The Self Flashcards
self-concept
the way in which a person perceives or thinks about themselves
existential self
part of the self-concept that gives a sense of being consistent and unique from others
categorical self
part of the self-concept that gives a sense of one’s own qualities in relationship to others
humanistic psychology
approach to studying thoughts and behavior
originally proposed by Carl Rogers
focuses on free will and the drive for self-actualization
based on the idea that all people are good and driven by the conscious desire to improve
self-image
the view an individual has of themselves
self-esteem
sense of respect that one holds for themselves
ideal self
person or set of qualities that an individual strives to become
social identity theory
idea of explaining self-concept that describes how a person views themselves personally and socially
personal identity
part of the self-concept that describes a person’s unique inner qualities
social identity
part of the self-concept that describes a person’s relationship with others, the groups they are a part of, and their role in the community
categorization
natural tendency of individuals to group others based on their physical and personality characteristics
identification
tendency of an individual to behave in a way that fits the category they have put themselves in
can influence a person’s actions and self esteem
social comparison
the natural tendency to evaluate oneself or one’s groups in relation to others and other groups
often influences self-esteem
self-efficacy
sense of confidence in one’s capabilities and ability to succeed in a given situation
having a high level of this results in strong interests, commitment and resilience
mastery of experience
the way in which practice and successful completion of a task in the past influences self-efficacy
social modeling
learning mechanism that involves observing the actions of others
this can contribute to self-efficacy when another person of equal capabilities is observed successfully completing a task
social persuasion
verbal encouragement or discouragement that affects self-efficacy
social influence
the way in which interactions with others affects an individual’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions
imitation
form of social behavior that involves copying the behavior of others
requires knowledge of the separation of the self and others
can be exhibited only 12-21 days after birth
mirror neurons
specific cells in the brain that respond in the same way to others performing a task as they do in the individual actually performing a task
roles
form of social behavior in which an individual alters their behavior based on the expectation that they have regarding that specific context and social norms
social norms
standards for acceptable behavior in a certain situation around certain people
often unwritten and unstated, but based on the internalized moral guidelines of the group
reference group
group that an individual refers to in evaluating themselves, or a group the individual aspires to be like, typically based on their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors
culture
shared beliefs, behaviors, and characteristics of a society
socialization
the lifelong process of learning to interact with others and how to behave within social norms
preparatory stage
the first step in social development
according to George Herbert Mead
children interact with others through imitation
play stage
second step in social development according to Mead
children are focused on taking the perspectives of the others to engage in pretend play
game stage
the last step in social development according to Mead
a person learns to consider the attitudes and beliefs of the generalized other, not just the people closest to them
individuals in this stage learn that people have multiple roles and often behave based on what society expects of them
generalized other
personification of society’s expectations
when someone tries to imagine what is expected of them, they take on this perspective
me
part of a person’s self-concept that is how they believe the generalized other sees them
this is also known as the social self and is often seen as more passive than the self-concept of I
I
part of the person’s self concept that describes the person’s response and thoughts about the social self
often seen as more active than the self-concept of me
George Herbert Mead
proposed three stages: preparatory stage, play stage, and game stage
perspectives in terms of generalized other vs I/me where me is more passive and I is more active
looking glass self
idea proposed by Charles Cooley
describes how a person’s self concept develops in terms of how they believe others think of them
requires that the person thinks about how they appear to others, how they think others evaluate them, and a re-evaluation of themselves based on this
social psychology
study of intrapersonal interactions, including individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior during these intractions
situational approach to behavior
method of explaining actions that focuses on the impact of the environment and external factors on these actions
attribution
inference about the causes of events or behaviors
attribution theory
idea that people tend to explain their behavior and the behavior of others in terms of the perceived causes of the behavior
involves deciding if a behavior had external influences, internal influences, or both
external (situational) attribution
explanation of the causes of a person’s behavior that focuses on the influence of the current environment
involves evaluating a behavior as distinctive from behavior in other situations and as similar to how others behave in that situation
internal (dispositional) attribution
explanation of the causes of a person’s behavior that focuses on the influence of personality or intrinsic factors
involves evaluating a behavior as consistent across situations within an individual
covariation model
idea that consistency, distinctiveness and consensus play a role in attributions of behavior
the more consistent a behavior is performed by an individual in a variety of environments, the more likely it is to be assumed to have an internal attribution; the more consensus there is regarding a behavior in a certain environment, the more likely it is to be assumed as having external attribution
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors on another person’s behavior
tends to be higher in individualist societies
actor-observer bias
tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors on another person’s behavior and external factors on one’s own behavior, especially regarding to failures
individualist cultures
societies that place a large influence on the achievements and needs of singular people rather than on the group as a whole
this includes many societies in North America and Europe
societies with this ideology tend to overestimate the influence of internal factors on success and external factors on failure
collectivist cultures
societies that place a large influence on the achievements and needs of the group over the individual
includes many societies in Asia and Africa
societies with this ideology tend to overestimate the influence of external factors on success and internal factors on failure
self-serving bias
tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors on success and external factors on failure in order to protect one’s self esteem
more prevalent in individualist cultures
impression management
way in which people alter their behavior in order to influence the perceptions of other people around them
dramaturgy
process through which people attempt to control others’ perceptions of them
dramaturgical approach
theory proposed by Erving Goffman that describes how people manage the impressions they make on others
often compared to actors in a performance setting
front stage
actions and behaviors that are visible to others
back stage
private actions and behaviors that are not visible to others and often allow a person to be ready for their interactions with others
