Self and social cognition Flashcards
What influences overall self-esteem?
Perceived competence in domains judged important (e..g sports, physical appearance)
Who came up with Social Comparison Theory?
Festinger
What is Festinger’s theory of social comparison?
We use social and relationship information to compare ourselves with others, which allows us to validate our own attitudes and behaviours and maintain self esteem
What is meant by the ‘looking glass self’?
We see ourselves as other see us, so we are self appraised by other peoples’ reactions
What is the function of social comparison theory?
Validates attitudes and behaviours
Maintains self esteem
self - serving bias - unrealistic optimism and unrealistic positive self views
What is the Lake Wobegon effect?
Our tendency to overestimate our achievements and capabilities, especially in relation to others - see ourself as better than others
What did Weinstein find when he asked students the likelihood of them experiencing future events?
Most said they were more likely to experience desirable events than others
Not seen in those with depression
What is the upward vs downward comparison in terms of self esteem maintenance?
self esteem depends on WHO we compare ourselves with
When have children developed visual self concept and what is this?
by 2 years old
self categorisation by age, gender, appearance
What can older children do in terms of self-concept that 2 year olds can’t?
include internal attributes - likes and feelings
When is theory of mind acquired and what is it?
4 years
Ideas about own and other’s beliefs and feelings
What children will not acquire theory of mind?
Autistic children
What are the 3 stages to stereotyping?
Identify a category or group (usually clearly visible and basic)
Assign features to people in that group
Generalise features to all people in that group
Why is stereotyping good?
It is a cognitive miser - allows you to group people together so you can analyse large amounts of social information
What is the issue with negative memory bias?
We remember things selectively that fit with the stereotype
