UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES

Question 1

Phenomenology

Answer 1

Phenomenology - ​​an approach to psychological matter that attempts to explain experiences from the point of view of the subject via analysis of their written or spoken word.

Question 2

Snygg (1941) - Shift in focus in psychology

Answer 2

• Shift from an external to an internal (more attention on how people describe their experiences).
• Psychology is not only concerned with overt behaviour (that can be observed, causal approaches) but also with mental activity and the subjective worlds of individuals.
• Inspired investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced.

Question 3

Behaviourism vs Phenomenology

Answer 3

• Different approaches or paradigms within Psychology + common arguments (need to decide which one might be better in which situation).
• Two language problem - language of the objective VS that of experiences.
• Much of our research in Psychology relies on the self-reported measures of individuals.

Question 4

Psychosis (Hornstein’s ideas)

Answer 4

Hornstein - if we dont start from people’s real experiences we cannot accurately understand a phenomenon.

• Biomedical approach (behaviourist) - hallucinations are due to faulty brain processes and on their own have no meaning.
• Phenomenological approach - biomedical ignores what the voices might be telling to the person + psychosis has a link to childhood trauma + hearing voices network assumes all psychological experiences are meaningful and teaches to pay attention to the voices to understand why they are there.

Question 5

Self-concept

Answer 5

• Facilitates self-esteem maintenance.
• Has multiple self-schemas that affect how we think we should act and feel.

Question 6

Multiple Role Theory (Powell & Greenhaus, 2010) - self-schema alignment

Answer 6

When self-schemas align = we prosper = self-concept clarity

When self-schemas conflict = distress = self-concept confusion

Question 7

Self-awareness

Answer 7

Self-awareness - ability to look inward, think deeply about your behaviour, and consider how it aligns with your moral standards and values.

Question 8

Lewis & Brooks-Gunn (1987) - Rouge Test -
When does self-awareness develop?

Answer 8

Put some rouge on kids faces.

Placed them in front of a mirror.

Can see when they have developed self-awareness - if they touch the spot on their face they know it is them.

Results - by about 18-25 months noticed the red dot + made a link between the image in the mirror and themselves.

Conclusion - sense of self is developed by 18-25 months.

Question 9

Public & Private Self-Awareness

Answer 9

1) Public self-awareness - awareness of public aspects of the self that may be seen by others.
- Positive - linked to adhering to social norms and societal standards (e.g. mask-wearing).
- Negative - fears of giving public speeches which causes potential stress and worry.

2) Private self-awareness - awareness of private, personal aspects of the self.

Question 10

Beaman et al. (1979) - Activating private self-awareness

Answer 10

Told kids they could take as many candies as they wished.

Mirror was set up behind the bowl of candy or not.

Results - Kids were more likely to behave in ways more in line with social norms if there was a mirror behind the bowl.

Context + culture dependent.

Question 11

Scheier & Carver (1980) - Activating private self-awareness

Answer 11

• Participants were told to write an essay on a controversial topic.
• Group 1 - mirror was placed in front of them.
• Group 2 - no mirror.
• Results: Those placed in front of mirror were more likely to stay with their original beliefs.

Question 12

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 12

An unpleasant psychological state when one’s behaviour does not comply with their attitudes.

Question 13

Cognitive dissonance explains…

Answer 13

Confirmation bias

(tendency to avoid circumstances and information that is likely to increase stress + rationalise it)

Question 14

Self-Perception Theory (Bem 1967, 1972)

Answer 14

• People learn about themselves by examining their own thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
• Attitude formation occurs via observing our behaviour.
• Q: Do people’s attitudes change due to self-perception or efforts to reduce cognitive dissonance?

Question 15

Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987)

Answer 15

3 types of self:
- Actual
- Ideal
- Ought

• Conflict between actual and ought self = frustration + annoyance
• Conflict between actual and ideal self = sadness + disappointment
• Self-regulation - we are motivated to reduce the discrepancies between those types of self.

Question 16

Control Theory of Self-Regulation (Carver and Scheier, 1981)

Answer 16

• People compare themselves with internal / private standards.
• Also engage in cognitive feedback loops of self-regulation.

