Self-esteem Flashcards
What two ways can self-esteem be viewed?
As dispositional self-esteem and as a situational characteristic.
How is self-esteem viewed as a situational characteristic?
A state dependent trait; able to be manipulated.
How is self-esteem viewed as a dispositional?
An overall evaluation of your self-worth; a relatively stable trait.
In what ways do we maintain self-esteem?
Self-serving bias, compensation, self-handicapping.
What is self-serving bias?
Adjusting our perceptions of events so that we come out looking favourably.
How does self-serving bias manifest?
Taking credit for our successes and denying responsibility for failure.
What is group-serving bias?
Denying the positives of out groups, and adjusting perceptions so out-groups seem less favourable and so that your group seems better.
What evidence is there for self-serving bias?
- People were brought in for a study and took a test.
- They were told they either scored high or low on a certain trait
- If they scored low, then they devalued the trait.
What is the problem with self-serving bias?
You never accept responsibility for failure, and never recognize you might be part of the problem.
What is compensation?
Trying to generate a self-esteem boost that will counter balance the self-esteem threat?
How do people compensate for a blow to their self-esteem?
Either putting a lot of effort into what they failed or focusing on other positive self-attributes to compensate for the weakness.
What is compensatory self-inflation?
Focusing on positive attributes to compensate for a weakness.
What is self-handicapping?
Protecting self-esteem by actively doing things to hinder your performance. Incase you fail, you have a ready excuse for failure.
What are the most common forms of self-handicapping?
Alcohol and drug use.
What is the self-handicapping hypothesis?
If self-esteem is on the line and there is uncertainty about being able to maintain it, then people will self-handicap to protect it.
What is the self-handicapping hypothesis with regard to really important events?
When success is important, people will go after it even if it risks a blow to self-esteem; they will not self-handicap.
What is learned helplessness?
When people and animals learn that their actions are independent from their outcomes and there is nothing you can do to prevent bad things from happening to you.
What did Seligman argue for why people self-handicap?
People aren’t just self-handicapping to protect self-esteem, but are just in a state of learned helplessness.
