Sept 19 Flashcards
intimacy
the reciprocal, iterative interplay between self and other
self-concept
what we know and believe about ourselves
answer to question “who am I?”
our attributes, abilities, values, goals
2 types of components of self-concept
- descriptive
- evaluative: how we feel about our attributes
the looking-glass self
Charle Horton Cooley’s idea
develop self-concept THROUGH INTERACTIONS with others
- IMAGINE how we appear to others
- INTERPRET others’ reactions
- DEVELOP & REVISE self-concept based on these perceptions & judgments
active role of the individual in their self-concept
even though we look to others to identify who we are, we play an ACTIVE ROLE in our self-concept
not simply passively internalizing interactions with others
ACTIVELY SELECT & INTERPRET perceived judgments & perceptions of others
also attempt to MANAGE others’ perceptions through self-presentation strategies
classroom example of how we actively impact our self concepts
“how do my students see me?”
“how are they judging the image they have of me?”
look to and interpret their reactions: are they nodding, smiling, frowning, dozing off, looking bored?
shapes SELF-FEELING (pride, mortification) and SELF-CONCEPT (“I’m funny”, “I’m full”)
pay attention to some reactions and not others
MAY NOT BE ACCURATE in your perceptions
symbolic interactionism
overarching thesis: the self is a SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION, developed and maintained via INFERENCES from experiences with others
sense of self is experienced IN RELATION TO SOME AUDIENCE
- real or imagined
- specific or generalized
imagining reactions of others may be a conscious or non-conscious process
symbolic interactionism study setup: private beliefs & imagined audiences
study with 2 ostensibly unrelated parts
part 1: visualization exercise
- some were asked to bring to mind image of a close friend and to thin about the last interaction they had with that friend in detail
- others were asked to do the same, but for an older family member
part 2: asked to help out in a second study
- read passages and report how enjoyable they were
- there was a risque piece, 50 shades vibes
symbolic interactionism study results: private beliefs & imagined audiences
Ps who had previously thought about FRIENDS reported the passage being MORE ENJOYABLE, PLEASURABLE, EXCITING than Ps who’d thought about older relatives
PRIVATE BELIEFS are tailored for PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE - although we may not be consciously aware of this
self-esteem
EVALUATIVE component of self-concept
how GOOD or BAD we feel about ourselves
2 levels of self esteem
trait level:
- enduring level of self-regard
- fairly stable
state level:
- dynamic, changing feelings about the self
- vary from moment to moment
sociometer theory
postulates self-esteem as a GAUGE that assesses your DEGREE OF ACCEPTANCE by others
evidence for sociometer theory
- trait self esteem strongly correlates with PERCEPTIONS of ACCEPTANCE
- directionality? - experimental study of “individual and group decision making”
sociometer theory study: study of individual and group decision making
- exchange description of yourself with other group members
- indicate which group members you want to work with
- then hold they had to work alone, either because 1) random assignment or 2) because other group members didn’t choose them (rejection condition)
REJECTED Ps FELT WORSE ABOUT THEMSELVES (inferior, worthless)
valuation of personal attributes
INTRApersonal and INTERpersonal views of self-esteem
intrapersonal view of self-esteem
PRIVATE self-valuation
ie. ratio’s of one’s successes to one’s failures
interpersonal view of self-esteem
believing that one possesses certain attributes should only effect self-esteem to the extent that one considers these attributes to be JUDGED EITHER POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY by other people
example of interpersonal view of self esteem from pop culture
Cady in Mean Girls
she seeks acceptance from the plastics
wants to be judged positively so changes herself
and then seeks acceptance from boy
it doesn’t work
so she goes back to her old self to win him over
study: valuation of personal attributes setup
Participants…
1) filled out GLOBAL MEASURE of SELF ESTEEM
2) RATED themselves in 5 domains
ie. phys attractiveness, intelligence, morality
3) indicated how important those domains were for social approval or disapproval
study: valuation of personal attributes results
interaction between SELF EVALUATIONS and the PERCEIVED APPROVAL VALUE of the domain
how closely your performance in a given domain is tied to your self-esteem DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH YOU THINK PEOPLE around you VALUE that domain
connection between global self esteem and self-evaluation of attractiveness
people who evaluate themselves as unattractive fall in two camps
1) global low self esteem - these people think other’s evaluations of your phys attractiveness is important
2) global higher self esteem - these people don’t think that other’s ideas of your phys attractivness is important
those who place a premium on attractiveness have a steeper slope - tight relationship between self-perceived attractiveness and self esteem
research setting study: valuation of personal attributes setup
phase 1:
what research ideas are you thinking about these days?
phase 2:
2 ms exposure to an approving or disapproving established prof (ie. Lydon)
phase 3:
how good is your research idea? how important is it?
research setting study: valuation of personal attributes results
when primed with approving face:
thought their idea was great
when primed with disapproving face:
thought their idea was bad
the self is not…
an isolated entity
it isn’t entirely separate from others
as we grow closer to a relationship partner…
our self-concept expands to incorporate aspects of other
think of pictorial rep of this - self and other circles that start not touching and progress until very overlapping
self-expansion model
people are motivated to EXPAND their POTENTIAL EFFICACY
accrue resources, knowledge, perspectives, abilities, identities etc that make it possible to achieve future goals
one means to achieve this is close relationships
how do close relationships allow for self expansion?
you can incorporate partner’s identities, perspectives, skills, resources in the self
self expansion and falling in love
students provided:
- assessments of their sense of self:
- self-esteem
- self-efficacy
- spontaneous self-concept
every 2 weeks over 10 week period - and which significant life events they’d experienced
those who had fallen in love experienced GREATER INCREASE in self-concept (compared to before falling in love and Ps who didn’t fall in love)
also INCREASE in SELF-EFFICACY and SELF-ESTEEM
those who fell in love experienced…
- greater increase in self concept
- increase in self-efficacy
- increase in self-esteem
cognitive confusion of self & other
evidence that individuals cognitively “confuse” self & close others