Chapter 5 Flashcards
Independent view of the self
A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people
Interdependent view of the self
A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people, recognizing that one’s behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others
Introspection
The process whereby people look
inward and examine their own
thoughts, feelings, and motives
Self-awareness theory
The idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values
Casual theories
Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture (e.g., “absence makes the heart grow fonder”)
Reasons-generated attitude change
Attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one’s attitudes; people assume that their attitudes match the reasons that are plausible and easy to verbalize
Self-perception theory
The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs
Intrinsic motivation
The desire to engage in an activity
because we enjoy it or find it interesting,
not because of external
rewards or pressures
Extrinsic motivation
The desire to engage in an activity
because of external rewards or
pressures, not because we enjoy
the task or find it interesting
Overjustification effect
The tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons
Task-contingent rewards
Rewards that are given for performing
a task, regardless of how
well the task is done
Performance-contingent rewards
Rewards that are based on how
well we perform a task
Two-factor theory of emotion
The idea that emotional experience is the result of a two-step self-perception process in which people first experience physiological arousal and then seek an appropriate explanation for it
Misattribution of arousal
The process whereby people
make mistaken inferences about
what is causing them to feel the
way they do
Fixed mindset
The idea that we have a set
amount of an ability that cannot
change
Growth mindset
The idea that our abilities are
malleable qualities that we can
cultivate and grow
Social comparison theory
The idea that we learn about our
own abilities and attitudes by comparing
ourselves to other people
Upward social comparison
Comparing ourselves to people
who are better than we are with
regard to a particular trait or ability
Downward social comparison
Comparing ourselves to people
who are worse than we are with
regard to a particular trait or ability
Social tuning
The process whereby people
adopt another person’s attitudes
Impression management
The attempt by people to get
others to see them as they want to
be seen
Ingratiation
The process whereby people flatter, praise, and generally try to make themselves likable to another person, often of higher status
Self-handicapping
The strategy whereby people create obstacles and excuses for themselves so that if they do poorly on a task, they can avoid blaming themselves
Self-esteem
People’s evaluations of their own
self-worth—that is, the extent to
which they view themselves as
good, competent, and decent
Terror-management theory
The theory that holds that self-esteem
serves as a buffer, protecting
people from terrifying
thoughts about their own mortality
Narcissism
The combination of excessive self-love
and a lack of empathy toward
others
