The Self Flashcards
What is a self-schema?
- beliefs about the self; organised and guide self-relevant info
- quicker processing of what applies tot he self
What is the self?
- distinct being, the “feeling of what happens”
- uniqueness
- refers to the context (separation?)
Describe the distinctiveness hypothesis
- define yourself based on your uniqueness
- highlighting our self-defining features, usually as being part of the minority
(does this work for negative)
What is independent and interdependent self-construal? Describe the understanding with culture (Kitayama and Markus)
Independent:
- what we think of our unique selves and separate from others in the context
- individualistic cultures, defines identity as self-containing, own goals and personal self
- higher socio-economic status
- disapproves of conformity
Interdependent:
- our self-concept overlaps with friends and family
- collectivist cultures, priority on family/group goals, defining accordingly
- self-esteem based on other people and value cohesive actions
- low cohesive actions
- disapproves egotism
Influences in the media
Briefly describe the Kenyan study into culture and self-construal
- British influences on capital city
- tribespeople (less British influence) had an emphasis on roles and group members
- workers opposite
What is the better than average effect?
- most people think they are above average on positive traits/ more likely to experience positive things
- Alicke and Govorun; study, above average on positive (intelligence) - social desirability bias/illusion and misaligned view of the self
Why does the better than average effect occur?
- Dunning-Kruger Effect
- those who lack competence in skill also lack the ability to assess that competence
- more confidence- less skill
- positive schema; thinking of themselves as good; schema distorts reality and justifies terrible reactions
Describe the maintenance model (model for self-esteem)
- motivates to view ourselves as good
- self-serving confirmation biases; distortions in the perception of the world/memories; construal to fit schema
- maybe selective in which to recall
Causal attributions:
- explaining positive events: taking credits and attribute to ability
- negative: blaming others or external
What is the role of ambiguity in the model of self-esteem?
- construal of ambiguous things to fit the situation
- people shift their definitions by the parts they possess (rather than lack)
Describe the interaction between self-esteem and motivational biases?
Reflections: basking in reflected glory; gaining worth through other peoples glory (football)
Comparison: compare to relevant others to make a judgement of yourself
Catchphrase study:
1) called word game (low relevance)
2) verbal ability task (high relevance to person)
- lower relevance task: people help their friends and want to bask in their glory (downward comparisons)
- higher relevance task: fewer clues given to friends and strangers, cus they want the value
Describe the self-verification theory (Swan and Snyder)
- people strive for stable, accurate beliefs
- beliefs make things seem more coherent and allowing us to predict
- those with negative self-views would actually prefer negative feedback and interact with them more
How can the self-verification theory and the self-evaluation maintenance model co-exist?
Swann et al
- gave ppts with positive or negative self-beliefs positive and negative feedback
- those with negative beliefs thought negative feedback was accurate and believable
- but ALL felt better getting positive feedback and disliked negative
- we should affirm self-worth
What are hot and cold systems in self-regulation?
Hot - tempting Cold - limbic suppression and not activating emotions; easier to avoid - rational and reasonable
What is the construal level theory (Trope)?
- low-level construal - focusing on concrete components and details
- high-level construal - focusing on the abstracts, big pictures, goals and intentions = appreciating the consequences
- “pulling a trigger” vs “taking a life”
- marshmallow test
What is an upward comparison?
- when you want to improve something about yourself, you compare with people who are better
- useful when you want to know how good you’ve become or what you need to be improving
