Self Flashcards
self
independent, autonomous, separate being defined by a unique repertoire of attributes, abilities, thoughts and feelings
self-schema
a belief people hold about themselves that guides the processing of self-relevant information
culture
the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people
socialization
the process of training people to behave in a way that others in the group think is suitable (begins at family)
primary socialization
social norms (gender socialization)
secondary socialization
community + media (individual beliefs, behavior and identity)
self-concept
sum total of all individual’s beliefs about their personal attributes (set of beliefs that guide the way you process yourself) (cognitive component of the self)
self-esteem
an affective component of the self, consisting of a person’s positive and negative self-evaluations
affective forecasting
predicting how one would feel in response to future emotional events
introspection
the process of attempting to directly access one’s own internal psychological processes, judgments, perceptions, or states
self-perception theory
when internal cues are difficult to interpret, people gain self-insight by observing their own behavior
better-than-average mentality
tendency of a person to hold overly favorable views of one’s own intellectual and social abilities relative to others
impact bias
tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions to future circumstances
facial feedback hypothesis
changes in facial expression can lead to corresponding change in emotion
overjustification effect
tendency for intrinsic motivation to diminish for activities that have become associated with reward or other extrinsic factors
intrinsic motivation
an incentive to engage in a specific activity that derives from pleasure in the activity itself (e.g., a genuine interest in a subject studied) rather than because of any external benefits that might be obtained (e.g., money, course credits)
extrinsic motivation
an external incentive to engage in a specific activity, especially motivation arising from the expectation of punishment or reward (e.g., completing a disliked chore in exchange for payment)
social comparison theory
people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others
two-factor theory of emotion
experience of emotion is based on 2 factors: physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of that arousal
autobiographical memories
memory for any information about the self, including not only personal experiences but also self-related factual knowledge, theself-schema, and so forth
→ flashbulb memories
self-other knowledge asymmetry model (SOKA)
suggests that because individuals and others differ in their susceptibility to biases or motivations and in the information they have access to, self- and other-knowledge will vary by trait
terror management theory
humans cope with fear of their own death by constructing worldviews that help to preserve their self-esteem
self-awareness theory
self-focused attention leads people to notice self-discrepancies, thereby motivating either an escape from self-awareness or a change in behavior
private self-consciousness
individuals who are introspective, often attending to their own inner states
public self-consciousness
individuals who focus on themselves as social objects, as seen by others
self-regulation
process by which people control their thoughts, feelings or behavior in order to achieve a personal or social goal
implicit egoism
a nonconscious form of self-enhancement
self-handicapping
behaviors designed to sabotage one’s own performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure
bask in reflected glory
to increase self-esteem by associating with others who are successful
downward social comparison
defensive tendency to compare ourselves with others who are worse off than we are
self-presentation
strategies people use to shape what others think of them
self-monitoring
tendency to change behavior in response to the self-presentation concerns of the situation
molecules of the self-concept
actual self + ideal self + ought self
constructing the self - internal cues
- introspection
- self-perception
- autobiographical memories
constructing the self - external cues
- social comparison
- two-factor theory of emotion
- reflected self-appraisal
- socialization
constructing the self - strategies
- focus on key traits
- accessibility
- selective memory
symbolic interaction
self arises out of human interaction
identity
meaning attached to the self by yourself and others
self-aspects
summaries of a person’s beliefs about the self in specific domains, roles or activities
self-knowledge motives (3)
- self protection → to diminish the negativity of the self
- self verification → to be consistent towards others
- self-enhancement →. to look good in the eyes of others
cultural differences - individualistic culture - definition of self
unique individual - separate from social
cultural differences - individualistic culture - structure of the self
unitary & stable - constant across situations & relationships
cultural differences - individualistic culture - important features
internal, private self
cultural differences - individualistic culture - significant tasks
being unique, expressing yourself
cultural differences - collectivistic culture - definition of the self
connected with others in context of social roles
cultural differences - collectivistic culture - structure of the self
fluid & variable - changing from one situation/relationship to another
cultural differences - collectivistic culture - important features
external, public self
cultural differences - collectivistic culture - significant tasks
belonging - fitting in, acting appropriately
trait self-esteem
a stable characteristic of an individual’s overall evaluation of themselves
state self-esteem
an individual’s current level of self-worth
sociometer theory
a theory holding thatself-esteemis important to individuals mainly because it serves as a measure of social appeal (i.e., a sociometer)
self-discrepancy
an incongruity between different aspects of one’s self-concept, particularly between one’sactual selfand either theideal selfor theought self
self-awareness
self-focused attention or knowledge
self-enhancing triad
- overestimating our good points
- overestimating our control over events
- unrealistically optimistic
