The Self in Social World Flashcards
Spotlight effect
the belief that others are paying more attention to one’s appearance and behavior than they really are
Illusion of transparency
the illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others
Self-concept
a person’s answers to the question, “Who am I?”; image we have of ourselves
Self-schemas
beliefs about self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information
Possible selves
images of what we dream of or dread becoming in the future
Influences on self-concept
- the roles we play
- the social identities we form
- the comparisons we make with others
- our successes and failures
- how other people judge us
- the surrounding culture
Social comparisons
evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others
The looking-glass self
a self-image based on how we think others see us
Individualism
the concept of giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
Collectivism
giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly
Interdependent self
construing one’s identity in relation to others
Planning fallacy
the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task
Impact bias
overestimating the enduring impact of emotion-causing events
Immune neglect
the human tendency to underestimate the speed and the strength of the “psychological immune system”, which enables emotional recovery and resilience after bad things happen
Dual attitudes
differing implicit (automatic) and explicit (consciously controlled) attitudes toward the same object
Self-esteem
a person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth
Self-efficacy
a sense that one is competent and effective, distinguished from self-esteem, which is one’s sense of self-worth
Locus of control
the extent to which people perceive outcomes as internally controllable by their own efforts or as externally controlled by chance or outside forces
Learned helplessness
the sense of helplessness and resignation learned when a human or animal perceives no control over repeated bad events
Self-serving bias
the tendency to perceive oneself favorably
Defensive pessimism
the adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one’s anxiety to motivate effective action
False consensus effect
the tendency to overestimate the commonality of one’s opinions and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behavior
Group-serving bias
explaining away outgroup members’ positive behaviors; also attributing negative behaviors to their dispositions (while excusing such behavior by one’s own group)
Self-handicapping
protecting one’s self-image with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later failure
Self-monitoring
being attuned to the way one presents oneself in social situations and adjusting one’s performance to create the desired impression.
Self-presentation
the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one’s ideals.
