowledge structure that links, organises & ‘weights’ self-concept components.
- provides summary of core important characteristics.
- guides interpretations of environment & performance of behaviour.
What is the narrative self?
“The story of who I am”. Internalised, evolving story of the self that binds, organises and provides meaning to self components aspects across time.
What are the aspects of future selves and their purposes? What is Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)?
Ought self - who should I be? & Ideal self - who do I want to be? ~ Guides behaviour.
Self-Discrepancy Theory; perceived discrepancy b/w actual self & self guides (future selves)
What did McGuire et al. (1978) found in examining gender identity in children’s self-concept?
When child was in gender minority, gender was greater part of child’s concept of self.
What did Fazio et al. (1981) find when priming trait introversion-extraversion in situations?
People who were primed by the topic on introversion - they pulled their chairs closer to the other in the interaction - acting more extraverted.
Situational cues can activate different aspects of self.
What is social comparison theory?
- self-knowledge comes from comparing one’s own traits, abilities etc to others (Festinger, 1954).
- leads to assimilation or contrast.. sameness or distinction.
What is social feedback?
The process by which we internalise the perceptions of how others see us…
Others act as mirrors.. our selves are shaped by how we think others see us.
What did Miller et al (1975) find about self being shaped by how we think people see us? (Tidy Children).
Attribution of ‘You are Tidy’ led children to act tidier in class. & this behaviour increased
- social source: label “tidy” > behaviour “clean up” > enforces label & behaviour = feedback loop.
What is introspection?
- looking inward at the contents of consciousness.
What is Self-perception theory (Bem, 1972)
Infer self-knowledge by observing own behaviours (introspection).
Often happens if knowledge is weak or ambiguous.
What is the over-justification effect and how did Lepper, Greene & Nisbett (1973) provide evidence for it?
Children’s drawing task with 3 conditions:
- Expected reward: extrinsic motivation
- Unexpected reward: intrinsic motivation
- No award: intrinsic motivation
When researchers returned - pencils were handed out with no instruction, those who were intrinsically motivated were 2 x more likely to draw w/o reward.
What function, in relation to self and master, does self-verification serve?
Confirms what one believes about the self, which provides accuracy of self-knowledge, one of the two components of mastery.
- ppl prefer r/ships which agree w/ self-image, even if it is negative. A
What function does control serve & what did Blanton et al (1999) find about children’s social comparison
Control - ppl make upward social comparisons to motivate behaviour and seek rewards.
Study found children who use upward social comparisons do better in the studies overtime.
What is the enhancement motive?
The desire to maximise the positivity of one’s self views.
Define our self concepts in ways that make us feel better about ourselves
What is the difference b/w trait and state self-esteem.
Cross-situationally stable vs temporary and situation-specific.
What is the ‘better than average’ Lake Wobegon effect?
Most ppl see themselves as above average
What are some self-protective mechanisms?
Self-defensive attributions - neg behaviours attributed to situations, positive as arising from traits.
Self-defensive social comparisons - downward social comparison, “I’m not as bad as…”
Self-affirmation - when one part of self is under threat, ppl may affirm different aspects
What is impression management?
Presenting self in a way that enables us to fit in.
What are some strategies of self presentation? (Jones & Pittman, 1982)
Ingratiation, self-promotion, intimidation, exemplification, supplication.
What characteristics comprise of our impressions?
Physical characteristics - ‘beautiful is good’.
Social categories - gender, nationality.
Content-environment - spaces we occupy (student)
Behaviours - verbal & non-verbal.