Question 17

Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)

Answer 17

We also learn about and define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others.

• Upward social comparison - comparing yourself with someone who you think is “better” than you on a particular dimension - negatively affects self-concept.
• Downward social comparison - comparing the self to others who are worse - positive effect on self-concept.
• Temporal comparison - comparing yourself to who you were in the past or want to be in the future.

Question 18

Limits of self-awareness

Answer 18

1) We lack access to our mental processes.

2) We are unaware of changes in our attitudes.

3) We do not underestimate the influence of our environment on our behaviours and attitudes.

Question 19

Bem & McConnell (1970) - We are unaware of changes in our attitudes.

Answer 19

• After writing an essay contrary to their own attitudes participants’ attitudes changed.
• BUT when asked what their attitudes had been before, incorrectly said that their previous attitudes had been the same.

Question 20

Latane and Darley (1970) - We underestimate the influence of our environment on our behaviours and attitudes.

Answer 20

• People were less likely to help a suffering stranger when around others.
• BUT claimed that their behaviour was not influenced by the other people present.

Question 21

Self-esteem

Answer 21

A person’s subjective appraisal of oneself as intrinsically positive/negative.

Question 22

Characteristics of self-esteem

Answer 22

• Some argue that self-esteem develops in childhood, as a result of different forms of parenting.
• Can change across lifespan.

Question 23

Sources of self-esteem

Answer 23

Internal - positive self-schemas
External - social acceptance

Question 24

Social comparison & Self-esteem

Answer 24

• Social media sites offer a lot of opportunities for social comparison.
• Depends on who you compare yourself to + some make you feel better, and others make you feel worse.

Question 25

Vogel et al. (2014) - FB use and lower self-esteem

Answer 25

• Frequent FB use associated with lower self-esteem, mediated by greater exposure to upward social comparisons on social media.

Question 26

Sociometer Theory of Self-esteem

Answer 26

• People are motivated to maintain high levels of self-esteem by ensuring people are socially included.
• Social inclusion is associated with increased self-esteem !

Question 27

Srivastava & Beer (2005)

Answer 27

• Being liked by others predicted increases in self-esteem BUT having high-self esteem did not predict being liked by others.

Question 28

Denissen et al. (2008)

Answer 28

• Quality of interactions predict self-esteem later that day.

Question 29

Free will

Answer 29

To what degree do we have control or consciously drive our behaviour?

How much choice or autonomy do we really have?

Question 30

Determinism

Answer 30

Infers causality + everything is determined.

NOT the same as fatalism (whatever will be will be + looser term) !

Question 31

How might the absence of evidence of the existence of free will or the belief that we cannot freely choose between right and wrong, impact on our society?

Answer 31

If we don’t believe in free will we are more likely to show antisocial behaviour and have impulsive, selfish tendencies.

Question 32

Is the notion of the absence of free will (determinism) more aligned to behaviourist or phenomenological paradigms?

Answer 32

Behaviourist - because it suggests a causal approach in that people do not have a say in their actions due to absence of free will.

Question 33

Why does it matter if we believe in Free will?

Answer 33

1) Affects our enjoyment of a task
2) Decreased belief in free will leads to increased cheating behaviour

Question 34

Muller & Dweck (1998) - Free will & enjoyment of a task (Intelligence vs Hard-work)

Answer 34

• 1st task - Children were told that they succeeded on a task because of their intelligence OR hard-work.

Group 1 - told they succeeded because of intelligence.
Group 2 - told they succeeded because of hard work.

• 2nd task - Designed to be too difficult.
• Results: Those who thought their initial success was due to their intelligence put forward less effort and reported lower enjoyment.
• Conclusion: If we are praised on our work based on our effort (supports free will) we are more likely to enjoy the task !

Question 35

Vohs & Schooler (2008) - Increased cheating = Decreased belief in free will

Answer 35

• Participants read a passage that said that free will does not exist (and control group read a neutral passage).
• Observed members of each group on a variety of temptations.
• Results: People who read the deterministic (there is no free will) statements were more likely to cheat compared to those reading statements endorsing free will.
• Conclusion: Increased cheating was modified by decreased belief in free will.