Lecture 8 - the social self

Question 1

William James’ (1980) Model of the Self

Answer 1

1. Subjective self

2. Objective self

Question 2

The subjective self

Answer 2

o The “I”
o The active self
o The intentional part of the self

Question 3

The objective self

Answer 3

o	The “me”
o	How the self is perceived by others
o	There is no “me” at birth
- formed through social processes
- deeply social construct

Question 4

Aspects of the self

Answer 4

1. Self-concept
2. Self-esteem
3. Self-presentation

Question 5

Self-concept

Answer 5

• The cognitive representation of the self

- All knowledge and thoughts pertaining to the self

Question 6

Self-esteem

Answer 6

• A self-attitude/evaluation - An evaluative component of the self
• How you feel about yourself (positive/negative)

Question 7

Self-presentation

Answer 7

• How people convey their identities to others

- Because selfhood is social, there is a presentation component

Question 8

Self-motives

Answer 8

Fundamental psychological processes that cause thoughts and behaviors regarding the self

Question 9

Processes in self-motives

Answer 9

o Self-Knowledge
o Self-Enhancement
o Self-Belonging

Question 10

Self-knowledge

Answer 10

→ The desire to understand the self

Question 11

Self-enhancement

Answer 11

→ The desire to be viewed positively

Question 12

Self-belonging

Answer 12

→ The desire to belong to/identify with social groups

Question 13

Self-perception theory (Bem, 1972)

Answer 13

• People learn about themselves from their own behavior

- Tends to occur for domains that are not important to the self

Question 14

Introspection

Answer 14

• People learn about themselves from their own thoughts and feelings
  But -
• may not be accurate
• may be guided by self-enhancement motives

Question 15

Social comparison theory

Answer 15

• People compare themselves to others to assess how they are doing (Festinger, 1954)
• Compare self to similar others
• Upward social comparison
• Downward social comparison

Question 16

The Looking-Glass Self Theory (Cooley, 1902)

Answer 16

The self as derived from how others interact with us

Question 17

Reflected appraisals

Answer 17

The Looking-Glass Self Theory (Cooley, 1902)

• Information about the self obtained from viewing how others act and react to us
• In a way this is a behavioral model

Question 18

Types of reflected appraisals

Answer 18

1. Actual

2. Perceived

Question 19

Actual appraisals

Answer 19

How other people actually perceive us

Question 20

Perceived appraisals

Answer 20

How we think that others perceive us

- matters more

Question 21

The spotlight effect

Answer 21

We tend to think that others notice and evaluate us more than they actually do

Question 22

The transparency effect

Answer 22

We tend to think that our inner thoughts and feelings “leak out” and are detected by others

Question 23

Acquiring self-knowledge

Answer 23

1. Self-Perception (according to Bem)
2. Introspection (flawed)
3. Social Comparison (via reflective appraisals)
4. Reflected Appraisals

Question 24

Self-serving bias

Answer 24

The tendency to take credit for positive events and to dismiss negative events

Question 25

The better-than-average effect

Answer 25

The tendency for people to view themselves as being better than average

Question 26

Implicit egoism

Answer 26

The automatic tendency to prefer things that are associated with the self

Question 27

Mere ownership effect

Answer 27

People value objects more when they are associated with the self

Question 28

Name letter effect

Answer 28

People like the letters of their own name (particularly their initials) more than others do

Question 29

Birthday effect

Answer 29

People like the numbers associated with their birthday more than others do
- The effect is more pronounced the higher your self-esteem is

Question 30

Self-enhancement: Basking in reflected glory

Answer 30

• Occurs when one publicizes the connection with another person or group who has been successful
• Thought to allow you to share in the success of another person or group
• Thought to enhance self-esteem

Question 31

Self-maintenance theory (SEM)

Answer 31

We cannot/do not always enhance our self-esteem when others do well
- A theory of how and when our self-esteem is either bolstered or negatively affected by the success of others

Question 32

Two factors are important to how your self-esteem is affected:

Answer 32

1. Relevance to one’s own self-concept

2. How close the other group/person is to you

Question 33

The dark side of self-enhancement theory

Answer 33

People with high self-esteem react aggressively when their self-esteem is threatened

• A defensive reaction to avoid any loos of self-esteem
• Particularly likely for people who have unstable high self-esteem

Question 34

Self-belonging

Answer 34

• The desire to belong to and/or identify with social groups

- People survive better in groups by knowing how to present themselves effectively, without provoking undue costs

Question 35

Self-monitoring

Answer 35

An individual difference in the extent to which a person focuses on his or her behavior in a social situation

Question 36

High self-monitor

Answer 36

o Social chameleons
o Change their behavior to suit others
o Attend to social cues
o Socially skilled

Question 37

Low self-monitor

Answer 37

o Principled
o May be seen as aloof
o Act based on their attitudes

Question 38

Self-Discrepancy Theory

Answer 38

1. Actual self
2. Ought self
3. Ideal self
   - typically in conflict

Question 39

Actual self

Answer 39

The view of one’s current self-concept

Question 40

Ought self

Answer 40

The view of what one’s self should be

Based on morals or views of important others

Question 41

Ideal self

Answer 41

The view of the self one would like to have

Question 42

Actual-ideal discrepancy

Answer 42

o Experience disappointment

o May lead to depression

Question 43

Actual-ought discrepancy

Answer 43

o Fail at obligations

o May lead to anxiety disorders