The Self Flashcards
What is the self concept
The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes
A test for self concept?
Mirror test
What is progression of self concept for humans
Wehn we first start to develop self concept, it is more clear cut and based on certain physical features but as we grow older, they start to stray from the physical features and focus more on the psychological states.
TRUE or FALSE: Morality is viewed as central to the self-concept, more so than cognitive processes or desires
TRUE
Independent view of the self
Defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people
Interdependent view of the self
Defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people and recognizing that one’s behaviour is often determined by the thoughts and feelings and actions of others
What are the 4 main functions of the self?
Self-knowledge
self control
Impression management
Self-esteem
When do humans start to develop their sense of self
18 to 24 months
What is introspection
The process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings and motives.
What is self-knowledge
This is the way we understand who we are and formulate and organize this information
What is self-control
The way we make plans and execute decisions
Impression management
is the way we present ourselves to other peeople and get them to see us the way we want to be seen
What is the Self-Awareness theory
The idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behaviour to their internal standards and values
What happens when we are self-aware and there is a disparity between what we think of ourselves and we actually see ourselves doing
People become very uncomfortable and therefore can be very self aversive, trying to avoid negative self focus
Is Self focus always aversive? If no, then when can it be good
For example when you have a major success it would be good to keep you happy, also it can be a good reminder of your right and wrongs
What are causal theories?
Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviours, often we learn such theories from our culture.
“Telling more than we can know”
The idea that people’s exlanations of their feelings and behaviour often go beyond what they can reasonably know. (usually with the aid of causal theories)
What is one danger of introspection
Reasons-generated atittude change
Reasons-generated attitude change
Attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one’s attitudes; people assume that their attitudes match the reasons that are plausible and easy to verbalize
What is the self-perception theory
The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs
What is a criteria that must be fulfilled for the self perception theory to apply
Uncertain feelings and ambiguity
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivation
The desire to do something because we purely find it interesting vs doing something for external rewards or pressures
WHat is the danger of introducing reward system
Overjustification effect; connected to the self perception theory as when people infer their behaviour via the situation (if there is rewrds and i do thething maybe i only do it because of rewards)
Overjustification effect
The tendency for people to view their behaviour as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons and making them udnerestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reason.
