CH.3: communication and personal identity

Question 1

the self

Answer 1

a process of internalizing and acting from social perspectives that we learn in the process of communication

Question 2

direct definition

Answer 2

comm that explicitly tells us who we are by labeling us and our behaviors

Question 3

identity scripts

Answer 3

rules for how we are supposed to live and who we are supposed to be (ex. we give back to the community and live by God’s word)

Question 4

attachment styles

Answer 4

patterns of parenting that teach us who we and others are and how to relate to others (comm w/ family)

Question 5

secure attachment

Answer 5

the primary caregiver interacts in a consistently attentive and loving way –> positive self-worth and view of others

Question 6

fearful attachment

Answer 6

the primary caregiver communicates in negative, rejecting, or abusive ways –> negative self-worth and view of others

Question 7

dismissive attachment

Answer 7

a caregiver who is disinterested, rejecting, or abusive –> positive view of self and negative view of others

Question 8

anxious/ambivalent attachment

Answer 8

fostered by inconsistent and unpredictable treatment from the caregiver –> creates anxiety and inconsistency

Question 9

social comparison

Answer 9

comparing ourselves to others to gauge our talents, attractiveness, abilities, skills, etc.
- compare if we are alike/different
- measure ourselves in relation

Question 10

communication with society

Answer 10

learn how society views race, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class through media and institutions

Question 11

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 11

one acts in ways consistent with how one has learned to perceive onself

Question 12

self is…

Answer 12

• multidimensional: physical, cognitive, emotional, social (personality/roles), moral
• a process: the self develops over time and with experience

Question 13

ego boundaries

Answer 13

where the self stops and the rest of the world begins

Question 14

particular others

Answer 14

one source of social perspectives that people use to define themselves and guide how they think, act, and feel; people who are significant to us (ex. mother, father, siblings)

Question 15

reflected appraisal

Answer 15

the process of seeing ourselves through others’ eyes

Question 16

perspective of the generalized other

Answer 16

the rules, roles, values and attitudes endorsed by the specific culture in which we live

Question 17

western culture’s identity categories

Answer 17

race, sex and gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class

Question 18

self-disclosure

Answer 18

the revelation of information about ourselves that others are unlikely to discover on their own

Question 19

self-sabotage

Answer 19

telling ourselves we are no good, we’ll never learn something, there’s no point in trying to change, etc. –> undermines belief in ourself

Question 20

ways to enhance the self

Answer 20

• commit to improvement
• gain knowledge
• set realistic goals
• self-disclose when appropriate
• accept yourself
• create a supportive context (places and people)

Question 21

social perspectives are…

Answer 21

• constructed: created in particular cultures at specific times + tend to reflect the views and values of those in power at the time
• changeable: can and do change if enough members of a society challenge them