Chapter 3 Flashcards
Self-Concept
the sum total of an individual’s beliefs about their own personal attributes.
Self-Schemas
a belief people hold about themselves that guides the processing of self-relevant information.
Self-Awareness
the act of thinking about ourselves.
Collectivist
- interdependent self.
- “we” is important.
- disapproves of egotism.
- more likely to list group identities.
Individualist
- independent self.
- “me” is important.
- disapproves of conformity.
- more likely to list traits and goals.
Ways we can know ourselves
- ) introspection
- ) self-perception theory
- ) social comparison theory.
- ) autobiographical memories.
Extrinsic Motivation
originates in factors outside the person.
Overjustification effect
the tendency for intrinsic motivation to diminish for activities that have become associated with reward or other extrinsic factors.
Impact bias
people overestimate the strength and duration of their emotional reactions.
explains affective forecasting
Self-Perception Theory
the theory that when internal cues are difficult to interpret, people gain self-insight by observing their own freely chosen behaviour.
Recency Effect
when people are prompted to recall their own experiences, they typically report more recent events than ones from the past.
Self-Discrepancy Theory
self esteem depends on:
- ) amount of discrepancy: the more of it there is, the worse we feel.
- ) importance of the discrepancy to the self
- ) how much we focus on our self-discrepancies
Example of Overjustification effect
experiment with kids either (1) given nothing or (2) receiving gold star after coloring.
- kids who got gold star were less likely to color
Social comparison theory
the theory that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others, when they are unsure about their own performance and when the person is similar to us.
Looking glass self
suggests that other people serve as a mirror in which we see ourselves. (Charles H. Cooley).
Vicarious self perception
you might infer something about yourself by observing the behaviour of someone else with whom you completely identify.
Self-Esteem
- an affective component of the self, consisting of a person’s positive and negative self-evaluations.
- stable over lifetime
- short-term following negative or positive feedback.
Higher self esteem is associated with:
- higher life satisfaction.
- lower depression & anxiety.
- higher self-efficacy.
- more confidence in being liked by others.
Actual Self
traits/attributes that you believe you actually possess.
Ought Self
traits that would help you meet duties and responsibilities.
Ideal Self
traits that would help you meet your hopes, wished and dreams.
Two-factor theory of emotion
the theory that the experience of emotion is based on two factors; physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal.
Actual self vs Ought self equals
guilt and shame.
Actual self vs Ideal self equals
frustration and sadness.
Self-presentation
strategies people use to shape what others think of them.
Above average effect
people see positive traits as more self descriptive than negative traits, rate themselves more highly than they do others, etc.
Dunning Kruger effect
individuals who are unskilled at a particular task, believe they have possess above-average ability in performing the task.
Implicit Egotism
an unconscious form of self-enhancement. Ex: people favoring the letters in their names, their bday numbers, etc.
Self-enhancement
4 ways we try to feel better about ourselves:
- ) self-serving cognitions.
2) self-handicapping.
3) basking in reflected glory.
4) downward social comparisons.
Self serving cognitions
intrinsic motivations for successes and extrinsic explanations for failures.
Self handicapping
behaviours that sabotage one’s own performance to provide an excuse for failure.
ex: procrastination
Basking in reflected glory (BIRG)
to increase self-esteem by associating with others who are successful.
Downward social comparisons
the defensive tendency to compare ourselves with others who are worse off than we are.
Upward social comparisons
compare to someone who one perceives to be better than them.
Illusions of control
overestimating the extent to which one can influence personal outcomes that aren’t, in fact, within our power to control.
Sandbagging
people play down their own ability, lower expectations and publicly predict that they will fail.
Implicit self esteem
a person’s non-conscious tendency to positively evaluate people and objects that reflect upon themselves
Spotlight effect
a tendency to believe that the social spotlight shines more brightly on one then it really does.
Dramaturgical perspective
society is seen as an elaborately scripted play in which individuals enact different roles, as if performing in a reality TV show
Strategic self-presentation
consists of our efforts to shape others impressions in specific ways in order to gain influence, power, sympathy, or approval.
Two strategic self presentation goals
- ) Ingratiation: acts that are motivated by the desire to ‘get along’ with others.
- ) Self-promotion: acts that are motivated by a desire to ‘get ahead’.
Self-verification
the desire to have others perceive us as we truly perceive ourselves.
Self-monitoring
the tendency to change behavior in response to the self-presentation concerns of the situation.
Are positive illusions adaptive?
- Individuals that are depressed/have low self esteem see themselves more realistically.
- people with too high self esteems are viewed negatively.
Autobiographical memories
we can draw on older memories/experiences to determine self-concept.
Mirror Test
red dye test –> primates, human (3 and up), dolphins, elephants recognize selves in mirror.
