The Self in the Social Context

Question 1

Markus and colleagues describe self-concept as involving ________ self-schemas, which are “cognitive generalizations about the self derived from past experience that organize and guide the processing of self-related information contained in the individual’s experience,” and ________________ self-schemas embedded in the former that are more malleable and tied to immediate social conditions.

Answer 1

• Core
• Peripheral

Question 2

The _____________ Effect (a.k.a. the __________ effect) is the tendency for people to accept vague or general descriptions as accurate descriptions of themselves.

Answer 2

• Barnum
• Forer

Question 3

Daryl Bem’s __________________ theory proposes that, when internal cues are insufficient or difficult to interpret, people acquire information about themselves by observing their external behaviors and/or the context in which those behaviors occur.

Answer 3

Self-perception theory.

Question 4

Self-perception theory is supported by Schachter and Singer’s (1962) “__________________________,” which examined the perception of emotion.

Answer 4

Epinephrine studies.

Question 5

The _______________________ predicts that, when an external reward is given to a person for performing and intrinsically rewarding activity, the person’s intrinsic interest in the activity decreases.

Answer 5

Overjustification hypothesis.

Question 6

According to _____________________ (Festinger, 1954), people have an innate drive to evaluate their own opinions and behaviors, and in the absence of objective standards, they do so by comparing their opinions and behaviors to those of other people.

Answer 6

Social comparison theory.

Question 7

_________________________ predicts that, once a person’s self-concept is formed, the person seeks to maintain it by using cognitive behavioral strategies that are designed to obtain information that is consistent with that self-concept.

Answer 7

Self-verification theory.

Question 8

According to Synder (1987), people differ in terms of ________________, or their need and ability to manage the impressions that others form of them.

Answer 8

Self-monitoring.

Question 9

People _________ in self-monitoring are most concerned about their “public self” and, consequently, strive to match their attitudes and behaviors to the situation. People ________ in self-monitoring are guided primarily by their own beliefs, values, and other internal cues and attempt to alter the situation to match their “private self.”

Answer 9

• High
• Low

Question 10

________________ occurs when people attempt to protect their self-esteem and public image by engaging in behaviors that will provide them with an excuse for an anticipated failure.

Answer 10

Self-handicapping.

Question 11

Kobasa and colleagues (1982) found that the personality trait of _________________ is protective with respect to facing stress, and has 3 primary characteristics:

• Commitment (a sense of purpose and involvement in one’s relationships and life events)
• __________ (an openness to new experiences and change)
• Control (the belief that one has the ability to influence or manage life events)

Answer 11

• Hardiness
• Challenge

Question 12

Hardiness reduces the negative effects of stressful life events by facilitating ________________________, which involves directly altering those events or thinking about them more optimistically and using social supports and other resources.

Answer 12

Transformational coping.