4: Self presentation Flashcards
What is the medieval view of the self?
They saw it as stable and fixed, including social class, location and family
What is the modern view of the self?
Flexiable and re-negociable
What are some reasons for the change in the view of the self between the medieval times and now?
Seculatisation
Industrialisation
Enlightenment
Psychoanalysis
What is James’ definition of the self?
Two seperate aspects:
Me: The knowledge we have of ourselves
I: Our awarness (reflexively) of ourself
According to Brewer and Gardner, what are the 3 types of self?
Individual self: Personal traits that differentiate the self from others
Relational self: Connections and role relationships with significant others
Collective self: Group memberships that differentiate ‘us from them’
According to Brewer and Gardener, what is individual self?
Personal traits that differentiate ourselves from others
Eg: Being good at tennis
According to Brewer and Gardener, what is relational self?
Connections and role relationship with others
Eg: Idea of what it means to be a mother
According to Brewer and Gardener, what is collective self?
Group memberships that differentiate ‘us from them’
What is the ‘me’ part of James’ definition of the self?
The knowledge we have about ourselves (Object)
What is the ‘i’ part of James’ definition of the self?
Our reflexive awareness of ourselves (Subject)
We can reflect on who we are to others and can think about who we are
When does self-awareness surface in our development
18 months to 2 years old
What is a self-schema?
Our knowledge about our self-concept
It influences our processing and behaviour
What is a social identity?
The self defined in terms of group memberships (Collective self)
What is personal identity?
Defines the self in terms of traits and close personal relationships (Individual self)
What are some self-comparison theories?
Self-awareness theory
Self-discrepancy theory
Regulatory focus theory
Self-perception theory
Who came up with self-awareness theory?
Duval and Wicklund
What is self-awareness theory?
When we become self-conscious, we compare our behaviour with internal standards and values.
If current behaviour is inconsistent with them, we change our behaviour or try to leavethe situation
What are the two types of self described in self-awareness theory?
Private and public self
What is individualization? (Self-awareness theory)
When people don’t have awareness of themselves as distinct individuals so fail to monitor their actions and act impulsively
Who came up with self-discrepancy theory?
Higgins
What is self-discrepancy theory?
We pick up on discrepancies between our actual self and our ideal/ought self and aim to reduce them through self-regulation
According to self-discrepancy theory, what are the 3 types of self?
Actual self: What we actually are in the moment
Ideal self: Who we aim to be
Ought self: What we think others want us to be
According to self-discrepancy theory, what is actual self?
What we actually are in the moment
According to self-discrepancy theory, what ideal self?
Who we would like to be
According to self-discrepancy theory, what ought self
Who we think we should be according to others
According to self-discrepancy theory, what is self-regulation?
Stratergies we use to try and match our actual self with our ideal and ought self
What do we feel when there is a discrepancy between our actual and ideal self?
Disappointed, dissatisfied, sad
What do we feel when there is a discrepancy between our actual and ought self?
Anxious, threatened, fearful
Who came up with regulatory focus theory?
Higgins
What is regulatory process theory?
We have two seperate reglatory systems:
The promotion system: This is the attainment of hopes and dreams, being sensitive to positive events and using approach strategic means to achieve our goals
The prevention system: This is the fulfillment of duties and obligations, sensitive to negative events and using avoidance strategic means to achieve their goals such as avoiding certain types of failure
According to regulatory focus theory, what is the promotion system?
This is the attainment of hopes and dreams, being sensitive to positive events and using approach strategic means to achieve our goals
According to regulatory focus theory, what is the prevention system?
This is the fulfillment of duties and obligations, sensitive to negative events and using avoidance strategic means to achieve their goals such as avoiding certain types of failure
Who came up with self-perception theory?
Bem
What is self-perception theory?
When our attitudes are ambigious, we infer them by observing our own behaviour
Role of external justification
Overjustification
What is the role of external justification in self-perception theory?
When extrinsic motivation is very strong, people discount the influence of intrinsic motivation
What is the overjustification effect in self-perception theory? Linked to external justification
It can decrease the liklihood of behaviours occuring again if extrinsically motivated
What is social comparison?
Where our self concept is shaped by others
What is the theory of the ‘looking glass self’?
We see ourselves and the social world through the eyes of other people and adopt these views
We see ourselves the way we think others see us
How you imagine you appear to others, how you imagine others wil judge you
Who came up with the idea of the ‘looking glass self’?
Cooley
What is social comprehension theory?
We rely on others to define who we are. We compare ourselves to those around us
What are upward social comparisons?
Comparing ourselves to someone who is better than we are in a particular trait - aspire to dream and be the best of the best
What are downward social comparisons?
Comparing ourselves to someone who is worse at a trait - self protective and self enhancing to make ourselves feel better
Who came up with the self-evaluation and maintance model?
Tesser
What is the self-evaluation and maintance model?
How do people behave when they’re constraied to only make upwards social comparisons?
What is self-affirmation theory?
People reduce the impact of a threat to their self concept by affirming their competence in other areas
What is social identity theory?
An individual’s self concept comes from their knowledge of membership to a social group
