Chapter 4: The Self Flashcards
Self-concept
all of an individual´s knowledge about his or her personal qualities
self-perception theory
the theory that we make inferences about our personal characteristics on the basis of our overt behaviours when internal cues are weak or ambiguous
social comparison theory
the theory that people learn about and evaluate their personal qualities by comparing themselves to others
contrast effect
an effect of a comparison standard or prime that makes the perceiver´s judgement more different from the standard
assimilation effect
an effect of a comparison standard or prime that makes the perceiver´s judgement more similar to the standard
self-schema
core characteristics that a person believes characterise him or her across situations
self-esteem
an individual´s positive or negative evaluation of himself or herself
self-enhancing bias
any tendency to gather or interpret info concerning the self in a way that lead to overly positive evaluation
self-evaluation maintenance
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
self-complexity
the extent to which a person possesses many and diverse self-aspects
self-regualtion
efforsts to control one´s behaviour in line with internal standards (self-guides) or external standards
appraisal
an individuals interpretation of a self-relevant event or situation that directs emotional responses and behaviour
self-expression
a motive for choosing behaviours that are intended to reflect and express the self-consept
self-presentation
a motive for choosing behaviour intended to create in observers a desired impression of the self
self-monitoring
a personality characteristic defined as the degree to which people are sensitive to the demands of social situations and shape their behaviours accordingly
ideal self
a persons sense of what he or she would ideally like to be
ought self
a person´s sense of what he or she is obligated to be, or should be ‘
regulatory focus theory
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
self-affirmation
any action or event that enhances or highlights one´s own sense of personal integrity, such as affirming one´s most important values
self-awarenenss
a state of heightened awareness of the self, including our internal standards whether we measure them up to them
emotion-focused coping
dealing with negative emotions aroused by threats or stressors, often by suppressing emotions or distraction
terror-management theory
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
problem-focused coping
dealing with threats or stressors directly, often by reappraising the situation or by directly removing the threat
self-handicapping
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)
