The Desire for a Consistent Self (Midterm #1) Flashcards
Our search for self-knowledge is guide by a few self-evaluation motives
Self-assessment, self-enhancement, self-verification.
Self-verification
Motive to confirm our existing self-views. Leads to wanting others to view us the way we see ourselves.
Functions of Self-Verification
- Epistemic: Fulfills need for coherence.
–> State self-views provide people with a powerful sense of predictability and control to experience. - Pragmatic: Ensures smooth social interactions.
–> State self-views foster consistent and predictable behaviour.
–> Predictable behaviour allows others to know what to expect from one another, fostering social interactions.
–> Others respond to us predictably which further stabilizes behaviour.
How do people self-verify?
Creating social environments:
1. Displaying identity cues
2. Selective interaction
3. Interpersonal prompts
Cognitive biases:
1. Selective attention
2. Selective memory
3. Selective interpretation
Displaying Identity Cues
The use of symbols, appearance, or communication styles to signal to one’s self-concept to others. Increases likelihood of getting feedback consistent with our self-views.
Selective interaction
People prefer to interact with others that see them in a way that is consistent with the way they see themselves, even if it’s negative.
Study on Selective Interaction
Do people prefer to interact with people that like them or that see them the way the see themselves? Method: Participants chose an interaction partner for 2-3 hour conversation. Allowed to see evacuations of them made by two potential interaction partners. Recruited high and low self-esteem participants. High self-esteem: Self-enhancement and self-verification motives align. Low self-esteem: Self-enhancement (being seen positively) and self-verification (being seen negatively) motives are in conflict. Results suggests that people prefer to interact with others that verify their self-views vs people that like them, but see them different than they see themselves.
Real-Word Evidence for Selective Interaction
Spouses report greatest relationship intimacy when their parter shares their self-views, even if these self-views are negative. People tend to withdraw from relationships where their partner doesn’t verify their self-views (even if person as positive self-esteem, but partner has extreme positive view of them). Roommates also prefer roommates that share their self-views, even if negative.
Interpersona Prompts
People behave in ways that elicits self-verifying feedback. Explicitly asking confirmation of self-view. Guiding conversations that elicits self-verifying responses. Behaviours often lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Socially awkward –> avoiding social situations –> reinforces view of self as awkward.
Symbolic Self-Completion
Receiving feedback inconsistent with self-view is threatening. People compensate for this threat by using symbols and behaviours that signal this identity to others and themselves - intensifying behaviour consistent with this identity.
Intensifying Behaviours Study
Method: Participants rated themselves on dominance vs submission. Played a game with a confederate. Experimental manipulation: Consistent feedback (dominants received feedback they they’re dominant). Discrepant feedback (dominants received feedback that they’re submissive). Judges rated behaviour during follow-up interaction with confederate. Results: People responded to feedback that challenged their self-view by amplifying behaviour consistent with self-view. Suggests that we try to prove to others that we are a certain way rather than accept their feedback.
Symbolic Self-Completion
Receiving feedback inconsistent with self-views is threatening. People compensate for this threat by using symbols and behaviours that signal this identity to others and themselves: Intensifying behaviour consistent with this identity, becoming more confident in one’s self-view.
Becoming more confident in self-views Study
What happens when important identity is threatened? Method: Recruited heterosexual male journalism students. Experimental manipulation: Confirm: “You fit the ideal profile of being a journalist”. Threat: “You don’t fit the idea profile.” Met attractive female undergraduate, “Debbie”. Experimental manipulation: Debbie likes “modest guys” OR Debbie likes “guys who think they’re great”. Described themselves to Debbie: “How capable do you think you are in journalism in comparison to other students?” Showed evidence that people try to reinforce threatened identity by becoming more confident in self-view, even if they know that this behaviour will be seen negatively.
Selective attention
We pay more attention to feedback that confirms our self-views
Selective memory
We tend to have a better memory for feedback that confirms self views. Likeable people more likely to remember feedback that they were likeable. Dislikable people more like to remember feedback that they were dislikable.
Selective interpretation
We are likely to interpret ambiguous feedback as consistent with self-views. High self-esteem people tend to remember feedbacks more positive than it was and low self-esteem people tend to remember feedback as more negative than it was.
Universality of Self-Verification
Men and women equally engage in self-verification. Self-verification appears to be present cross-culturally, but the specific ways in which it manifests may be different. (East Asians are more likely to seek verification on contextualized self-views and less inclined to seek verification of more global attributes).
Implications of Self-Verification
Self-views are resistant to change. Cognitive biases may explain why people’s self-perception don’t line up with the perception that others have of them. General, self-verification is adaptive because it makes perceptions of the world predictable, thus increasing psychological comfort. Self-verification is helpful interpersonally. BUT, of people have unrealistically, negative self-views, self-verification may be harmful.
Comparing Self-Evaluation Motives
Motive: Self-verification
–> Focus: Consistency and stability
–> Preferred feedback: Confirms self-views, even if negative
Motive: Self-assessment
–> Focus: Accuracy
–> Preferred feedback: Objective, even if it contradicts self-views
Motive: Self-enhancement
–> Focus: Positivity and esteem
–> Preferred feedback: Feedback that makes the self look good, even if inaccurate.
Competition of the Self-Motives
- In most circumstances, people prioritize self-enhancement.
- Self-verification
- Self-assessment is only prioritized when the stakes are low or when accurate information is critical for decision making (career-aptitude test)
The circumstances under which self-verification vs. self enhancement depends on
- The kind of info that is accessible
- Centrality of self-view
- Length of relationship
- The kind of info that is accessible
Self-verification: relies on controlled, cognitive processing.
Self-enhancement: relies on more automatic, emotional processing.
Thus, people prefer self-enhancement under conditions of cognitive load and when in a hurry.
Sometimes results in cognitive-affective crossfire.
Cognitive-affective crossfire
Conflict between cognition and emotion. Cognitively, people seek self-verifying feedback to maintain a consistent sense of self. Emotionally, people seek self-enhancing feedback to boost mood and self-esteem. Generally, people will try to avoid this crossfire, but when it happens, will tend to choose self-verification.
- Centrality of Self-View
For central, firmly held self-views, people tend to reject feedback that contradicts self-view, even if the feedback is positive (Low self-esteem people choosing negative evaluator, journalism students study).
For less central, uncertain self-views, people are more accepting of feedback from others that is in contrast with self-view.
- Importance of Relationship
People tend to seek more self-verifying (vs. self-enhancing) feedback in long term relationships. In short-term social interactions, people tend to prefer self-enhancement. But evidence of strategic self-verification: even people with negative self-views seek more positive feedback on relationship relevant qualities (attractiveness), but tend to seek self-verifying information on non-relationship relevant qualities (intelligence, artistic ability).
