Chapter 4

Question 1

Define Self-Concept

Answer 1

The overall image or awareness we have of ourselves.

Question 2

Self-Concept Information Card

Answer 2

• Functions as a filter through which everything we see or hear passes and it influences our experiences so that we typically tend to perceive, judge, and act in ways that are consistent with it.

Question 3

Why do we become acutely self conscious?

Answer 3

We experience a discrepancy between our self-image and the way we appear to others.

Question 4

Define Discounting

Answer 4

• Where the significance of an ability traditionally valued by society is lessened, e.g., adolescents doing poorly in school may dismiss the importance of academics to their future.
• Will not work forever as most people find it difficult to completely ignore the pressures placed on them by society.
• Fishing for compliments can backfire resulting in a slew of negative comments.
• Biased viewpoints and aggressive responses are not conductive to the development of a realistic sense of self.

Question 5

Define Self-Serving Attributional Bias

Answer 5

• Beliefs that glorify the self or conceive of the self as causing the good outcomes that come our way.
• Often, we take personal credit for our successes but blame external causes for our failures.

Question 6

Define the first kind of self: Body Image

Answer 6

The awareness of my body.

Question 7

Define the second kind of self: Self Image

Answer 7

The self I see myself to be.

Question 8

Self Image Information Card

Answer 8

• Primarily made up of the many self-perceptions we have acquired growing up and by the way we are currently seen and treated by significant others.
• Example: During middle childhood teasing by family members can lead to a negative self-image indicated by the person’s low self-esteem and/or depression.
• Childhood experiences can be overcome, as we tend to revise our self-images through more recent experiences with others, especially with our friends, lovers, teachers, and co-workers, even a stranger’s opinion.

Question 9

Define the third kind of self: Ideal Self

Answer 9

The self you would like to be, including your aspirations, moral ideals, and values.

Question 10

Ideal Self Information Card

Answer 10

• Ideal self different from the real self.
• Example: Adolescent girls suffering from bulimia nervosa tend to have an ideal self that is vastly different from the real self.

Question 11

Define the fourth kind of self: Social Self

Answer 11

The ways I feel others see me.

Question 12

Social Self Information Card

Answer 12

• Comprised of the impressions we think others have of us, which may or may not be an accurate reflection of reality.

Question 13

Define Spotlight Effect

Answer 13

When we overestimate how prominent our own behavior, appearance, and emotions are to others.

Question 14

Define Self-Complexity/Multiple Selves

Answer 14

The extent to which one’s self-concept is comprised of many differentiated self-aspects, e.g., Shonda’s self-concept included her gender role, her concept of herself as a mother, and her attitudes and values.

Question 15

Define Core of the Self-Concept

Answer 15

Aspects of ourselves we regard as very important to us, such as religious, racial, and ethnic identity, as well as academic abilities and physical attractiveness .

Question 16

Define Peripheral Aspects of the Self

Answer 16

Musical tastes, food preferences, and clothing style. These aspects can, and often do, change rather quickly.

Question 17

Define Self Consistency

Answer 17

The tendency to perceive our experiences in a manner consistent with our self-concept.

Question 18

Self Consistency Information Card

Answer 18

• Events that are in harmony with our self-concept tend to be perceived accurately and admitted fully into our conscious awareness.
• Experiences that are not consistent with our self-concept are perceived more selectively and sometimes inaccurately.

Question 19

Define Self-Immunization

Answer 19

When people trivialize threatening information by making the behavior seem less important.

Question 20

Define Mnemonic Neglect

Answer 20

Poor recall ( or forgetting ) of negative feedback that is inconsistent with core aspects of the self-concept can also occur.

Question 21

Define Self Esteem

Answer 21

The personal evaluation of ourselves and the associated feelings of worth.

Question 22

Self Esteem Information Card

Answer 22

• Our self-esteem typically clusters into four main types: physical attractiveness, physical abilities, cognitive abilities, and social relationships.
• We can have high self-esteem in one area but low self-esteem in another.
• The area deemed to be the most important to the self that has the greatest influence on global self-esteem.
• Example: The area deemed to be the most important to the self that has the greatest influence on global self-esteem.

