Final Exam Flashcards
What is the I self
Doing things, active person, the one that is doing
What is the ME self
reflective, subjective, what you believe or understand about yourself
Your self-concept, not objectively accurate.
Can you have multiple selves?
Yes, the actual self, the ideal self, the possible self, the true self, etc.
What is the Essentialist view of the True Self
self-actualization. The self we are supposed to be.
Is “genetic” and resistant to change, there from an early age, inherent to us.
Sometimes we behave in ways that _____________ our true self: …
contradict
feeling about HOW we behave, not the behaviours themselves (Indicated more by feelings than behaviours)
Points against the Essentialist view of the True Self
- We change over time, and our self-concept changes too (strong intuitions)
- Outside observers don’t agree with each other on someone else’s true self, nor with the person’s opinion of their own true self
- Psychologists can easily deceive people about WHY they did the things they did, so why would they not be deceived about their opinion of their true self?
Self-Determination theory view of the Self
what do people think? Subjective interpretations
- Authentic: “truly me”, represents the true authentic self
- Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations
Two types of Authenticity in the Self
- Trait: correlated with SWB, and psychological well-being (PWB)
- State/momentary: correlated with positive emotions
Sources of Authenticity of the Self (3)
- Manipulated: When you put people in a good mood, they report more state authenticity
- Values: positive features a person thinks are important to the self
o Competence, tradition, power, benevolence - Behaving consistently with your values is important to feeling authentic
o Eudaimonia
_____________ moods cause ________ authenticity
positive….. state
When does an introvert feel authentic?
regardless of trait level, they feel more authentic when displaying extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, stable, & open behaviour
- These behaviours can help you express other parts of yourself/your personality that make you feel authentic.
- WANT to be extraverted?
Explain the Benevolence Value Debate Study
- Randomly assigned ‘pro’ or ‘con’ position on
- Debate a hypothetical other by responding
- (Assume ‘pro’ is more value-congruent for all)
- Results: strong effect on state authenticity (and
stronger if benevolence an important value)
PERSONALITY
In some ways, people are… (3)
Like all other people
– Basic needs and capacities: SDT, language
Like some other people
– Individual & group differences: traits, gender, etc.
Like no other person
– Individually unique quirks, life stories, projects
Where does personality come from? (5)
evolution genes prenatal experience early temperament development
Lexical approach to OCEAN
if there are a lot of synonyms then it must be an important category and they can be grouped together
Three approaches to OCEAN
lexical, theory, statistical
6 facets of extraversion
friendless, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity level, excitement seeking, cheerfulness
PERSONALITY
Behavioural Action System
what initiated behaviour based on environment stimuli
Extraverts are driven to be social by ________:
Extraversion __________ Bias:
Extraverts are best at __________
extraverts are easier to _____________________ in and it _________________________
… by rewards: they will choose to not be social if it will be unpleasant
cognition… extraverts thought processes are more attuned to positive interpretations
savour
induce happiness…. lasts longer
Traits are ____________:
dimensional: not on/off, one or the other… it’s a spectrum
PERSONALITY
8 other individual differences:
needs or motives goals interests self-concept values attachment style abilities character strengths
PERSONALITY
8 other individual differences, compared to traits are…. (3)
– Usually more specific or clearly defined
– Usually assumes causes or consequences
– Yet may overlap part of what’s included in trait
PERSONALITY
The Jingle Fallacy
Jingle fallacy: when two things have basically the same name but describe two different things
- Optimism: 2 different approaches – ask people to report questions about the future OR attributional style, internal vs external control
PERSONALITY
The Jangle Fallacy
Jangle fallacy: when you use two different terms to talk about the same thing
- When people invent new terms to describe old things
- ISSUE: miss out on all the other things previously studied about on the other thing
_________ and __________ are positive psychology’s 2 personality units
strengths… virtues
PERSONALITY
3 Benefits of DSM that positive psychologists took when characterizing Strengths and virtues
o Common language
o Direct research and assessment
o Provides a map for other institutions
PERSONALITY
3 Things the DSM was lacking in that were added when categorizing people’s Strengths and virtues
o Categorical vs dimensional (took a more dimensional approach)
o Number of constructs
o Aspires to greater validity, more universality
10 Criteria for Strengths
- contributes to _________: ….
- Strengths are ___________________: …
- Using it does not _______________
- No obvious __________________
- ______-like ( … )
- Distinctive from __________________
- Has ___________ ( … )
- Has ___________ ( … )
- Selective _____________ ( … )
- Cultivated by ___________________ ( … )
- Contributes to fulfillment: Beyond coping & merely feeling good (audaimonia)
- Strengths are valued themselves: Beyond outcome; invokes social/moral value (ability or talent)
- Using it does not diminish others
- No obvious positive opposite
- Trait-like (mostly stable and consistent)
- Distinctive from other strengths
- Has paragons (cardinal traits)
- Has prodigies (multiple intelligences)
- Selective absences (distinct cause or function)
- Cultivated by institutions and rituals
Assessing Character Strengths
Self-report
structured interview
content analysis
6 Broad Categories of Strengths and Virtues
wisdom courage humanity justice temperance transcendence
Strengths and Virtues
6 Initial Findings
Internally consistent & stable
Agreement with peer reports
Similar levels across cultures
Associated with Life satisfaction, especially ‘strengths of the heart’ (gratitude, hope, zest, etc)
Effect of crisis
Age differences (small increases with age)
What is Self-efficacy
The belief that you can take steps necessary for success
Is specific, not generalized
Actual success is higher with efficacy
4 Sources of Self-Efficacy
- Personal experience of success
- Vicarious experience (modelling/seeing other people do the same)
- Persuasion
- Physiological states
What is Self-Esteem
Primary evaluation of the self, positive judgement of self, also depends on how others view us, social feedback
Can be assessed as a state in the current moment, but usually is treated like a trait
General, global judgement of self (as opposed to efficacy, which is specific)
May include genuine positive evaluation, and potentially defensive, narcissistic views
Self Esteem is correlated with (4)
o Higher happiness and less depression
o Higher positive emotions, SWB
o Higher academic success (very moderate correlation, not as strong as correlation to SWB)
o Persistence after failure (“impossible task” study)
Self Esteem is NOT correlated with (3)
o Objectively better relationships
o General lab task performance (they will persist more, but are not better)
o Not necessarily protective against drug use, early sex, bullying, etc.
Self-Esteem may be an ___________ not a _______ of good things
outcome
cause
Trying to increase SE with non-___________
praise….
…contingent
may backfire for low SE people
may increase narcissism
Striving for SE may cause (2)
o Contingent, unstable SE (variable and reliant on particular outcomes happening)
o Distortion, aggressive, derogatory of others
What is Self-Compassion (3 components)
- Common Humanity vs Isolation: Recognizes common humanity: similar things among most people (i.e. “everyone makes mistakes”; “Everyone has bad days”)
- Self-Kindness vs Judgement: Takes mindful approach to negative parts of self: Aware of them, but does not judge them
- Mindfulness vs Over-Identification: Treat self with kindness
Self-compassion is correlated to (8)
o Life satisfaction
o Emotional intelligence
o Optimism
o Curiosity
o Social connectedness
o Trait conscientiousness, achievement strivings, self-control
o Low levels of depression, anxiety, failure, perfectionism
Self-Compassion vs. Self-Esteem
Substantial correlation (.58), but not ‘same’
• Self-Compassion vs. Self-Esteem
• Feeling safe, secure vs. being ‘better’
• Connects to others vs. distinguishing self from
them
• Relevant/useful with failure vs. threatened
by failure
