Self and Identity (VL 3)

Question 1

Different forms of self and identity

Answer 1

• Collective self: self defined in terms of attributes shared with ingroup members and distinct from outgroup members
• Individual self: self defined in terms of attributes that make one unique relative to other people
• Relational self: self defined in terms of relationships with specific other people

–> People experience different selves in different contexts, but feel they have a coherent (einheitlich) self-concept that integrates or interrelates all these selves

Question 2

William James: Basic duality of the self

Answer 2

Both Me/Self-concept (our knowledge of who we are) and I/Self-awareness (the act of thinking about ourselves)

Question 3

Self-awareness - Definition

Answer 3

people are not always aware of themselves, self-awareness can be uncomfortable and uplifting – depending on the situation

Question 4

Self-Concept - Definition

Answer 4

set of beliefs we hold about who we are (can contribute to a good self-esteem but doesn´t have to)

Question 5

Self-esteem - Definition

Answer 5

the evaluation we make of ourselves; exists of implicit/less conscious and explicit self-esteem

Question 6

Sources of self-knowledge

Answer 6

• Socialization: How a person acquires the rules, standards and values of his/her family, group or culture
• Reflected appraisal: Self-evaluation based on the perceptions and evaluations of others
• Self-Perception: The theory assumes people sometimes infer their attitudes from their overt (offenkundig) behavior, rather than from their internal state
• Social comparison
• Social identity: Part from the individual´s self-concept that derives from his/her membership in a social group –> also ethnic identity: membership in an ethnic group and participation in the group´s valued activities

Question 7

Self-schemas

Answer 7

• Describe how people think about their personal qualities in a particular domain
• Guide behavior in relevant situations
• Aid memory for relevant information
• Influence inferences, decisions and judgements

Question 8

Possible selves

Answer 8

• Schemas people hold concerning that they may/could become in the future
• Represent hopes and fears for the future
• Help people focus and organize plans for pursuing goals

Question 9

Ideal and Ought Self

Answer 9

Ideal self: The personal attributes one would like to have

Ought self: The personal attributes one believes one should possess (one believes others think one should possess)

Question 10

Self-discrepancies

Answer 10

Differences in how we see ourselves and how we would like to be/believe others think we could be

Question 11

Characteristics of People with a high self-esteem

Answer 11

• Persistent and resilient in the face of failure
• Emotionally and affectively stable
• Less flexible and malleable (formbar)
• Less easily persuaded and influenced
• No conflict between wanting and obtaining success and approval
• React positively to a happy and successful life
• Thorough (gründlich), consistent and stable self-concept
• Self-enhancement motivational orientation
• -> Clear and stable sense of self, a self-enhancement orientation

Question 12

Characteristics of People with a low self-esteem

Answer 12

• Vulnerable to the impact of everyday events
• Wide swings in mood and affect
• Flexible and malleable (formbar)
• Easily persuaded and influenced
• Want success and approval but are skeptical of it
• React negatively to a happy and successful life
• Sketchy, inconsistent and unstable self-concept
• Self-protective motivational orientation
• -> less clear self-concept, a self-protective orientation

Question 13

Self-motives

Answer 13

• People generally seek an accurate, stable, and positive self-concept; have a need for a consistent self-concept; are motivated towards self-improvement
• Self-verification: Seeking out and interpreting situations that confirm one´s self-concept
• Self-enhancement: Need to hold a positive view of oneself
• Positive illusions: Mild, falsely positive self-enhancing perceptions of one´s personal qualities

Question 14

People are more realistic than self-enhancing when…

Answer 14

• They are about to receive feedback from others
• Making decisions about goals
• They are depressed or have a low self-esteem

Question 15

Self-Affirmation theory

Answer 15

• Predicts people will cope with threats to self-worth by affirming unrelated aspects of themselves
• People with high self-esteem may be more likely to use self-affirmation
• Self-affirming people may help people be less defensive and more accepting of criticism

Question 16

Terror Management Theory

Answer 16

Claims that people are fearful of their own mortality and seek to minimize their anxiety by

• Holding a cultural world-view that makes sense of an otherwise threatening world
• Having personal self-esteem that leads to the sense that one is an object of value in a meaningful universe

Question 17

Social comparison Theory - Developer and what it states

Answer 17

Developed by Leon Festinger (1954)

States that:

• People have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities accurately
• In the absence of objective standards, people evaluate themselves by comparison with others
• In general, people prefer comparisons with similar others

Question 18

Social comparison Theory - Goals of social comparison

Answer 18

• Accurate Self-Evaluation
• Self-enhancement –> leads to downward social comparisons
• Self-improvements –> leads to upward social comparisons
• Sense of communication

Question 19

Social comparison Theory - Comparison process

Answer 19

• Social comparison affects self-evaluations, moods, and responses to others
• Ex. job interview, waiting with Mr. Clean and Mr. Dirty

Question 20

Social comparison Theory - Related-Attributes Similarity

Answer 20

• We compare ourselves with others based on similar backgrounds and preparation
• In an unfamiliar dimension, people compare themselves to the best and worst attributes

Question 21

Self-presentation

Answer 21

• Involves attempting to control the impressions we convey to others to obtain desired outcomes
• Public self-presentations can affect our private self-concepts
• Need to be able to “take the role of the other” in order to be successful in self-presentation
• People tend to make a good impression by:
  o Conforming to the norms of the situation
  o Self-promotion
  o Ingratiation: flattering or doing favors (ex. complimenting nice office in job interview)

Question 22

Self-presentation - Self-Promotion and Modesty

Answer 22

Self-promotion: Can be tricky because it´s easy to appear egoistic
Modesty: Tricky self-presentation strategy, most effective when the person´s success is well-known to others

Question 23

Independent and Interdependent self-concepts

Answer 23

• Independent: more likely to engage in self-promotion (goal is to reduce actual-ideal discrepancies)
• Interdependent: more likely to engage in preventative self-presentations (goal is to reduce actual-ought discrepancies)

Question 24

Self-handicapping

Answer 24

• Engaging in actions that provide obstacles to success, so failure can later be attributed to those obstacles
• Self-esteem is preserved beforehand in case of a later failure
• Can be done through behavior or verbal claims (men are more likely than women to use behavioral handicaps)
• Works short-term but has negative long-term consequences on performance and adjustment

Question 25

Self-reference effect

Answer 25

Information relevant to our self-concepts is processed quickly and remembered well

Question 26

Implicit Egotism – The name letter effect

Answer 26

• Tendency that people evaluate letters in their own name (especially initials) especially favorable
• Women like first name initials more, men like last name initials more
• Effect also significant for birthday numbers
• Clear preferences for brand names that start with one´s names initials
• -> people´s positive automatic associations about themselves may influence their feelings about almost anything associated with the self
• Also influences people´s behavior (ex. where to live, what career)

Question 27

The Independent and Interdependent Self

Answer 27

Independent self: the sense of oneself as bounded, unitary and separate from social context
–> Be unique and self-expressing, true to your beliefs, promote your own goals and difference from others

Interdependent self: the sense of self as flexible, variable and connected to the social context
–> Fitting in, acting appropriately to roles and group norms, non-confrontational, promoting group goals and harmony