4- What is the Self? Flashcards
How was the self previously measured?
By asking people to create 20 sentences starting with ‘I am’
What was the problem with the old way of measuring the self? (2 points)
- Hard to quantify as very open ended and subjective
- Lacking in theory and what it actually tells us
What are included in A mode responses?
Physical characteristics
What are included in B mode responses?
Roles and statuses, as well as socially defined relationships one may have
What are included in C mode responses?
Personal traits and preferences, as well as styles of behaviour
What are included in D mode responses?
General statements
Who was William James?
One of the earliest psychologists to write about the self
How did James describe the self?
The self contains two aspects- self can be both the subject and the object
How is the concept of the self unique to humans?
We are the only species who have a capacity to reflect on and think about ourselves and be aware of ourselves
What is the “I” part of the self?
Stream of consciousness and the sense of being aware of oneself
How does the “I” see the self?
As the subject
What is included in the “I”?
Thinking, feeling, and knowing
How does the “me” see the self?
As the object
What is included in the “me”?
Knowledge, thoughts, feelings, behaviours
What is the “me” also called sometimes?
Self-concept
What can beliefs about the self be?
Very useful
Why is knowing who you are across situations and times important?
For coherency
What is included in the ABC model of “me”?
Affect, behaviour, cognition
What is included in the affect aspect?
Feelings toward the self
What 3 aspects are included in feelings toward the self?
Whether you like yourself
Your confidence
Extent that you feel worthy and valuable
What important concept is included in someone’s affect?
Self-esteem
What is behaviour in the ABC model also called?
Self-presentation
How do we try to present ourselves to others?
In a way that is consistent with our self-concept
What is cognition also known as in the ABC model?
Self-concept
What do self-schemas in cognition include?
Representations of who we are
What 3 aspects are included in representations in cognition?
Beliefs, knowledge, and memory
How do aspects of the ABC model interact
They are intertwined and affect each other
Who came up with the levels of the self?
Brewer and Gardner, 1996
What is the idea behind the levels of the self?
We can think about the self-concept at three different levels
How are levels of the self activated?
By contexts and by cues
Why is activating different levels of the self in different contexts important?
We are more likely to activate one type of self rather than another in certain situations
What are the three levels of the self?
Collective self, relational self, individual self
What is the collective self?
Group memberships that differentiate “us” from “them”
What is the relational self?
Connections and relationships with significant others- interpersonal relationships
What is the individual self?
Personal traits or characteristics that differentiate the self from others and make us unique
How can we create multiple selves?
By breaking down the self
What levels and how many selves can we have?
At all levels, and we can have many at each level
What do we hold to create multiple selves?
Schemas of multiple selves and representations of what we might become in the future
What are multiple self-schemas part of?
The cognitive self-concept
How are different roles of the self represented?
Different roles have different attributes
What 3 ideas can be included in multiple self-concepts?
What they might become
What they would like to become
What they are afraid of becoming
How is the working self-concept activated?
By the situation we are in
Who came up with the idea of multiple selves?
Markus and Nurius, 1986
What evaluation is included in self-esteem?
Affective evaluation of the self
How does self-esteem vary? (2 points)
Varies in valence from higher to lower
Varies in stability over time and in response to events
What is stable self-esteem?
People feel a similar sense of self-esteem over time
What is unstable self-esteem?
People have self-esteem that can fluctuate
What is the problem with measuring self-esteem?
It is very difficult to measure and difficult to quantify
What is the main questionnaire to measure self-esteem?
Rosenberg self-esteem scale
What is included in the Rosenberg self-esteem scale?
Statements that you rate from strongly agree to strongly disagree
What do answers indicate in the Rosenberg self-esteem scale?
Either high self-esteem or low self-esteem
What are the 3 limitations of self-report questionnaires to measure self-esteem?
- People are required to reflect and introspect accurately about themselves
- People need honesty in responses
- May be response biases
Why do self-esteem questionnaires not have a social desirability bias?
Because there is nothing intrinsically good or bad about having high or low self-esteem
What is an example of an implicit measure?
Name letter test
How does the name letter test indicate high self-esteem?
People on average like letters more that feature in their name if they have high self-esteem
How do implicit measures measure high self-esteem?
More positive attitudes and beliefs towards implicit measures when people have high self-esteem
Why do we tend to use other measures as well as implicit measures to measure self-esteem?
Implicit measures aren’t the most reliable
