lecture 3 Flashcards
dual nature of self
william james distinguished between:
- the “known”
- the “knower”
how are we both the book and the reader of the book?
book=self-concept
reader=self-awareness
three general components of the self
- individual self
- relational self
- collective self
schemas
mental structures that organize information
networks of associations
organizational function:
- self-schemas
- influence what we notice, think about, remember, etc.
what is in a self-schema?
- generalizations
- specific facts
- specific events
what are self-schemas?
are cognitive representations about the self (derived from past experience), and they organize and guide the processing of self-related information
self-concept
is the sum total of the self-schemas
self-complexity theory
-the tendency to define the self in terms of multiple domains that are relatively distinct from one another
(implications for self-esteem)
cocktail party effect
we pay more attention to self-relevant information
self-reverence effect
information relevant to the self is processed quicker and remembered better
why are autobiographical memories important?
essential for a coherent self-concept
what is the significance of flashbulb memories?
they serve as prominent landmarks in our autobiographies
problems with flashbulb memories?
may distort the past in ways that are self-inflating or consistent with self-schema
another function of the self:
an executive function
self-regulation
