The self Flashcards
What is the traditional view of ‘the self’?
The self is a stable, genetically determined ‘character’/personality that evolves over our lifetime
What is the basis of Symbolic Interactionism?
- we evolve in relation to the influence of others
- the self is a socially-constructed entity (rather than an inherent property of human nature)
- the self can’t be understood in isolation but in terms of our interaction with others
According to Symbolic Interactionism, how do we know that society influences us?
Society influences people because our self-concept/knowledge is continually modified through our interactions with others
According to Symbolic Interactionism, our sense of self is built upon…
…lifelong experience of seeing ourselves through the eyes of others
What is the ‘looking-glass self’?
Our self-concept is derived from seeing ourselves how others see us/how we think others see us
We tend to be biased by our own perceptions
According to Yeung et al. (2003), what are the 3 components of the ‘looking-glass self’?
Yeung et al. (2003)
- We imagine how we appear to others
- We imagine & react to what we feel their judgement of that appearance is
- We develop the self through the judgements of others
What is a criticism of the ‘looking-glass self’?
It is not always an accurate view – we are generally unaware of what others really think of us (Kenny & DePaulo, 1993)
Who proposed Self-Awareness theory?
Duval & Wicklund (1972)
What is ‘self-awareness’?
A psychological state in which we become aware of ourselves as objects
What is the basis of Self-Awareness theory?
Objective self-awareness is generated by circumstances that focus our attention on the self (e.g. in front of an audience/mirror)
Are we born with self-awareness or does it develop over time?
Self-awareness develops over time (we aren’t born with it)
At 18 months-old, we become aware that we are individual beings
A spot was put on an infant’s nose & they were put in front of a mirror.
Who did this study & how did the infants react?
Lewis & Brooks (1978)
9-12 months-old → treated the mirror image as another child; no recognition of the spot on their own nose (i.e. no self-awareness)
18 months-old → looked at their reflection & touched the spot on their own nose (i.e. had self-awareness)
What types of self are there?
- private self
- public self
What is the ‘private self’?
We focus on our internal states (private thoughts, feelings, attitudes)
When do we become privately self-aware?
We become privately self-aware when we see our face in a mirror or experience physiological arousal → this reflects on our emotional state
What are the consequences of becoming privately self-aware?
- Intensified emotional responses
- Experience clarification of knowledge
- More likely to adhere to personal standards/ideals
Why do our emotional responses intensify when we become privately self-aware?
We focus on our internal states → intensifies the experience of those feelings
What did Scheier & Carver (1977) do to study how being privately self-aware influences your emotional responses?
Scheier & Carver (1977) – pps read positive OR negative statements aloud (elicited elation/ depression)
- -> pps who looked in a mirror during the task (i.e. were privately self-aware) displayed more extreme emotions
- when they read out words that elicited elation, they had greater happiness ratings than controls
- when they read out words that elicited depression, they felt less degree of happiness than controls
Why do we experience clarification of knowledge when we become privately self-aware?
We focus on our internal states → report them with greater accuracy
Pps were given a placebo drug & were told that it would induce arousal & side-effects.
Who did this study & how did the results from pps who were privately self-aware differ from results of pps who weren’t privately self-aware?
Gibbons et al. (1979)
Pps with a mirror (i.e. privately self-aware) reported less arousal & fewer side-effects than pps with no mirror (i.e. not privately self-aware)
Why did the results between privately self-aware pps differ so much from pps who weren’t privately self-aware in Gibbons et al.’s (1979) study?
Pps who were privately self-aware based their self-knowledge on perceptions of the drug - they relied on what they had been told
Pps who were privately self-aware focused on their own experience (–> more accurate)
Why are pps more likely to adhere to personal standards/ideals when they are privately self-aware?
When we are more aware of our true beliefs, we act in line with those beliefs & are less vulnerable to social influence (e.g. conforming to group norms)
Pps had to write a counter-attitudinal essay.
Researchers found that pps who wrote their essay in front of a mirror showed less attitude change than those without a mirror.
Who did this study & what caused the results to differ like this?
Scheier & Carver (1980)
Pps with a mirror focused more on their true attitudes, regardless of their inconsistent behaviour
Who proposed Cognitive Dissonance theory?
Festinger (1957)
What is the basis of Cognitive Dissonance theory?
Festinger (1957)
People feel negative arousal if their attitudes & behaviour is inconsistent → this is often addressed by changing their attitudes to fit their behaviour
What is the ‘public self’?
How others see you (your public image) or how we THINK we are perceived by others
When do we become publicly self-aware?
We become publicly self-aware when aspects of ourselves can be seen & evaluated by others
- can be chronic (e.g. social networking)
What are the consequences of public self-awareness
- Fear of negative evaluation can lead to nervousness & lower self-esteem
- Behaviour aimed at presenting oneself in a positive light (i.e. we change behaviour)
How might we change our behaviour to present ourselves in a more positive light?
