Topic 5 - Self Flashcards
What does self refer to?
Self refers to the individual; a universal concept/idea. Sense of self as unique and distinct from others.
What is self-concept?
the overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes
When does rudimentary self-concept develop in humans?
18 to 24 months
Is rudimentary self-concept a universal concept?
Yes it is!
even seen in some primates
How does rudimentary self-concept develop over time?
starts out concrete/factual and moves to abstract/reflective
What is the influential self-concept in many Western cultures?
How is self defined? What are common values?
Independent or Egocentric Self
self is defined largely according to one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions
independence and uniqueness valued
What is the influential self-concept in many Eastern cultures?
How is the self defined? What is commonly valued?
Inter-dependent or sociocentric self
self defined largely through relationships to other people
recognizes that others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions affect one’s behaviour
connectedness and interdependence valued
uniqueness frowned on
Do Western cultures have a mostly independent or interdependent self-concept?
mostly independent
Do Eastern cultures have a mostly independent or interdependent self-concept?
mostly inter-dependent
Do individuals have solely an independent or interdependent self-concept?
No, people often have an independent and interdependent view of themselves, but usually the weighting is a bit different.
Is Europe more individualistic or collectivistic?
More or less individualistic, becomes more collectivist as we move East
What are proverbs?
sayings that are developed in popular culture
Are proverbs similar or different across cultures?
If we look at proverbs in different areas of the world and how they relate to the idea of standing out from the group (individualistic vs collectivistic) they differ - different attitudes towards patterns of behaviour.
What are the 4 functions or aspects of the self?
4 functions or aspects of the self:
1) Self-knowledge: how we understand who we are and organize this information
2) Self-esteem: maintain positive views of ourselves
3) Self-control: make plans and execute decisions
4) Impression management: present ourselves to others and getting them to see us as we wish
What are the 4 primary processes of how we develop self-knowledge?
4 primary processes:
1) Introspection (self-awareness theory)
2) Attention to behaviour (self-perception theory)
3) Comparison to others (social comparison theory)
4) Imagining other people’s views (looking glass self)
What is introspection?
The process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives
Do people rely on introspection as much as we might think? Why or why not?
No, not always pleasant to think about ourselves.
Reasons for our feelings and behaviour can be outside conscious awareness.
How do clinical psychologists use introspection?
Provides an environment in which we can engage in introspection, examining our thoughts, feelings, and motives - in the hope of enhancing our wellbeing (self-esteem, sense of happiness, decreased depression/anxiety).
Can our own motives be outside of our conscious awareness?
yes
What theory is a part of introspection?
Self-awareness theory
What is the self-awareness theory?
when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behaviour to their internal standards and values (can enhance confidence or induce shame)
When can introspection / self-awareness theory be positive vs. negative?
Can be very uncomfortable where our behaviour does not match values
- Produces a desire to turn off “internal spotlight” on oneself
- Self-destructive means versus more positive means
Can also be positive (enhance self-esteem)
How can the self-awareness theory be used to alter behaviour?
Prompted self-focus can remind you of your sense of right and wrong and increase your likelihood of following your moral standards
Deindividuation: the loss of self-awareness in groups
What is deindividuation?
the loss of self-awareness in groups
What are the limits of introspection?
Insight on feelings and behaviour
often, our insight into the cause of our own behaviour is limited, we tell more than we actually know
What are causal theories of introspection? How are they often learned?
theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviours; often learned from our local culture
What’s the problem with causal theories of introspection?
Problem is that our causal schemas and theories are not always correct; can lead to incorrect judgements about the real causes of our feelings, thoughts, behaviours
On social media, what day do people tend to use the most negative language? Why?
Wednesdays
Suggests that mood is increasingly bad from Monday to Wednesday, then Wednesday to Friday gets better. Wednesday is the most negative day.
What is the self-perception theory?
using our behaviour to understand our emotions/attitudes
the theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs
we infer feelings from behaviour of which we are unsure of how we feel
judge whether our behaviour really reflects how we feel or is the result of a situation
We experience emotions in what two-step self-perception process?
1) experience physiological arousal
2) seek an appropriate explanation
Explain the two-factor theory of emotion (Schachter-Singer)?
stimulus –> physiological arousal –> cognitive label –> emotion
given the same degree of physiological arousal, people feel different emotions depending on the situation
What can be part of the prevention of domestic violence?
