The Self Flashcards
1
Q
Venn Diagram of the Self
A
SOCIAL CATEGORIES/COLLECTIVE (ie. woman)
SOCIAL ROLES/GROUPINGS/RELATIONAL (ie. married/psychologist)
UNIQUE PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES/PERSONAL (ie. intelligent)
2
Q
Cultural Differences
A
- in response to who someone is, they could answer variously
- Asians more likely to answer in terms of social roles (ie. brother/father/mother/son) whereas Westerners more likely to answer individually (ie. creative/successful)
- people belonging to more than one culture may have mix but focus more on “native” factor (nature VS nurture)
3
Q
The Self
A
- layered/multifaceted/context dependent/multiplied
- who we are/feel/think depends on the activated self
- this doesn’t mean there is no self; we all have a self-concept including personal knowledge
- people spend very little time thinking about the self
- introspection is imperfect
4
Q
Outward Perception
A
- basic psychology principle is that most perception is in some sense comparative
- thinking about the self is informed by the comparisons we make w/the people around us
5
Q
Social Comparison Theory
A
- where things cannot be objectively measured, people look to others/cues for judgement
- judgements made relative to available comparison standards (whether something is bad/good depends on whether it is better/worse)
- comparative feedback = self-perception = choice
6
Q
Comparison
A
- we don’t compare to everyone; most of the time we compare w/similar others (ie. if they can do X, I can too) which serves self-evaluation motives
- sometimes we compare ourselves w/dissimilar others for self-improvement/self-enhancement
7
Q
Protection Against Unwanted Comparisons
A
- attachment/maintenance of positive self-concept is important individual motivation (self-enhancement)
- while we have some choice in comparisons, they are often unflattering
8
Q
PAUC: “Reflected Glory”
A
- the self is multi-faceted so people may compensate for negative feedback in one domain by looking at others
9
Q
Enhancement VS Verification
A
- self theories assume motivation of positive self-concept (self-enhancement motive)
- some argue a stronger motive may be accurate perception (self-verification motive) though the two are mostly indistinguishable
10
Q
Good VS Bad
A
- sometimes high self-esteem can lead to engagement in ineffective self-regulation
11
Q
Summary
A
- is multifaceted/malleable/individual/relational/collective
- self-concept is socially shaped via comparisons w/others
- self processes are guided via sometimes conflicting motives (ie. feeling good/understood)
- though self-esteem is culturally valued, overly high self-esteem isn’t always functional
