self and identity Flashcards
Personal identity
Self defined in terms of unique personal attributes or unique interpersonal relationships
Social identity
Self-concept that derives from our membership of social groups
core social motives
- self-enhancement
- inclusion and belonging
- distinctiveness
- uncertainty reduction
cognitive appraisals
- structural / comparative fit / meta contrasts
the ratio of intra- category similarities to inter-category differences, i.e., people within the category are very similar and people in different categories are very different - normative fit
whether there is a match between category norms and observed characteristics it - accessibility
The readiness to perceive a category that the category is situationally or chronically accessible
self categorisation
Turner and associates’ theory of how the process of categorizing oneself as a group member produces social identity and group and intergroup behaviours.
self complexity
high - differentiated into separately organized substructure (multiple distinctive self-images)
low - think of themselves as pretty much the same across situations and roles
Buffering effect
having high self-complexity can buffer the impact of negative events
SELF-ESTEEM
An individual’s positive or negative feelings of personal value or self-worth
ROSENBERG’S GLOBAL SELF-ESTEEM SCALE
I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others.
I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
I am able to do things as well as most other people. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
I take a positive attitude toward myself.
On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.
I wish I could have more respect for myself.
I certainly feel useless at times.
At times I think I am no good at all.
SELF-EFFICACY
A sense that one is competent and effective, distinguished from self-esteem (one’s sense of self-worth).
GOUGH’S CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY (CPI)
+ve keyed
Can handle complex problems. Think quickly.
Formulate ideas clearly.
Have excellent ideas.
Am quick to understand things.
-ve keyed
Never challenge things. Undertake few things on my own. Let others determine my choices. Let myself be directed by others. Do not have a good imagination.
ACTUAL self
who I think I really am
ideal self
who I would really like to be
ought self
who i should be
Self-discrepancy theory
The difference between actual self and ideal self affects emotional well-being
Large discrepancy between actual-ideal self produces dejection-related emotions (e.g., disappointment, dissatisfaction, sadness)
1.Compared to most people, are you unable to get what you want out of life?
2.Growing up, would you ever “cross the line” by doing things that your parents would not
tolerate?
3.How often have you accomplished things that got you “psyched” to work even harder?
4.Did you get on your parents’ nerves often when you were growing up?
5.How often did you obey rules and regulations that were established by your parents?
6.Growing up, did you ever act in ways that your parents thought were objectionable?
7.Do you often do well at different things that you try?
8.Not being careful enough has gotten me into trouble at times.
9.When it comes to achieving things that are important to me, I find that I don’t perform as well as I ideally would like to do.
10.I feel like I have made progress toward being successful in my life.
11.I have found very few hobbies or activities in my life that capture my interest or motivate me to put effort into them.
REGULATORY FOCUS
self-regulation: reduce the discrepancy between actual self and ideal/ought self
Promotion focus
Focusing on achieving one’s ideal self (Who we would like to be)
An approach (or eager) strategy ensures the presence of positives (gains) and ensures against the absence of positives (non-gains).
Trying to improve and to find new challenges
Prevention focus
Focusing on fulfilling an ought self (Who we think we should be)
An avoidance (or vigilant) strategy ensures the absence of negatives (non-losses) and ensures against the presence of negatives (losses)
Trying to avoid failures and novel situations
SELF-MOTIVES
- self-enhancement
- self-verification
- self-assessment
self-enhancement
Emphasize positive rather than negative information
Enhancing self-image
self-verification
Emphasize core rather than peripheral aspects of self, irrespective of valence
Confirming what one knows about oneself
self-assessment
Emphasize peripheral rather than core aspects of self, irrespective of valence
Discovering oneself
experiment (self-evaluation process)
referent - I
central: positive»_space;> negative
peripheral: positive ~ negative
referent - other
central ~ peripheral: positive ~ negative
*positive slightly higher
self-enhancement bias
driving skills: most people perceive they are better than others
self-perception theory
We gain knowledge of ourselves by inferring our own attitudes from our own behaviors
We observe and understand ourselves just like how we understand others by observing them
FESTINGER’S SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY
3 premises:
- Humans are innately motivated to evaluate self (opinion and abilities)
- In the absence of objective bases of assessment, individuals evaluate opinions and abilities by comparison with others.
- Tendency to compare self to other decreases as difference between self and other increases.
2 consequences
1. When we feel uncertain about who we are or what we are experiencing, we seek out other people for the purpose of gaining social comparison information
2.
The more uncertain we are, the more we are susceptible to influence from other people
COUNTER-FACTUAL THINKING
People seem to be greatly affected by how their objective outcomes compare to imagined outcomes that “might have been”
The intensity of people’s reactions to events appears to be proportional to how easy it is to conjure up greater or lesser outcomes that “almost happened.”
SOCIAL-EVALUATION MAINTENANCE MODEL
When people are constrained to make esteem-damaging upward comparisons, they would underplay or deny similarity to the target or they can withdraw from their relationship with the target
Bronze medalists expressed more satisfaction than silver medalists (Medvec et al., 1995)
birging
Basking in reflected glory
Linking yourself with desirable people or groups and thus improving other’s impression of you
SELF-HANDICAPPING
Creating obstacles and excuses for ourselves, so that if we do poorly on a task, we have ready-made excuses.
SELF-MONITORING
The relative tendency of individuals to regulate their behavior on the basis of external events such
as
the reactions of others (high self-monitoring)
or on the basis of internal factors such as their own beliefs, attitudes, and interests (low self-monitoring)
“regulate their expressive self-presentation for the sake of desired public appearances, and thus be highly responsive to social and interpersonal cues” (Synder & Grangestad, 1986)
high self-monitoring
> focus more on looks (photos) than personal attributes
more dates
lower duration in a relationship
male (esp. high): more dates and one night stand
