Chapter 3 Flashcards
What is self-concept
An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations
What 3 things describe an individual’s self-concept
An individual’s self-concept can be described by three characteristics: complexity, consistency and clarity
Describe Complexity, consistency and clarity in regards to self-concept
1) Complexity refers to the number of distinct and important roles or identities that people perceive about themselves.4 Everyone has some degree of complexity because they see themselves in different roles at various times (student, friend, daughter, sports fan, etc.). But complexity isn’t just the number of selves that define who we are; it is also the separation of those selves. A self-concept has low complexity when the individual’s most important identities are highly interconnected, such as when they are all work-related (manager, engineer, family income earner).
2) Internal consistency. High internal consistency exists when most of the individual’s self-perceived roles require similar personality traits, values and other attributes. Low consistency occurs when some self-perceptions require personal characteristics that conflict with characteristics required for other aspects of self. Low self-concept consistency would exist if you see yourself as, say, a very exacting engineer, but also as an acrobatic snowboarder
3) Clarity -degree to which a person has a clear, confidently defined and stable self-concept.5 Clarity occurs when people are confident about ‘who I am’, can describe their important identities to others, and provide the same description of themselves across time. Self-concept clarity increases with age as people gain awareness of their personality preferences and skill se
What is self-enhancement?
A person’s inherent motivation to have a positive self-concept (and to have others perceive him or her favourably), such as being competent, attractive, lucky, ethical and important
What is self-verification?
A person’s inherent motivation to confirm and maintain his or her existing self-concept (from peers)
What is self-esteem
the extent to which people like, respect and are satisfied with themselves—represents a person’s overall self-evaluation. Self-esteem is directed towards specific roles (e.g. a good student, a good driver, a good parent), but we also have an overall self-esteem that represents how we feel about ourselves as individuals. People with high self-esteem are less influenced by others, tend to persist in spite of failure, and have a higher propensity to think logically.
What are the three factors that define self evaluation
Self-esteem
Self-efficacy
Locus of control
What is self-efficacy
A person’s belief that he or she has the ability, motivation, correct role perceptions and favourable situation to complete a task successfully
What is locus of control
A person’s general belief about the amount of control he or she has over personal life events
what is personal identity
Personal identity (also known as internal self-concept) consists of attributes that make us unique and distinct from people in the social groups to which we have a connection. For instance, an unusual achievement that distinguishes you from other people typically becomes a personal identity characteristic. Personal identity refers to something about you as an individual without reference to a larger group.
What is social identity theory
A theory stating that people define themselves by the groups to which they belong or have an emotional attachment
What is perception
The process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us
Wha is selective attention
The process of attending to some information received by our senses and ignoring other information
categorical thinking
Organising people and objects into preconceived categories that are stored in our long-term memory
3 forms of categorical thinking
1) grouped together due to similarity or proximity to one another 3/5 people in a group are BB players so you assume they all are
2) cognitive closure- filling in information that you don’t have
3) we think we see trends in otherwise ambiguous information. e.g. sports or gambling
