lecture 10

Question 1

Evaluation = what

Answer 1

Expectancy X Value

E.g., evaluation of a car
– Expectancy (car goes fast) X Value (I want to go fast) – Emotional reaction arises from the underlying motive

Question 2

Some possible underpinnings of Self-Esteem Motive

Answer 2

Mastery
– “Wired to” feel good when we are competent
– Perhaps ancestors who found it reinforcing to learn to master the environment were the ones most likely to survive and procreate

Social Sources:
• (a) Social Rank
-Perhaps we are wired to feel good when dominant, high status
(b) Need to Belong
– Perhaps we are wired to feel good when
accepted, included, attached

Question 3

what are the key ideas of need to belong

Answer 3

1) Sociometer Theory (Mark Leary)
– Self-esteem feelings may arise from an
evolved system to monitor social inclusion
– Self-esteem does correlate with feelings of being accepted by significant others: Individuals with higher self-esteem tend to feel more accepted
2) Conditional acceptance
– Versus unconditional acceptance
– Influences self-evaluative feelings
– A person’s ratings of
• “how would I feel about myself” (if I had certain successes and failures) correlates with
• “would others include or exclude me“(if I had certain successes and failures)

3) Internalization
– When evaluating ourselves, our thoughts are guided by social knowledge about relationships and patterns of social evaluation
These interpersonal roots of self-evaluation and self-esteem feelings may be implicit