Lecture 2 Flashcards
Sense of self
"Red dot" test -Apes raised with others pass the test, but those raise in isolation do not "Yellow snow" test -Dogs pass Children develop ability around 2 yo
Self-concept
Person’s beliefs about self, including their attributes (features) and who and what the self is
Three components: individual, relational, and collective self
Individual self
What makes you unique?
Relational self
What relationships are you in?
Collective self
What groups are you a member of?
Working self-concept
Aspects of your self-concept that are salient at a given time
Distinctiveness hypothesis
Distinctiveness hypothesis
We’re more likely to mention aspects of our self-concept that make us different from those around us (at given time)
Origins of self-knowldge
Direct feedback- info received from others about our traits and abilities (note: we usually receive positive feedback)
Reflected self-appraisals- our perception of how others perceive and evaluate us (highly subjective, subject to error; particularly imp in adolescence)
Social comparison- act of comparing our traits and abilities with the traits and abilities of others
Types: upward (self to better), downward (self to worse off), temporal (self over time)
Self-perception- making inferences about traits by observing one’s own behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs
Self-narratives- we continually “write” our own story or narrative
- helps us to INTEGRATE across situations
- make sense of CONFLICT or TRAUMA
- explain CHANGE over time
- serves as a REFERENCE for self-knowledge
Festinger (1954) Theory of social comparison
People want to know where they stand in their abilities, traits, and attitudes
People prefer objective standards of comparison (when not available, use social standard)
People compare themselves to similar others (but not always)
Upward social comparison
Comparing with someone better than you
Most useful and appealing when trying to get BETTER (feel you could be them someday, otherwise discouraging)
Motivating IF you assimilate
Downward social comparison
Comparing to someone worse off than you
Boost own self-esteem IF contrast
Temporal comparison
Comparing us to ourselves at different times
Want to improve over time
Redemptive narratives (Dunlop & Tracy, 2013)
Important process and part of being human
Direct feedback
Info received from others about our traits and abilities (note: we usually receive positive feedback)
Reflected self-appraisals
Our perception of how others perceive and evaluate us (highly subjective, subject to error; particularly imp in adolescence)
Social comparison
Act of comparing our traits and abilities with the traits and abilities of others
Types: upward (self to better), downward (self to worse off), temporal (self over time)
Self-perception
Making inferences about traits by observing one’s own behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs