Chapter 5 - Self-Knowledge and the Need to Maintain Self-Esteem

Question 1

The two aspects of the self combine to form a coherent sense of identity. The two aspects are self-concept, which is __________ and self-awareness, which is __________.

Answer 1

the contents of the self (our knowledge about who we are); the act of thinking about ourselves

Question 2

Muraven, Tice, and Baumeister (1998) instructed a group of people not to think about white bears, and they did not tell the second group to suppress any thoughts. What was the result?

Answer 2

The group that had been told not to think about white bears were worse at trying to regulate their emotions during a second task (eg. don’t laugh during a comedy film) compared to the control group. This suggests that self control can be depleted.

Question 3

Define: self-schema

Answer 3

An organized body of knowledge about the self - it influences what people notice, think, and remember about themselves

Question 4

The tendency for people to remember information better if they relate it to themselves describes the _______ _____.

Answer 4

self-reference effect

Question 5

Sanitioso, Kunda, and Fong (1990) told participants that either introversion or extroversion was associated with professional success and then asked them to list behaviours they had performed that were either introverted or extroverted. The results showed that ____________.

Answer 5

Those who were led to believe that introversion was associated with success were more likely to remember introverted behaviours they had performed. The opposite was true for those who were led to believe that extroversion was associated with success.

Question 6

The view of the self may be __________ or _____________.

Answer 6

independent; interdependent

Question 7

How did individualist cultures react to Masako Owada’s decision to give up her career to marry the prince? How did this compare to how her decision was seen by collectivist cultures?

Answer 7

Individualist observers did not understand her decision and some believed she was coerced into marriage. Collectivist cultures saw her decision as a positive, natural consequence of her view of herself as connected and obligated to others.

Question 8

Women’s self-concepts are usually ________ while men’s self-concepts are usually ________.

Answer 8

relational; collective

Question 9

What is the self-awareness theory?

Answer 9

The idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behaviour with their internal standards and values

Question 10

Moskalenko and Heine (2003) did a study on self-awareness and told some participants that they had done poorly on a task that reflected their intelligence, while they told others that they did well. What did the results show?

Answer 10

People who were given failure feedback were most likely to pay attention to the video that was on in the room (in an attempt to escape self-awareness) compared to the control.

Question 11

** Heine et al., (2008), Americans and Japanese were made to stand in front of mirrors (or without a mirror) and rate the discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves. What did the results show?

Answer 11

Americans noticed more discrepancies between their actual and ideal selves in the presence of a mirror than when there was no mirror. The presence of a mirror did not affect the amount of discrepancies Japanese people found between their actual and ideal selves.

Question 12

Define: causal theories

Answer 12

Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviours; typically, we learn such theories from our culture

Question 13

Nisbett and Wilson (1977) showed participants a film in the presence or absence of an intermittent power-saw noise. At the end of the film, they asked participants if they had enjoyed it, and if the noise influenced their evaluations. What did the results show?

Answer 13

The sawing noise had no detectable effect on participants’ enjoyment of the movie, even though the participants said that it had lowered their rating of the film.

Question 14

What is self-perception theory?

Answer 14

The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs.

Question 15

Chaiken and Baldwin (1981) did a study with U of T students that showed when people had less clearly defined environmental attitudes, they were more strongly affected by behavioural cues in a survey. (T/F)

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?

Answer 16

Intrinsic motivation is the desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it, while extrinsic motivation is the desire to engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures.

Question 17

What is the overjustification effect?

Answer 17

The case whereby people view their behaviour as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which their behaviour was caused by intrinsic reasons.

Question 18

The idea that we see ourselves through the eyes of other people and incorporate their views into our self-concept describes the __________.

Answer 18

Looking-Glass self.

Question 19

What is the social comparison theory?

Answer 19

The idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves with other people

Question 20

The process whereby we compare ourselves with people who are worse than we are in a particular trait or ability is called _____________. The process whereby we compare ourselves with people who are better than we are in a particular trait or ability is called __________.

Answer 20

Downward social comparison; upward social comparison

Question 21

Lockwood (2002) helped show that comparing ourselves with someone who is worse off can make us feel better about ourselves – but only if we are confident that the other person’s fate cannot befall us. (T/F)

Answer 21

True

Question 22

**Lockwood & Kunda (1999) asked students to either think of an academic experience they were proud of, or to focus on their usual selves, and then they were told to read an article about an academic superstar. What effect did this have on the students’ self ratings?

Answer 22

People with the “usual self” prime felt inspired by the superstar, while people with the “Best self” prime felt depressed by it.

Question 23

What is the self-discrepancy theory?

Answer 23

The theory that we become distressed when our sense of who we truly are - our actual self - is discrepant from our personal standards or desired self-conceptions.

Question 24

Define: self-enhancement

Answer 24

An unrealistically positive view of oneself

Question 25

What are the results of the study carried out by Heine, Takata, and Lehman (2000) on cultural differences in self-enhancement?

Answer 25

When Canadian participants received feedback that they had performed worse than the average student, they needed more “proof” that this was the case than when they received feedback they had performed better than average. The opposite was true for Japanese students.

Question 26

What is the self-verification theory?

Answer 26

A theory suggesting that people have a need to seek confirmation of their self-concept, whether the self-concept is positive or negative; in some circumstances, this tendency can conflict with the desire to uphold a favourable view of oneself.