Unit 3

Question 1

What can we call the answer to the question “I am..”?

Answer 1

our self-concept
-> what/who do you think you are?

Question 2

What are Self-schemas?

Answer 2

elements of our self-concept
-> specific beliefs by which we define ourselves, organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information
-> organize our self-related experiences so we can respond quickly and effectively in social situations

Question 3

What are Schemas?

Answer 3

mental templates to organize the world

Question 4

What is an example for Self-schemas?

Answer 4

• being athletic = self-schema
  -> noticing other’s skills and quickly recall sports-related experiences

Question 5

What does the Self-concept and self-schema contribute to?

Answer 5

Our sense of control over our social world

Question 6

What does the self-concept include?

Answer 6

who we might become:
- our visions of the self we dream of becoming
- images of what we dread of becoming

Question 7

What does ‘The Self’ contain?

Answer 7

Self-concept - Who am I?
Self-esteem - My sense of Self-worth
Self-knowledge - How can I explain and predict myself?
Social self - My roles as students, family member, etc..

Question 8

What is the Spotlight effect?

Answer 8

The tendency to see ourselves as center of the stage
- we think everyone pays more attention to us than they actually do
-> overestimating other’s attention

Question 9

What is the illusion of transparency?

Answer 9

People don’t notice everything we think they do (emotions, thoughts, hair…)

Question 10

What is the main message of illusion of transparency?

Answer 10

People notice less things than you think they do

Question 11

What might be other interactions between the self and the social world?

Answer 11

• Social surroundings affect our self-awareness
• Self-interest colors our social judgment
• Self-concern motivates our social behavior
• Social relationships help define ourself

Question 12

What is social comparison?

Answer 12

Who do you compare yourself with? How do you evaluate yourself?
- what social roles do you play?
- do you have a social identity? more than one? who are they?
- what are your good/bad traits?
- how likable are you?

Question 13

What does the Social comparison theory state?

Answer 13

There are 2 types of comparison:
1. Upward
2. Downward
-> to obtain a yardstick to evaluate ourself, or asses if we are meeting norms
-> Depending on the motive of comparison: if we want to feel better about ourselves

Question 14

What is an important factor nowadays regarding social comparison?

Answer 14

Social Media

Question 15

What are some questions in Self-presentation?

Answer 15

What role do we play?
How do we present ourself?
Do we always present ourselves in the same way?
-> do we play different roles in different plays or are we always the same?

Question 16

What is the Definition of Self-presentation?

Answer 16

The act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one’s ideals

Question 17

What is our goal in Self-presentation?

Answer 17

we want to present certain images of ourselves to both an external audience and an internal one (ourselves)
-> we make excuses, apologies or whatever is necessary to maintain that image (to others and ourselves)

Question 18

What does the Self-other accuracy in predicting our behavior question?

Answer 18

if we chose how we present ourselves to others, which information we give and to whom, do we control how people perceive us? Can people know who we are better than ourselves?

Question 19

What is Self-handicaping?

Answer 19

To protect one’s self-image with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later failure
-> we protect our self-image by attributing our failures to an external (real or not) cause
-> we all fear failure - threat to self-esteem, impacts how others see us

Question 20

What are Self-presentation tactics?

Answer 20

Methods we use when we are trying to affect the impression that others from of us

Question 21

What are the methods of self-presentation tactics?

Answer 21

• Self-promotion (claiming to be good at smth)
• Self-verification perspective (process to lead others to agree with our own self-views)
• Ingratiation tactics (convey our positive regard for others -> for favorable self-presentation)
• Self-deprecating (implying not to be as good as other person by communicating admiration or lowering expectation of our own)

Question 22

Are Self-presentations always completely honest?

Answer 22

No, they are at times strategic and sometimes dishonest

Question 23

What does the Social identity theory state?

Answer 23

We have 2 identities:
- personal identity
- social Identity

Question 24

What is our personal identity?

Answer 24

what we think of ourselves as individuals

Question 25

What is our social identity?

Answer 25

what we think of ourselves as members of specific social groups

Question 26

What is the activation of our identity based on?

