PSYC*2310 Chapter 2: The Self

Question 1

Which term describes the relatively stable sense of who we are?

Answer 1

Identity

Question 2

What are the three parts of self proposed by Baumeister and Bushman?

Answer 2

• Self-knowledge
• Public self
• Agent self

Question 3

What are three sources of self-knowledge?

Answer 3

• Self comparison
• Feedback from others
• Introspection

Question 4

What is upward social comparison?

Answer 4

Comparing ourselves to those who are better than us

Question 5

What is downward social comparison?

Answer 5

Comparing ourselves to those who are less fortunate than us

Question 6

T or F: The self-knowledge obtained from others is heavily filtered through biases.

Answer 6

True

Question 7

What is introspection?

Answer 7

The process of thinking about one’s own thoughts or feelings

Question 8

What are two limitations associated with introspection?

Answer 8

• We don’t engage in it often
• Some of our reasoning and attitudes are unconscious and thus cannot be reflected upon

Question 9

According to William James, an individual’s sense of identity is created by combining what two aspects of self?

Answer 9

• Self-concept
• Self-awareness

Question 10

What is the self-concept?

Answer 10

An individual’s overall beliefs about their own attributes

Question 11

T or F: An adult’s self-concept tends to be more concrete and place more emphasis on physical characteristics than a child’s.

Answer 11

False. Adults have a more abstract self-concept which emphasizes psychological characteristics, whereas a child’s tend to be more concrete.

Question 12

Which term describes the extent to which knowledge about the self is clearly and consistently defined?

Answer 12

Self-concept clarity

Question 13

What is self-esteem?

Answer 13

An individual’s evaluation of their own worth

Question 14

What does it mean to be self-aware?

Answer 14

To be in a state of awareness of oneself as an object of one’s thoughts

Question 15

What does the self-awareness theory state?

Answer 15

When people are forced into self-awareness, and notice a discrepancy between their attitudes and behaviours, they become motivated to either change their behaviour or reduce self-awareness

Question 16

What are the three functions of self?

Answer 16

• A regulatory system
• An interpersonal tool
• A regulatory system

Question 17

T or F: Introspection is an effective way to gain insight into our true attitudes

Answer 17

False

Question 18

What is affective forecasting?

Answer 18

The process of predicting the impact of both positive and negative events on mood

Question 19

Are people generally accurate or inaccurate in their affective forecasting?

Answer 19

Inaccurate

Question 20

What is the self-discrepancy theory?

Answer 20

The theory that our self-concept is influenced by the gap between how we actually see ourselves and how we want to see ourselves

Question 21

Some researchers believe that the self-discrepancy theory is only relevant when a person has what?

Answer 21

Self-awareness

Question 22

What is the self-perception theory?

Answer 22

The theory that individuals look at their own behaviour to determine their attitudes and beliefs

Question 23

What is the facial feedback hypothesis?

Answer 23

The hypothesis that changes in facial expression can lead to changes in emotion

Question 24

T or F: The motivation a person identifies as being the reason for their behaviour can influence how they view themselves.

Answer 24

True

Question 25

What is intrinsic motivation?

Answer 25

Motivation by internal factors

Question 26

What is extrinsic motivation?

Answer 26

Motivation by external factors

Question 27

Which type of motivation is associated with greater task enjoyment?

Answer 27

Intrinsic motivation

Question 28

What is the phenomenon in which receiving external rewards for a behaviour can undermine the intrinsic motivation for engaging in that behaviour?

Answer 28

Overjustification

Question 29

What is the social comparison theory?

Answer 29

The theory that people evaluate their own abilities and attributes by comparing themselves to others

Question 30

When is the tendency to use social comparison especially likely?

Answer 30

In situations of uncertainty

Question 31

What does the local dominance theory describe?

Answer 31

The tendency for people to compare themselves to those who are more "local" (similar to them)

Question 32

What are self-serving biases?

Answer 32

The tendency to misremember events in a self-serving way to feel good about themselves

Question 33

What is the phenomenon of regression to the average?

