Self-Esteem Flashcards
1
Q
What is included in:
- Self-esteem
- Self-control
A
- Motivational aspects of self, terror management theory, sociometer theory
- Self-efficiency, social identity theory
2
Q
Descibe motivational aspects of self
A
- Overestimating posisitves
- Self-inflation:we are praised more than we are criticised which artificial boosts self-esteem which leads us to believing we are better than we really are
- People with low self-esteem are more likely to make downward comparisons
- People disidentify with negative labels to avoid a bad self-image
3
Q
Describe sociomter theory
A
- Created by Leary and Baumeister (2000)
- Self-esteem is a good sociometer (a good monitor of social acceptance and belonging, a good monitor personal relationships)
- Self-esteem correlates with traits that are needed in social relationships
- High self-esteem links to happiness, resilience, initiative; low self-esteem linked to depression and anxiety
- Leary (1995) found participants with higher self-esteem felt more included in social situations and had reduced anxiety of social exclusion
4
Q
Describe terror management theory
A
- Self-esteem is a way of managing worries about life and death
- We seek high self-esteem in order to overcome these fear and anxiety that are a result of these worries; high self-esteem results in feeling good, optimism, gives us something else to think about
- Greenbury (1992) found participants who had elevated self-esteem had low physiological arousal and low anxiety about death
- Critics argue high self-esteem doesn’t overcome these worries; Leary claims high self-esteem makes us feel less alone (as correlates with positive social life) and therefore we become less scared
5
Q
Define self-efficiency and personal identity
A
Self-efficiency
- The extent to which you feel competent and effective
- High = calm under pressure, challenging goals, low anxiety, low depression
Personal identity
- Defines self in terms of idiosyncratic personal relationships
- E.g. ‘I am outgoing’, ‘I am friends with Sam’
6
Q
Describe social identity theory
A
- Identity is derived from characteristics associated with groups we belong to
- Ingroups = people we share groups with (us)
- Outgroups = people we perceive as different from us (them)
- Useful to put ourselves and others into categories as it helps us understand the world
- We identify with groups to boost our self-esteem
- We compare our groups to others and have positive bias towards our own
7
Q
What are the negative consequences and ingroups and outgroups
A
Stereotypes - beliefs about characteristics of certain groups
Prejudice - negative attitudes towards certain groups
Discrimination - negative behaviour towards other groups
8
Q
What is the relationship between the self and social identities
A
- Distinction between interpersonal and intergroup behaviour
- Interpersonal = acting as an individual with some idiosyncratic characteristics and a unique set of relationships with others
- Intergroup behaviour = acting as a group member
9
Q
Evaluate social identity theory
A
- Treats groups as if they are individuals
- Individual reactions are assumed to result from group
- Based on lab studies; may not relate to everyday life
- Trivialises important social differences such as race and gender by treating them as differences found between groups
10
Q
What is the self-enhancing triad
A
- People overestimate their good qualities
- People overestimate their control over situations
- People are unrealistically optimistic
11
Q
Define trait self-esteem
A
Two differences in self-esteem
- Self-concept confusion
- Those with high self-esteem have a more thorough and consistent stock of self-knowledge than those with low self-esteem - Motivational orientation
- People with high self-esteem have a self-enhancing orientation where they use positive features and pursue success
- Those with low self-esteem have a self-protection orientation where they aim to avoid failure and set-backs
12
Q
Describe strategic self-presentation
A
- Created by Jones (1964)
- Focus on manipulating others’ perception of you
- Self-promotion
- Trying to persuade others you re competent - Ingration
- Trying to get others to like you - Intimidation
- Trying to get others to think you are dangerous - Exemplification
- Trying together others to think you are a morally respectable individual - Supplication
- Trying to get others to pity you and think you are needy and helpless
13
Q
Define expressive self-presentation
A
- Created by Schlenker (1980)
- Demonstrating and validating self-concept through our actions
- Focus on self rather than others
- We seek out people who we believe will validate who we think we are
- Identity requires social validation for it to mean anything (e.g. no use thinking we are smart if no one else does)
- Emler and Reicher (1995) found delinquents act out in public as main purpose of identity verification