Answer 26

on the information that is ‘salient’ at the moment
-> corresponding identity activated
(activation related to particular needs of situation)

Question 27

How does activating a particular part of our identity affect us?

Answer 27

changes how we think about ourselves and how we respond to the situation

Question 28

What is Intragroup comparison (self-describe as an individual)?

Answer 28

• emphasizing differences with other individuals
• compare to people in the same groups
  -> comparison results vary depending on the group we use for the comparison

Question 29

What is Intergroup comparison (thinking of oneself as member of a certain group)?

Answer 29

• emphasizing similarities to other members
• saying how different one is from other group (contrast)
  -> according to group we are with at the moment wie activate a “self”, a different version of ourselves

Question 30

What happens if the different versions of our “self” form and sustain a coherent complete self-image?

Answer 30

all of the versions are valid
-> coherent image of ourselves by integrating both identities

Question 31

How can we describe our experience in the personal-versus-social identity continuum for the personal identity?

Answer 31

• Nature of comparison made: Intragroup - Comparison
  -> different from in-group members
• Experience of the self: as an Individual

Question 32

How can we describe our experience in the personal-versus-social identity continuum for the Social identity?

Answer 32

• Nature of comparison made: Intergroup Comparison
  -> different from outgroup members
• Experience of the self: as a member of a group

Question 33

What is Self-esteem according to social psychologists?

Answer 33

• Branscombe and Baron: the overall attitude people hold toward themselves
• Myers: our overall self-evaluation, the sum of all our self-schemas and possible selves

Question 34

Is Self-esteem a stable feature?

Answer 34

no - it is subjective to changes

Question 35

What is Self-esteem related to?

Answer 35

social rejection: alerts us and gets decreased by it
-> some things suppose a threat to our self-esteem, even some individuals. I.e.: our older sibling performing better at something than us

Question 36

How can a threat of our self-esteem (fear of social rejection) change our viewpoint?

Answer 36

can be seen as opportunity to demonstrate, or a challenge

Question 37

What does low self-esteem affect and what is it linked to?

Answer 37

• affects what we remember (others worst behavior and words towards us)
  -> skewing our perception and reducing the levels of satisfaction
• linked to: clinical problems such as anxiety, depression, loneliness and eating disorders

Question 38

What are 2 things that are important when it comes to the Self and culture?

Answer 38

2 different cultures:
Collectivism
Individualism

Question 39

What is the difference between Collectivism and Individualism?

Answer 39

• Collectivism: prioritizing group cohesion over individual pursuits
  -> preserving harmony and being dutiful to the in-group
• Individualism: value or political view which focuses on human independence and freedom
  -> uniqueness and autonomy

Question 40

How does the Self and culture affects psychology?

Answer 40

Western Psychology gives more importance to personal control, individual performance etc.

Question 41

What is activated in the collectivistic cultures?

Answer 41

the interdependent self
-> positive opinions of others have less impact on self-esteem
-> strongly formed identity to groups they belong to
-> sense of belonging is guiding social actions

Question 42

What is Saliency and how does it affect self-esteem?

Answer 42

refers to how noticeable or prominent certain characteristics are in a given context
-> when certain traits (gender, ethnicity) become more salient: can affect self-esteem, especially after comparison on highlighted traits

Question 43

How does migration affect self-esteem according to the concept of saliency?

Answer 43

migration can decrease self-esteem - especially when moving from a place where ethnicity was not salient to a place where their ethnicity is a minority
-> ethnicity more salient, and leads to shift in perception

Question 44

How do different standards of comparison influence self-esteem?

Answer 44

Self-esteem is influenced by the standards (or “bars”) used to measure achievements and behavior, which vary for men and women.
-> self-esteem depends on who we choose to compare ourselves with, impacting our sense of progress and worth

Question 45

What are factors that influence our self-esteem?

Answer 45

Where we live, sex/gender, if group is repressed or well-represented in media, how we fit in our group and if the “selves” are coherent

Question 46

How do we manage our identity and self-presentation in relation to societal feedback?

Answer 46

At every moment, we maintain, monitor, evaluate, and rearrange our identity and presentation to the world and ourselves, processing constant information and society’s feedback, which impacts our self-esteem