Understanding the self Flashcards
“I”
The self as thinker, active processor of information. (self-awareness)
“Me”
The known self. Our thoughts and beliefs about ourself. (self-concept)
Self Concept
Sum total of an individual’s personal beliefs about his or her own personal attributes
-Made up of self schemas
Self schemas
Beliefs people hold about themselves that guide the processing of self relevant information
Three functions of Self Concept
-Managerial: tells of relationship to physical and social world, organizes behavior, plans for future
-Organizational: Helps organize, interpret, and recall info about self and world
-Emotional: Helps determine emotional response
Red dot study (findings)
The social environment affects the development of the self. Without your social environment, you might not even have a self
Independent
The self is separate and autonomous
Collectivist/Interdependent
Self is connected with others
Sources of self knowledge
Introspection, Self Perception, Social Comparison
Introspection
-Thinking about yourself, looking within
-You are just searching your own brain for a ready made answer or a feeling
-Typically used when an answer is clear and readily available
-Introspections can be biased
Self Perception
-Looking to your own behavior to determine your thoughts or attitudes
-Will only occur if your thoughts and attitudes are uncertain or ambiguous
-Similar to figuring out information about someone else by observing them
Social Comparison
-We learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people
-People turn to others to evaluate their opinions, abilities, and emotions
-We define ourselves by using others as a benchmark
3 keys for social comparison theory
-People desire accurate knowledge
-If available, they will consult an objective standard; if not they will compare with another person
-People will gain the best knowledge when comparing with similar others
Counterfactual thinking
Imagining alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened, but didn’t
-Upward counterfactual (if only…)
-Downward counterfactuals (at least…)
Self esteem
The evaluative component of the self and it consists of both positive and negative self-evaluations
-An attitude towards the self or as how we like ourselves
-Self esteem is a continuous variable, though it is often talked about as being
Self-Serving cognitions/attributions
Explanations for one successes that credit internal, dispositional factors, and explanations for one’s failures that blame external, situational factors
Self handicapping
Creating some sort of obstacle to your performance in order to have an excuse for poor outcome
