self-concept and self-processes Flashcards
the self
The entire system of an individual’s
knowledge, evaluation, and regulation of him
or herself
20 statements test
Complete the sentence “I am…” 20 different times
(1) Social groups and classifications
* e.g., age, sex, educational level, marital status,
political affiliation etc. (e.g., “I am a woman”, “I am
a brother”, “I am Canadian”).
* (2) Ideological beliefs
* Religious, philosophical, moral beliefs (e.g., “I am
Christian”, “I am an atheist”)
* (3) Interests
* e.g., “I am a Cowboys fan”, “I am a swimmer”, “I
am a dancer”.
* (4) Ambitions
* Thoughts about being successful (e.g., “I am going
to own my own business”).
* (5) Self-evaluations
* Physical and mental attributes, personality traits,
etc. (e.g., “I am tall”, “I am generous”, “I am
smart”).
self concept
the image that people have of
themselves
individualist cultures self concept
values the needs of the
self more than those of the group
* i.e., standing out, uniqueness, individual
success
* Strong sense of self
* Likely to complete the “I am…” statements with
codes (3), (4), (5)
collectivist cultures self concept
values the group before the
self
* i.e., fitting in, tradition, family-oriented, group
success
* Sense of self is not as distinct
* Likely to complete the “I am…” statements with
codes (1) and (2)
the i and the me
The ‘me’/self: the observed
* i.e., self-concept or self-schema; subjective
* “I think, therefore I am”
* The ‘I’: the observer
* i.e., consciousness
* e.g., ‘mindfulness’ (peace, happiness) involves
‘transcending the self’
the looking glass self
“I am not who you think I am. I am not who I think I am. I
am who I think you think I am”
* Especially as children, we construct a sense of self by
observing/mirroring other people’s reactions to us
the spiritual self
your moral center
* Includes personality traits, attitudes, and beliefs (e.g.,
extraversion, agreeableness, environmentalism)
related to morality
* The “I”/observer; the seat of self-awareness and
consciousness
the true self
who you ‘really’ are; unique to everyone
* e.g., your true self may be reflected in…
* your social relationships and roles
* being in the moment
* being at the ocean
* your work
self esteem
a person’s attitude towards themself
* Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (10-item scale with score
of 10 – 40 and mid-point of 25)
* Avg. score for university students is 35
makes us feel good and causes us to be
proactive
* Low self-esteem is a component of, and predicts,
depression
* Associated with positive relationships, better grades,
better work performance
explicit self esteem
self-esteem that people are aware of
implicit self esteem
self-esteem that people aren’t necessarily
aware of
* Implicit Association Test
* e.g., if you’re quicker to associate ‘joy’ with ‘me’ and
‘vomit’ with ‘not me’=high implicit self-esteem
* e.g., ‘donut personality’: low implicit but high explicit
self-esteem (e.g., vulnerable narcissism)
self enhancement
people’s desire to maintain and increase a
positive self-concept
self-esteem regulation and strategies
the actions people take to maintain
high self-esteem
Close and secure relationships
* Belonging to social groups
* i.e., sociometer theory: low SE motivates us to
seek out relationships
* Loneliness is correlated with low SE
self serving bias
the tendency to take credit
for success but deny responsibility for failure
* Backfires because person is unable to
recognize how to improve
self evaluation maintenance model
To maintain self-esteem in relationships, we
may have to alter one of the following:
* (1) performance
* e.g., become better at basketball
* (2) relevance
* e.g., care less about basketball
* (3) closeness
* e.g., distance yourself from your friend
* E.g., ‘Basking in reflected glory
self compassion
Self-kindness: being kind to yourself
* Common humanity: awareness that all
humans make mistakes
* Mindfulness: awareness of thoughts and
feelings without attachment
* Buddhist philosophy and mindfulness
meditation
self efficacy
Believing that you will be effective at reaching
your goals
* Predicts school and work performance
better than self-esteem, but especially for
basic tasks
* Seems to cause higher performance on
simple tasks, but can cause lower
performance on complex tasks (too
confident)
* For high performers, their success
seems to cause self-efficacy
narcissism
Personality that includes self-centeredness and a very positive, grandiose view of the self
grandiouse narcissim
includes low neuroticism, high extraversion and dominance
* Socially bold, self-centered, egotistical, vain, cocky
* Focus on being better, smarter, more attractive than others
* Low on agreeableness
* Have a positive self-concept with high self-esteem (explicit and usually implicit)
but don’t describe themselves as caring
* High sense of entitlement
vulnerable narcissism
lower self-esteem, assertiveness, and extraversion, and high
neuroticism, anxiety, depression
narcissism links
May brag/show off
* Have plastic surgery to become more attractive
* Enjoy looking in the mirror
* One-up people
* Want ‘trophy’ partners (and like playing games in
relationships)
* Have a pronounced self-serving bias
* Linked to poor decision-making, including taking risks
and not learning from mistakes
* Good for starting relationships, but not for maintaining
them (unless shallow)
* Have more friends on Facebook
* More common among celebrities
self discrepancy theory
emotions are triggered by
the distance between our actual self and our ought
and ideal selves
ought and ideal self
Our ought and ideal selves trigger different
emotions
* Ought: when we don’t live up, we feel
worried and anxious; when we do, we feel
relaxed and at peace
* Ideal: when we don’t live up, we feel
depressed; when we do, we feel happy and
excited
