Practice Questions Alain Gave Flashcards
What would happen if we didn’t have self-esteem?
We need it in order to recognize changes that need to be made to improve the self - without it we would have no clue what changes need to be made to improve ourselves, and we would have no motivation to be better. According to the sociometer hypothesis, self-esteem allows an individual to monitor their social acceptance (essential to reproduction and survival), and gauge, anticipate, and avoid social devaluation/rejection - so without self-esteem, an individual would be unable to do this.
Comment on the following statement: Self-awareness (SA) and theory of mind (ToM) are located in the right hemisphere because this is where self-recognition takes place.
According to Gallup and Keenan the right hemisphere of the human brain represents the neurological seat of SA because mirror self-recognition (MSR) and ToM tasks typically increase activity in that hemisphere. However it is more likely that SA is located in both hemispheres of the brain.
John repeatedly suffers from TBI while skateboarding because he always thinks he does not need rehabilitation and is just fine. Please explain.
Because of anosognosia. Individuals with anosognosia have a genuine lack of awareness of their deficits. TBI leads to anosognosia because of the flat affect, which is the effect in which an individual does not experiencing distress despite deficits. Because of the flat effect, an individual will feel that they are totally fine, and resume to what they were doing when they injured themselves, and will often re-injure themselves.
If a person was raised in total isolation, how would this affect their self-processes?
If an individual didn’t engage in social speech, they would not develop inner speech. Inner speech is the foundation of many self-processes, so this would greatly impact the development of them all. Inner speech helps sustain both self-reflection and self-rumination, so both would be impaired for those raised in isolation. Self-processes such as self-evaluation, self-regulation, and self-monitoring require an active verbal conversation with oneself, so without inner speech, an individual could not engage in those self processes. Without social interactions, an individual would lack social feedback and social comparison, and therefore would have no self-knowledge.
Can you be conscious without being self-aware?
Yes. You just wouldn’t know it’s happening to you - you would have no self-concept and you could not reflect on the self.
What are some key messages from this course?
