Psy15 Chapter 3: The Social Self Flashcards
individual self
Beliefs about our unique personal traits, abilities, preferences, tastes, talents, and so forth
relational self
Beliefs about our identities in specific relationships
collective self
Beliefs about our identities as members of social groups to which we belong
reflected self-appraisals
Beliefs about what others think of our social selves
working self-concept
Subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context
social comparison theory
The hypothesis that people compare themselves to other people in order to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal states
self-schemas
Cognitive structures, derived from past experience, that represent a person’s beliefs and feelings about the self in particular domains
self-reference effect
The tendency for information that is related to the self to be more thoroughly processed and integrated with existing self-knowledge, thereby making it more memorable
self-complexity
The tendency to define the self in terms of multiple domains that are relatively distinct from one another in content
self-esteem
The positive or negative overall evaluation that each person has of himself or herself
contingencies of self-worth
An account of self-esteem that maintains that self-esteem is contingent on successes and failures in domains on which a person has based his or her self-worth
sociometer hypothesis
A hypothesis that maintains that self-esteem is an internal, subjective index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favorably by others
better-than-average effect
The finding that most people think they are above average on various trait and ability dimensions
self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) model
A model that maintains that people are motivated to view themselves in a favorable light and that they do so through tow processes: reflection and social comparison
self-verification theory
A theory that holds that people strive for stable, subjectively accurate beliefs about the self because such beliefs give them a sense of coherence
self-regulation
Processes that people use to initiate, alter, and control their behavior in the pursuit of goals, including the ability to resist shot-term awards that thwart the attainment of long-term goals
possible selves
Hypothetical selves that a person aspires to be in the future
self-discrepancy theory
A theory that behavior is motivated by standards reflecting ideal and ought selves. Falling short of these standards produces specific emotions - dejection-related emotions for actual-ideal discrepancies, and agitation-related emotions for actual-ought discrepancies
actual self
The self that people believe they are
ideal self
The self that embodies people’s wishes and aspirations as held by themselves and by other people for them
ought self
The self that is concerned with the duties, obligations, and external demands people feel they are compelled to honor
promotion focus
Regulating behavior with respect to ideal self-standards, entailing a focus on attaining positive outcomes and approach-related behaviors
prevention focus
Regulating behavior with respect to ought standards, entailing a focus on avoiding negative outcomes and avoidance-related behaviors
ego depletion
A state, produced by acts of self-control, in which people lack the energy or resources to engage in further acts of self-control
self-presentation
Presenting the person that we would like others to believe we are
face
The public image of ourselves that we want others to believe
self-monitoring
The tendency for people to monitor their behavior in such a way that it fits situational demands (the current situation)
self-handicapping
People’s tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior in order to have a ready excuse should they perform poorly or fail