Part of prevention of this domestic violence is teaching children from a very young age to label their emotions or develop a finely-graded way of distinguishing based on the situation, what they are feeling.
What does the bridge or true love study tell us?
about the misattribution of arousal - misinterpreting the cause of one’s heightened physiological state
What might be a good first date based on the misattribution of arousal? Why?
Coffee date might be a good first data based on the misattribution of arousal because if we were to feed them lots of coffee, they might get a little jittery, heart pounding, feel energized - maybe have a feeling of intense arousal and that their date is attractive
rollercoaster trip?
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
Intrinsic motivation: engage in an activity because of enjoyment and interest, not external rewards or pressures
Extrinsic motivation: engage in an activity because of external reasons, not because of enjoyment and interest.
What type of motivation is better for increasing the behaviour in the long run?
Intrinsic
What is the danger of rewards as motivation?
Can reduce intrinsic motivation and lead to less of the desired behaviour long-term
What is the over-justification effect?
The tendency of people to view their behaviour as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons
When can extrinsic motivation such as rewards be especially dangerous?
Can be particularly dangerous in situations where high intrinsic motivation already exists, because people then start to see their behaviour as being led by the rewards and not by the joy they might have had from the beginning.
Why would a reading incentive program be created?
With progression from elementary to middle school, the motivation to read decreases. Intended to help students maintain reading habits and reading enjoyment past elementary.
How can extrinsic motivation impact the efficiency or level of performance?
What happens after the reward is stopped?
People expecting to receive a reward for completing a task (or doing it successfully) simply do not perform as well as those who expect nothing.
Extrinsic reward has lasting negative effects on intrinsic/internal motivation and motivation decreases continue even after the reward is discontinued.
What is the best way to use rewards?
Rewards will undermine interest only if interest was initially high
Using performance contingent rewards (reward depends on performing task well) versus task contingent rewards (rewarded for doing task, regardless of quality of performance)
Ex. read a book and have to answer a series of questions about that book - have to read it thoroughly
Task-related rewards (books or related) are less damaging to intrinsic motivation than unrelated ones (pizza)
What are performance contingent rewards?
Rewards that depend on performing task well
How can you focus on increasing internal motivation/enhancing enjoyment? Through what 4 things?
Access
Choice
Environment
Modelling
How is self-concept developed?
Shaped by the people around us - does not develop in a solitary context
What is the social comparison theory?
social comparison theory: we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people
We measure our own abilities or attitudes by looking at those around us, and we understand ourselves always in relationship to others
What are the 2 important questions to ask in the social comparison theory?
When do you engage in social comparison?
With whom do you choose to compare yourself?
When do we engage in social comparisons?
No objective standard exists to measure against
When we experience uncertainty
With whom do we compare ourselves?
(initial impulse? most informative?…)
Initial impulse: anyone who is around
Most informative: similar others
(People who have a similar background or level of experience; who exist at the same social level as you)
Depends on goals
- To know level to which we can aspire? –> Upward social comparison
(When we want to know who is the best of the best - so we can dream of getting to that level some day (max. level to aspire to)
- To feel better about self? –> Downward social comparison
(A self-protective, self-esteem enhancing strategy)
How do we know ourselves or get by imagining other people’s views?
Looking Glass Self: the self grows out of interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others
we see ourselves and the social world through the eyes of other people
What are the steps for the looking-glass self?
Step 1) we imagine how we appear to other people
Step 2) we imagine how other people judge the appearance that we think we present
Step 3) If we think the evaluation is favorable, our self-concept is enhanced. If we think the evaluation is unfavorable, our self-concept is diminished.
We incorporate our perceived judgements from them into our own self-concept.
What is it called as we get to know ourselves by adopting other people’s views?
Social tuning:
the process whereby people adopt another person’s attitudes
automatic, nonconscious
related to the likability of the other - adopt views of those we like, reject views of those we dislike
What is impression management?
the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen
(We want to manage, or control, or influence the impression we give off to others)
What is ingratiation?
flattering, praising, and generally trying to make ourselves likeable to another person, often of higher status (sucking up, kissing butt)
Often only successful if not overly done
What is self-handicapping?
Why do we do this?
creating obstacles and excuses for ourselves so that if we do poorly on a task, we can avoid blaming ourselves
So that our performance does not fully reflect our capabilities or skills as an individual - to maintain a positive image for ourselves and engage in that impression management for others.
What is the example of familial impression management?
If impression management done after you’re dead?
professional mourners
Lying online is an example of what?
impression management
