The Self in Social World

Question 1

Spotlight effect

Answer 1

the belief that others are paying more attention to one’s appearance and behavior than they really are

Question 2

Illusion of transparency

Answer 2

the illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others

Question 3

Self-concept

Answer 3

a person’s answers to the question, “Who am I?”; image we have of ourselves

Question 4

Self-schemas

Answer 4

beliefs about self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information

Question 5

Possible selves

Answer 5

images of what we dream of or dread becoming in the future

Question 6

Influences on self-concept

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

Social comparisons

Answer 7

evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others

Question 8

The looking-glass self

Answer 8

a self-image based on how we think others see us

Question 9

Individualism

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Collectivism

Answer 10

giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

Question 11

Interdependent self

Answer 11

construing one’s identity in relation to others

Question 12

Planning fallacy

Answer 12

the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task

Question 13

Impact bias

Answer 13

overestimating the enduring impact of emotion-causing events

Question 14

Immune neglect

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Dual attitudes

Answer 15

differing implicit (automatic) and explicit (consciously controlled) attitudes toward the same object

Question 16

Self-esteem

Answer 16

a person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth

Question 17

Self-efficacy

Answer 17

a sense that one is competent and effective, distinguished from self-esteem, which is one’s sense of self-worth

Question 18

Locus of control

Answer 18

the extent to which people perceive outcomes as internally controllable by their own efforts or as externally controlled by chance or outside forces

Question 19

Learned helplessness

Answer 19

the sense of helplessness and resignation learned when a human or animal perceives no control over repeated bad events

Question 20

Self-serving bias

Answer 20

the tendency to perceive oneself favorably

Question 21

Defensive pessimism

Answer 21

the adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one’s anxiety to motivate effective action

Question 22

False consensus effect

Answer 22

the tendency to overestimate the commonality of one’s opinions and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behavior

Question 23

Group-serving bias

Answer 23

explaining away outgroup members’ positive behaviors; also attributing negative behaviors to their dispositions (while excusing such behavior by one’s own group)

Question 24

Self-handicapping

Answer 24

protecting one’s self-image with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later failure

Question 25

Self-monitoring

Answer 25

being attuned to the way one presents oneself in social situations and adjusting one’s performance to create the desired impression.

Question 26

Self-presentation

Answer 26

the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one’s ideals.