Question 23

What is a global esteem system comprised of?

Answer 23

• physical attractiveness
• physical abilities
• cognitive abilities
• social relationships.

Question 24

What are the influences on self-esteem?

Answer 24

• People with high self-esteem appear to have been raised by parents who were supportive, expressed a lot of affection, and established firm but reasonable rules.
• Individuals with low self-esteem usually were brought up by parents who relied on parenting styles that were overly strict, overly permissive, or inconsistent
• Media - thin actors, being overweight are portrayed negatively, and heavy individuals are ridiculed.
• Individualistic culture - affected by the achievement of personal goals the most.
• Collectivist cultures -based on objectives related to family and society.

Question 25

Effects of High Self Esteem

Answer 25

• Results in positive feelings.
• Happier.
• Do better in school.
• More likely to persist in the face of failure.
• More frequently exit bad interpersonal relationships.

-Perform better in their jobs.

Question 26

Effects of Low Self-Esteem

Answer 26

• Results in negative feelings.
• Less Happier.

Question 27

Define Minority Stress

Answer 27

The psychological and social stress associated minority status.

Question 28

Minority Stress Information Card

Answer 28

• Use self-protective mechanisms for maintaining self-esteem.
• Example: Some minority-group members attribute negative feedback and personal failures to prejudice and discrimination against their group rather than to their own flawed attributes.
• Those who repeatedly perceive themselves to be the victim of discrimination and prejudice cannot avoid having their psychological adjustment or self-concept negatively impacted.

Question 29

Define Self Enhancement

Answer 29

When an individual tries to get positive feedback that affirms their own ideas about their positive qualities.

Question 30

Define Self-Verification

Answer 30

Where they attempt to preserve their own images (both positive and negative) of themselves and therefore elicit feedback that verifies or confirms their own self-perceptions (both positive and negative).

Question 31

Define Self Clarity

Answer 31

The extent to which one’s individual self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable.

Question 32

Self Concept Over Time Information Card

Answer 32

• Self-esteem, for example, is relatively high in childhood, drops during adolescence (particularly for girls), rises gradually throughout adulthood, and then declines in old age.
• A great deal of change in our self-image comes from adapting to different people and situations.
• Although we retain a stable core of self, the many self-perceptions that make up our overall self-concept are in a state of flux or change and are more readily influenced by current experience.

Question 33

Define Feared Self

Answer 33

The self that would result if you don’t succeed.

Question 34

Define Guided Imagery

Answer 34

A procedure that helps a person shut off the outside world and bypass the censor we call the brain, enabling the person to see, experience, and learn from an intuitive, feeling, unconscious nature.

Question 35

Accepting Criticism

Answer 35

• Taking criticism constructively.
• Viewing criticism as a valuable source of new information to be evaluated objectively.
• Consider how many times a specific criticism is offered.
• Consider if the criticism is valid and should be acted upon.
• Consider the source of the criticism - The more qualified the person is to judge you, the more you should take his or her criticism to heart.

Question 36

Acting on Criticism

Answer 36

• Weight the pros and cons of action and inaction.
• Decide whether the benefits that come from acting on the criticism balance or outweigh the effort involved.
• Don’t waste energy defending yourself. Instead, listen carefully to what is being said. Ask for more information. Ask the person for suggested solutions to the criticism.

Question 37

How is the first stage of self-revision characterized?

Answer 37

• A movement away from accepting the criticisms of others and the distorted perceptions of the self that followed.
• Accounts for the prevalence of complaints and self-disparagement so often seen when making significant changes to the self.

Question 38

How are the later stages of self-revision characterized?

Answer 38

• Greater self-direction and self-acceptance.

Question 39

Define Self Alienation

Answer 39

• Occurs when we fail to acknowledge or accept certain aspects of ourselves. We then feel these qualities are foreign to us and we project them onto others, whom we then dislike.
• Example: The man who, while denying his own dependency needs, appears to be strong and self-sufficient may feel contempt for men who allow themselves to be taken care of when weak or ill.