Answer 33

A statistical phenomenon in which things that are initially at extreme points are likely to become less extreme over time

Question 34

What is the false consensus effect?

Answer 34

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people share the same opinions, attitudes and behaviours as us

Question 35

What is the false uniqueness effect?

Answer 35

The tendency to underestimate the extent to which other people are likely to share our positive attitudes and behaviours

Question 36

What is self-serving attribution?

Answer 36

The tendency to view oneself in a positive light

Question 37

What are the three "positive illusions" that are described as characteristics of healthy, normal people?

Answer 37

- Unrealistic optimism - Exaggerating perception of self-control - Illusory superiority/ overconfidence

Question 38

What is unrealistic optimism?

Answer 38

A phenomenon in which people see themselves as more likely than others to experience good events and less likely than others to experience bad events

Question 39

T or F: Individuals view their strengths as being persistent throughout their life, which they view their weaknesses as being more likely to adjust and improve in the future.

Answer 39

True

Question 40

Which positive illusion is described as perceived control?

Answer 40

The tendency to see uncontrollable events as at least partially under our control

Question 41

What is illusory superiority/overconfidence?

Answer 41

An unrealistically positive view of the self

Question 42

What does it mean to "bask in reflected glory"?

Answer 42

To associate with successful others as a way of increasing one's feelings of self-worth

Question 43

What is self-handicapping?

Answer 43

A strategy in which people create obstacles to success, so potential future outcomes can be blames on those external factors rather than internal traits

Question 44

What is self-promotion?

Answer 44

An impression management strategy that focuses on making other people think you are competent while pointing to your accomplishments

Question 45

What is the opposite of self-promotion?

Answer 45

Modesty bias

Question 46

T or F: Women who self-promote are seen as more likeable, but less competent.

Answer 46

False. They are seen as more competent, but less likeable.

Question 47

What is ingratiation?

Answer 47

An impression management strategy in which people try to make themselves likeable to someone else through flattery and praise

Question 48

What is the slime effect?

Answer 48

A phenomenon in which we quickly notice and especially dislike

Question 49

What is the self-verification theory?

Answer 49

An impression management strategy in which we assume that other people's perception of us is consistent with our own perception of ourselves

Question 50

What is self-monitoring?

Answer 50

An impression management strategy in which people tend to monitor their attitudes and behaviour in response to the situation

Question 51

How is maintaining a consistent self-presentation perceived in individualistic cultures?

Answer 51

Perceived as an indication of sincerity and integrity

Question 52

How is maintaining a consistent self-presentation perceived in collectivistic cultures?

Answer 52

Perceived as an indication of stubbornness, immaturity, and a refusal to adjust to situations and relationships

Question 53

What is the spotlight effect?

Answer 53

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which one's own appearance and behaviour are obvious to others

Question 54

What are the three aspects of self proposed by Harry Triandis?

Answer 54

- The private self - The public self - the collective self

Question 55

In collectivistic cultures, which aspects of self are given greater emphasis?

Answer 55

The public self and collective self

Question 56

In individualistic cultures, which aspect of self is given greater emphasis?

Answer 56

The private self

Question 57

What is an independent self-construal?

Answer 57

A conception of the self as autonomous and independent from others, behaving primarily to express its own internal attributes

Question 58

What is an interdependent self-construal?

Answer 58

A conception of the self as being connected to others, with its behaviour contingent on the values, thoughts, and preferences of others

Question 59

What is considered an important predictor of well-being in individualistic cultures, but not collectivistic cultures?

Answer 59

Consistency among aspects of the self

Question 60

Is overjustification more or less common in collectivistic than individualistic societies?

Answer 60

Less common

Question 61

T or F: The commonly assumed belief that people need to have a positive self-regard seems to be unique to those in individualistic cultures.

Answer 61

True

Question 62

What is the ecological fallacy?

Answer 62

The error of assuming that relationships between variables at the group level are the same as relationships at the individual level (there is more variation within a culture than between cultures)