Social cognition and the self Flashcards
define social cognition
organisation of our thoughts to navigate the social world
what are controlled processes
deliberate and intentional behaviours
goal dependent
requires awareness of behaviour
what are automatic processes
Uncontrollable or unconscious processes
Gut reactions/responses
what can automatic processes be influenced by
priming
environment
facial cues
what are caught by implicit measures
automatic processes
what are captured by explicit measures
controlled processes
Gilbert and Hixon method of investigating stereotypes
Asked to complete a word completion task (fill in gaps) after exposure to either white or Asian faces
Findings of Gilbert and Hixon
found that word filled in tended to be related to race after being shown an Asian face
method of Payne investigating stereotypes
weapon identification task (sort tools vs guns)
Payne findings
Incongruent pairings harder to categorise Black-tool White-gun
how do we use faces as social cues
- Gaze and eye contact
Facial features (gender, race age)
what personality traits can we infer from faces
dominance
maturity
trustworthy
aggression
describe the shooter bias task
Presented with a scene
Some scenes contain people (black vs white)
Holding either gun or object
Make choice whether to shoot target
what is social memory
Help us to understand ourselves
Remember things about others
how is social memory useful
inform opinions on new people
navigate novel situations
what is a self schema
Cognitive representations of oneself that one uses to organise and process self-relevant information
what do self schemas consist of
important behaviours and attitudes
what is the self reference effect
easy remembering of self-referent words as they are processed through self-schemas
what is self perception theory
our own behaviour is a basis for inference for the self-schema
what are extrinsic motivations
Behaviour driven by rewards/situation
Rewards are unrelated to behaviour e.g. approval from others
what are intrinsic motivations
Behaviour driven by self interest
No explicit reward for behaviour
Behaviour is rewarding in itself
what is the looking glass self
Others perceptions of us feed into our self schema
We assume what others think about us so not always accurate
what is social comparison theory
Use others to evaluate our own abilities and characteristics
describe upward social comparison
When we compare ourselves to someone who is better than us, often to improve on a particular skill
describe downward social comparison
When we compare ourselves to someone who is worse than us, often to feel better
what is the actual self
The person we think we are right now, including the good and bad qualities, group memberships, and other self-concept components
what is the ideal self
The person we hope to become. The best version of our potential, with positive or enhanced qualities and realized dreams
what is the ought self
What other people want us to be. Includes cultural, parental, and romantic partner expectations
what is self presentation theory
Adapt to fit into the situation
Present ourselves to make an impression on others
what is self control
- Ability to override thoughts, emotions and behaviours
Implement behaviours that are appropriate for a specific situation
what happens when self control fails
Excessive use leads to exaggerated emotional response to rewarding stimuli
Can reduce efforts to change your ideal self
what is self discrepancy theory
- Occurs when the selves do not align
Can lead to mental health problems
what is self esteem
Indicates confidence in ones abilities
describe the cultural differences in self esteem
Absent in some Asian and interdependent countries compared to the West
