Chapter 4: The Self

Question 1

Self-concept

Answer 1

all of an individual´s knowledge about his or her personal qualities

Question 2

self-perception theory

Answer 2

the theory that we make inferences about our personal characteristics on the basis of our overt behaviours when internal cues are weak or ambiguous

Question 3

social comparison theory

Answer 3

the theory that people learn about and evaluate their personal qualities by comparing themselves to others

Question 4

contrast effect

Answer 4

an effect of a comparison standard or prime that makes the perceiver´s judgement more different from the standard

Question 5

assimilation effect

Answer 5

an effect of a comparison standard or prime that makes the perceiver´s judgement more similar to the standard

Question 6

self-schema

Answer 6

core characteristics that a person believes characterise him or her across situations

Question 7

self-esteem

Answer 7

an individual´s positive or negative evaluation of himself or herself

Question 8

self-enhancing bias

Answer 8

any tendency to gather or interpret info concerning the self in a way that lead to overly positive evaluation

Question 9

self-evaluation maintenance

Answer 9

a theory outlining the conditions under which people´s self-esteem will be maintained or will suffer based on social comparisons to close or distant others

Question 10

self-complexity

Answer 10

the extent to which a person possesses many and diverse self-aspects

Question 11

self-regualtion

Answer 11

efforsts to control one´s behaviour in line with internal standards (self-guides) or external standards

Question 12

appraisal

Answer 12

an individuals interpretation of a self-relevant event or situation that directs emotional responses and behaviour

Question 13

self-expression

Answer 13

a motive for choosing behaviours that are intended to reflect and express the self-consept

Question 14

self-presentation

Answer 14

a motive for choosing behaviour intended to create in observers a desired impression of the self

Question 15

self-monitoring

Answer 15

a personality characteristic defined as the degree to which people are sensitive to the demands of social situations and shape their behaviours accordingly

Question 16

ideal self

Answer 16

a persons sense of what he or she would ideally like to be

Question 17

ought self

Answer 17

a person´s sense of what he or she is obligated to be, or should be ‘

Question 18

regulatory focus theory

Answer 18

a theory that people typically have either promotion or prevention focus, shaping the way they self-regulate to attain positive outcomes versus avoiding negative outcomes

Question 19

self-affirmation

Answer 19

any action or event that enhances or highlights one´s own sense of personal integrity, such as affirming one´s most important values

Question 20

self-awarenenss

Answer 20

a state of heightened awareness of the self, including our internal standards whether we measure them up to them

Question 21

emotion-focused coping

Answer 21

dealing with negative emotions aroused by threats or stressors, often by suppressing emotions or distraction

Question 22

terror-management theory

Answer 22

a theory stating that reminders of one´s own mortality lead individuals to reaffirm basic cultural world views, which can have both positive and negative effects

Question 23

problem-focused coping

Answer 23

dealing with threats or stressors directly, often by reappraising the situation or by directly removing the threat

Question 24

self-handicapping

Answer 24

seeking to avoid blame for an expected poor performance either by claiming an excuse in advance or by actively sabotaging one´s own performance (for example, by failing to practice)