The Social Self Flashcards
What are the 2 concepts of self
Self concept or self-knowledge (the known of me)
Self-awareness (the knower of the I)
What are the 3 features of self
Self includes the body
Self includes their social identity
Self is the active agent
What are the 3 functions of selfhood
1) Self is an interpersonal tool
2) Self makes choices
3) Self regulation
Explain the function of self is an interpersonal tool
It aids in the connections with others
Explain the function of self makes choices
The “I” makes choices
What you want to study, what are your goals in life
Explain the function of self regulation
Looking after yourself
Regulating emotions, thoughts
The “I” looks after the “me”
What does self knowledge come from (2)
Feedback from others (know you are kind, compassionate, ect, because others have told you)
Self comparison (how you compare to your friends)
Why is self knowledge percieved
Self knowledge is obtained from others but is heavily filtered through biases from others
- Self knowledge is obtained from others but is heavily filtered through biases from others
What we hear is generally filtered through politeness, not giving honest feedback
-When we get negative feedback we tend to be dismissive and come up with excuses
Why do autobiographers thing self-knowledge is accurate
- Self concept is the most complete form of knowledge imaginable
-No one knows you as much as you know yourself. No one knows who people are unless they explain to us
Why do psychoanalyists not think self-knowledge is accurate
You need an expert to help understand yourself
Self concept is very difficult to obtain
What is introspection
The process of looking inward and examining our thoughts or feelings
Sitting with self and reflecting on self, examining motivation, emotions, behavior
Limitation of introspection
Reasons for some of our behaviours are hidden from our conscious awareness
What are 3 systematic distortions people use
1) Exaggerating positive self-evaluation
2) Exaggerating perception of control
3) We have unrealistic optimism
Explain distortion: Exaggerating positive self-evaluation
We think we are healthy, smarter, than other people
Explain distortion: Exaggerating perception of control
Exaggerate the degree of control we have over our life
Explain distortion: We have unrealistic optimism
We think good things are more likely to happen to us, bad things to our neighbors
What are the 2 roots of self esteem
Social feedback
Direct experience of efficiency
When does self esteem increase
Self -esteem increases from adolescence to middle adulthood peaks at 50-60 HOWEVER is relative stable thoughout life (up and down from base point)
What can high self esteem predict
High self-esteem predicts success and well-being in life domains such as relationships, work and health
Explain downward vs upward comparrison and the relationship to self esteem
Downward comparison: with people who appearance, health, intelligence, social class wise, are beneath you. You start to feel better about yourself
Upward comparison: someone who achieves more, is more successful. If you can use them as motivation and aspiration, it can help us to feel good about yourself
How can comparison give you a good sense of self
We can compare someone similar get a good sense of self
How do those with inflated self-esteems react when threatened
People whose inflated favorable self-esteem is threaten often react by putting others down, sometimes with violence
Explain the vicious cycle of low self esteem
Start with negative view about themselves and the world
Turn into negative expectations about what things about to happen
Leads to low effort, high anxiety
If you think “I am going to fail this anyway”, it will lead to less studying
Low efforts leads to failure
People self blame for failure, and leads back to low self esteem
What is self awerness
Refers to the state in which one’s attention is focused on oneself and is comparing self with a set of standards
Explain state vs trait condition
State: momentarily you become highly aware of yourself
Trait condition: personality characteristic, tendency
