Self Identity and social interactions Flashcards
impression management
the process whereby we attempt to manage our own image by influencing the perception of others
dramaturgical perspective
we imagine ourselves a playing certain roles when interacting with others; we base our self-presentations on cultural values, norms, and expectations. The goal is to present an acceptable self to others.
inc. front stage (we craft he way we come across to others) and back stage (we ca “let our guard down” and act like ourselves).
self-concept
aka your self-identity, self construction, or self-perspective; inc. all of your beliefs about who you are as an individual
self-schema
beliefs and ideas you have about yourself; they guids and organize the processing of information that is relevant to you
self-efficacy
how good you think you are at doing something; varies from task to task and is therefore task specific
high self-efficacy: think you are good at doing something
low self-efficacy: think you are bad at doing someting
locus of control
whether you think you have control over what happends to you
inc. external and internal locus of control
learned helplessness tends to occur when an individual possesses ____ self-efficacy and an _____ locus of control
low self-efficacy
external locus of control
aversive control
occurs when behavior is motivated by the reality or threat of something unpleasant happening
escape behavior vs avoidance behavior
escape behavior is trying to escape from an unpredicted, unpleasant stimulus that has already occured
avoidance behavior is avoiding a predictable unpleasant stimulus before it is even initiated
self-efficacy vs self-esteem
self-efficacy is belief in one’s self competence and is task specific
self-esteem = beliefs about one’s self worth (overall)
social learning theory
the belief that learning takes place in social contexts and can occur purely through observation, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement
social comparison theory
we all have the drive to gain accurate self-evaluations by comparing ourselves to others; our identity will be shaped by these comparisons and the types of reference groups we have
moral identity development stages: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional
preconventional (yound children): obeys rules to avoid punishment and for self-interest/personal gain
conventional (adolescents and adults): obeys rules for approval/conformity and to maintain social order
postconventional (~15% reach this): will challenge rules that infringe upon rights of others and establish own set of rules in accordance with personal ethical principles
social facilitation effect
refers to how a watching crowd can influence how a person will perform a task; performance tends to improve for simple, well ingrained tasks; however, performance tends to worsen for novel, complex tasks
bystander effect
the fact that ppl are less likely to help a victim when other ppl are present
this sometimes occurs d/t the diffusion of responsiblity
diffusion of responsibility
related to the bystander affect
refers to the idea that when more ppl are involved in an event that requires for an action, the less likely those ppl will actually perform that action. this is because they are waiting for someone else to perform that action instead.
social loafing
ppl will put in less individual effort when in a group as compared to when they are working by themselves
group think vs group polarization
groupthink occurs when a consensus needs to be made, but the consensus is made in a quick harmonious manner and there is a lack of alternative viewpoints evaluated
group polarization: refers to the beliefs of the members of a group becoming more polarized/extreme towards a specific opinion/belief/value. i.e. a group that already agrees on a topic discusses it together, which causes all of their viewpoints to become more unified and extreme
is mindguarding a tactic of groupthink or group polarization?
groupthink
it refers to when limited information is present to the group, and when strategies are employed to direct the decision making process toward a specific, limited range of options
conformity vs obedience
conformity: adjusting your own behaviors based on the behaviors/thinking of others
obedience: following orders/instructions from an authority figure
attribution theory
the way we attribute behaviors of individuals; we can attribute our own or someone else’s behaviors as being influenced by internal or external causes
dispositional vs situational attribution
dispositional attribution: we attribute behavior to internal causes
situational attribution: we attribute behavior to external causes
Fundamental attribution error
when we attribute another person’s behavior to their personality
i.e. a person has been waiting 20minutes to see the doctor and they start to angrily yell at the receptionist. then you think, wow, that person is a jerk
actor/observer bias
when we attribute our own actions to the situation
i.e. you have been waiting 20min to see the doctor and then get angry with the receptionist, but you think “I have a legitimate reason to be angry with the receptionist.”
self-serving bias
when we attribute our successes to ourselves, but our failures to others
i.e. you get an awesome score on the MCAT, you think to yourself that you worked hard and you deserved it; however, if you score poorly you blame the teacher for not teaching your correctly
optimism bias
we believe that bad things happen to other ppl, but not to ourselves
i.e. you need to sign up for health insurance but keep putting it off because you know you are young and healthy; you think “I have little risk of catastrophic illness or injury”
just world belief bias
when we believe that bad things happen to others because of their own actions
i.e. someone is in an auto accident and doesn’t have health insurance; the medical bills bankrupt them; you think “it was his fault, he should have had insurance!”
ultimate attribution error
- refers to how in group or out group good and bad behaviors are viewed as being d/t an internal or external attribution
- For an in group, a good behavior is seen as an internal attribution (the result of a person’s character, whereas a bad behavior is seen as an external attribution (rare and an exception to the rule)
- For an out group member, this is the opposite: good behavior is seen as an external attribution (uncommon and is an exception to the rule), whereas bad behavior is seen as an internal attribution (flaw in that person’s character or personality
self-fulfilling prophecy
refers to a schema/belief having an affect on outcomes; an individual with a previously held belief will act upon this unintentionally, which causes something to happen that then confirms their preheld belief. this preheld belief is referred to as a false belief/false definition, which then becomes true
i.e. a teacher is told that a certain student is gifted. that teacher now believes that student to exceed well. Because of this belief (aka schema), the teacher will treat the student differently, which will eventually lead to the student doing better in the class academically. The teacher may give more opportunities to the gifted student because the teacher expects that student to be able to complete the task.