- adhere to social standards (e.g. conform to group norms)
- present an idealised version of ourselves
What is ‘self-esteem’?
Our evaluation of our self-worth
Crocker & Knight (2005) say that we tend to focus on self-evaluations in domains that…
…enhance our feelings of self-worth
Most people strive to feel so about themselves - how do they self-evaluate as a result?
Most people strive to feel good about themselves so they self-evaluate in a way that boosts their self-esteem
According to Baumring (1991), how does our self-esteem develop/what influences our self-esteem?
Baumring (1991) – the parenting style of our CG in childhood influences our self-esteem later in life
Baumring (1991) proposed 2 dimensions of influential parenting style. What are they?
- demanding
- responsive
What are the characteristics of a ‘demanding’ caregiver?
- controlling
- impose rules & punishments
What are the characteristics of a ‘responsive’ caregiver?
- warm
- supportive
What are the 3 types of parenting style?
- authoritative
- authoritarian
- permissive
What are the characteristics of an Authoritative parent and what effect does this have on the child’s self-esteem?
High demanding + high responsive → high SE
What are the characteristics of an Authoritarian parent and what effect does this have on the child’s self-esteem?
High demanding + low responsive → reduced SE
What are the characteristics of an Permissive parent and what effect does this have on the child’s self-esteem?
Low demanding + high responsive → reduced SE
Chronic self-esteem may be determined in childhood.
Which researcher found evidence of variations in low & high self-esteem throughout the lifespan?
Robins et al. (2002)
What happens to our self-esteem when we are 6-11 y/o, according to Robins et al. (2002)?
- our self-esteem is relatively unstable
- we are still developing our self-concept
- we are affected by others around us & any temporary changes in our life
What happens to our self-esteem when we are in our 20s, according to Robins et al. (2002)?
- this is time when our self-esteem is most stable
- we have a fully developed self-concept
- we are less affected by temporary life changes
What happens to our self-esteem when we are in mid-adulthood, according to Robins et al. (2002)?
- our self-esteem is still relatively stable
What happens to our self-esteem when we are 60 y/o & older, according to Robins et al. (2002)?
- our self-esteem declines in stability
- we experience major life changes (e.g. retirement)
- we are more affected by changes in the environment
When we become self-aware, what does this increase our access to?
When we become self-aware, it allows us to access info about ourselves
What is a ‘schema’?
A cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a concept/type of stimulus
What is a ‘self-schema’?
How we expect ourselves to think, feel & behave in a situation (self-knowledge)
It consists of our perception of the self (“I’m shy) & our experience of this (“shy in seminars”)
Which researcher/s claims that some self-schemas are more important than others?
Markus (1977) – some self-schemas are more important than others
- factors we feel contribute to our identity are most important
If a dimension is important to our identity, we say that we are _______ on that dimension.
If a dimension is important to our identity, we say that we are SELF-SCHEMATIC on that dimension.
If a dimension is NOT important to our identity, we say that we are _______ on that dimension.
If a dimension is NOT important to our identity, we say that we are ASCHEMATIC on that dimension.
Self-schematic dimensions are likely to be activated in relevant situations.
Describe a study that investigated pps responses to self-schematic/aschematic traits.
Markus (1977) – pps rated themselves as self-schematic on the trait of independence OR dependence, OR aschematic on both
Pps were shown words that represented independence (“assertive”) OR dependence (“obliging”) & pressed ‘me’/’not me’ buttons
–> self-schematic pps were faster to identify whether a word characterised them (vs. aschematic pps)
[it didn’t matter whether it was an independent/dependent word, only if it was self-schematic]
If we are self-schematic on the trait of ‘shyness’ (i.e. is important to our identity), what happens to this schema when we enter a situation where this dimension is relevant (e.g. a seminar)?
When we enter a situation where this dimension is relevant, it activates our shy self-schema & consequently influences our behaviour
Self-Awareness theory claims that we have numerous versions of the self. What are they?
The actual self
The ideal self
We tend to compare these versions of the self but there may be a discrepancy.
How can we reduce this discrepancy?
To reduce this discrepancy, we can either…
- focus on the discrepancy & alter our behaviour so that we become more like our ideal self (this can be hard - if we fail it can lead to reduced motivation & make us feel worse about ourselves) OR
- we can escape self-awareness (not focus on the discrepancy) – this can be destructive
Who proposed Self-Discrepancy theory?
Higgins (1987)
Self-Discrepancy theory claims that we have numerous versions of the self. What are they?
The actual self
The ideal self
The ought self
What is the ‘ought self’?
Who we THINK we should be in relation to how others see us/how we think others see us
What emotions might a discrepancy between our actual + ideal selves lead to?
A discrepancy between our actual + ideal selves might lead to negative emotions (the bigger the discrepancy = greater the discomfort)
We feel motivated to alter our behaviour to reduce the discrepancy between our actual + alternative selves. What effect might this have on our emotions?
