Chapter 4 Flashcards
What is symbolic interactionism?
Theory of how the self emerges from human interaction, which involves people trading symbols (through language and gesture) that are usually consensual and represent abstract properties rather than concrete objects.
What is the looking-glass self?
The self derived from seeing ourselves as others see us.
What is deindividuation?
Process whereby people lose their sense of socialised individual identity and engage in unsocialised, often antisocial, behaviours.
What is self-discrepancy theory?
Higgins’s theory about the consequences of making actual – ideal and actual – ‘ought’ self- comparisons that reveal self-discrepancies.
What is self-regulation?
Strategies that we use to match our behaviour to an ideal or ‘ought’ standard.
What is regulatory focus theory?
A promotion focus causes people to be approach-oriented in constructing a sense of self; a prevention focus causes people to be more cautious and avoidant in constructing a sense of self.
What is the overjustification effect?
In the absence of obvious external determinants of our behaviour, we assume that we freely choose the behaviour because we enjoy it.
What is social comparison theory?
Comparing our behaviours and opinions with those of others in order to establish the correct or socially approved way of thinking and behaving.
What is the self-evaluation maintenance model?
People who are constrained to make esteem-damaging upward comparisons can underplay or deny similarity to the target, or they can withdraw from their relationship with the target.
What is BIRGing?
Basking in reflected glory – that is, name-dropping to link yourself with desirable people or groups and thus improve other people’s impression of you.
What is social and personal identity?
Social identity is that part of the self-concept that derives from our membership in social groups and personal identity is the self defined in terms of unique personal attributes or unique interpersonal
relationships.
What is self-assessment?
The motivation to seek out new information about ourselves in order to find out what sort of person we really are.
What is self-verification?
Seeking out information that verifies and confirms what we already know about ourselves.
What is self-enhancement?
The motivation to develop and promote a favourable image of self.
What is self-affirmation theory?
The theory that people reduce the impact of threat to their self-concept by focusing on and affirming their competence in some other area.
What is self-esteem?
Feelings about and evaluations of oneself.
What is stigma?
Group attributes that mediate a negative social evaluation of people belonging to the group.
What is impression management?
People’s use of various strategies to get other people to view them in a positive light.
What is self-monitoring?
Carefully controlling how we present ourselves; there are situational differences and individual differences in self-monitoring.
What is self-presentation?
A deliberate effort to act in ways that create a particular impression, usually favourable, of ourselves.
What is the history of the conceptualisation of the self?
In the Middle ages, there was no clear individual identity as everyone was defined by their roles/status. However, the psychodynamic self introduced a new type of self (Superego, ego and id)
What influences the self?
Early childhood is strongly influenced by our parents/caretakers. Later on in life, peers become more important and groups significantly influence how we view ourselves
What are some perspectives on the self?
- Wundt - Social psychology vs. introspection (idea of private self influenced by group)
- McDougall - Group mind (Are we single people or are we all a collective)
- Sheriff - Emergent Properties (members of groups form group specific constructs like norms)
- Moscovici - social representations (how people understand different roles in society and how that affects who we are)
- Tafjal and Turner - Social Identity
What is the Theory of Objective Self-Awareness?
Awareness of the self as an object of perception and comparison with actual and ideal selves. The private self is internal thoughts and feelings, while the public self is how others see you
What is Self-Perception Theory?
Theory that we observe our own behaviour, we make internal attributions about the causes of our behaviour and with these attributions we create our own self construct
What are the different kinds of selves in Social Identity Theory?
- Individual Self - Personal traits that differentiate the self from others
- Relational Self - Based on relationships with significant other
- Collective Self - Based on Group membership (us vs. them)
What are the biases associated with self-enhancement?
- Better-than-average effect
- Unrealistic optimism
- Ingroup Bias
What do we do in the pursuit of self-esteem?
The self-enhancement Triad (Overestimate good points, Overestimate control over events, unrealistically optimistic)
What are the ways we play different roles for different audiences?
- Strategic - Manipulating other’s perceptions of you
- Expressive - Socially validating our self-concept
What are the cultural differences in conceptions of the self?
individualistic cultures often emphasise an independent self (self-concept determined by differences with others) and collectivist cultures an interdependent self (self-concept determined by relationships with others). People who grew up in both frame switch (just switch depending on cues/context)