If we reduce the discrepancy, it will reduce our negative emotions
What determines whether we alter our behaviour to reduce the discrepancy between our different selves?
Whether we change depends on how motivated we are
The motivation to reduce the discrepancy between our ideal + alternative selves is driven by…
- the amount of discrepancy
- how important it is to us
- how focused we are on the discrepancy
How does the amount of discrepancy affect our motivation?
If there is a small discrepancy = less motivated
If there is a large discrepancy = feel discomfort so are more motivated
How does the importance of the discrepancy affect our motivation?
If the discrepancy doesn’t matter = less motivated
If the discrepancy does matter = more motivated
How does the amount of focus we have on the discrepancy affect our motivation?
If we are not focusing on the discrepancy = less motivated
If we are focusing on the discrepancy = more motivated
What happens when there is a discrepancy between our actual + ideal selves?
We fail to reach positive outcomes = failure of promotion goals → leads to depression-related emotions (sadness, dissatisfaction)
What happens when there is a discrepancy between our actual + ought selves?
We fail to avoid negative outcomes = failure of prevention goals → leads to anxiety-related emotions (fear, agitation)
Higgins et al. (1986) identified pps with low OR high discrepancy between their actual + ideal selves OR their actual + ought selves
Pps focused on & described the difference between actual + ideal/ought self.
What did Higgins et al. (1986) find?
Higgins et al. (1986)
Pps with HIGH discrepancies:
- when they were told to focus on the discrepancy between their actual + IDEAL selves, they displayed depression emotions (dejection)
- when they were told to focus on the discrepancy between their actual + OUGHT selves, they displayed anxiety emotions (agitation)
Pps with LOW discrepancies:
- no significant change to either emotion
- if you have low discrepancy, you tend to be quite content & less motivated to make changes
Who proposed Social Comparison theory?
Festinger (1954)
Self-Awareness & Self-Discrepancy theories are about comparing our actual selves against alternative selves.
What is the Social Comparison theory about?
Social Comparison theory is about comparing ourselves to other
Our goal determines our we compare ourselves to others.
What types of goal are there?
- self-improvement goals
- self-enhancement goals
- accurate self-evaluation
What are self-improvement goals?
We make an upward social comparison – look to others who are more successful
This inspires us to do better & become more like them
What are self-enhancement goals?
We make a downward social comparison – look to others who are less successful than us
This makes us feel better about ourselves
What is accurate self-evaluation?
A combination of upward & downward social comparison
- some people will be better/worse than us
OR we compare ourselves to others in a similar position to us
Who proposed Self-Evaluation Maintenance theory?
Tesser (1988)
The success of people close to us affects our self-esteem.
What types of behaviours might we engage in, & what effect will it have on our self-esteem, when others accomplish things?
- Social reflection - our self-esteem is boosted by others’ accomplishments
- Social comparison - our self-esteem is threatened by others’ accomplishments
What determines whether we will engage in social reflection or social comparison?
- relevance
- certainty
If the other person is successful in a domain that is irrelevant to you AND/OR you feel certain about your ability in that domain, what behave will we engage in?
Reflection/comparison?
Social reflection - this will have no negative impact on our self-esteem
If the other person is successful in a domain that is relevant to you AND you feel uncertain about your ability in that domain, what behave will we engage in?
Reflection/comparison?
Social comparison - this will have a negative impact on our self-esteem
[both relevance & uncertainty must be in place to engage in social comparison]
Through which strategies might we be able to maintain a positive self-concept (& boost our self-esteem if it is threatened)?
- Exaggerate the ability of the successful target
- Change the target of comparison
- Distance ourselves from the successful target
- Devalue the dimension of comparison
Who proposed the idea of ‘conventional wisdom’?
Baumeister, Smart & Boden (1996)
What is ‘conventional wisdom’?
If we have low self-esteem, we are more likely to engage in violence
What did Baumeister, Smart & Boden (1996) do to study ‘conventional wisdom’?
They reviewed evidence about violence & crime & found low SE DOESN’T increase violence
Violence is usually the result of threatened egoism (= highly favourable views of the self that are disputed by someone/a circumstance)
Inflated/unstable beliefs in the self’s superiority may be prone to encountering threats → leads to violence
A mediating process may involve directing your anger outward to avoid a downward revision of the self-concept
Who proposed the Collective Constructionist theory of the Self?
Kitayama, Markus, Matsumoto & Norasakkunkit (1997)
What is the basis of the Collective Constructionist theory of the Self?
Many psychological processes (incl. enhancement of the self (which is widespread in the US), & criticism & subsequent improvement of the self (widespread in Japan)) support ways in which social acts & situations are defined & experienced in cultural contexts
How can we apply the Collective Constructionist theory of the Self to people in America & Japan?
American situations are conducive to self-enhancement & Americans are likely to engage in self-enhancement
Japanese situations are conducive to self-criticism & Japanese people are likely to engage in self-criticism
