week 3

Question 1

Me

Answer 1

-Categorical self (known- thought)
-descriptive
-being
The self as known
Qualities we and others relate to us
The product of our memories

Question 2

I

Answer 2

-Existential self (knower- thinker)
-agentic
-doing
(self-awareness)
(self-continuity)
(self-coherence)
(self-agency)

Question 3

self-awareness

Answer 3

We exist as a separate entity from others

Question 4

self-continuity

Answer 4

We continue to exist over time and space

Question 5

self-coherence

Answer 5

As a single bounded entity

Question 6

self-agency

Answer 6

We are agents of action

Question 7

ideas about the self concept

Answer 7

personality and identity

Question 8

personality

Answer 8

• who we are
• One cognitive structure
• Partly biologically determined
• Formed in early youth
• Fixed/stable

Question 9

identity

Answer 9

• who we believe we are
• Multidimensional: many identities, motivated
• Changeable
• Responds to situations/context

Question 10

Self-construal

Answer 10

A person’s views about him or herself
is shaped by an active construal process:
-developed by social interactions
-within the biological and social constraints

Question 11

Knowing who we are through:

Answer 11

1. our own observation
2. others
3. the cultures we live in

Question 12

introspection/self reflection

Answer 12

often faulty

• because Biased self-attributions / protecting self
  e. g. Attributing failure to external and success to internal
• Overestimation of positive aspects
• “The better-than-average””bias

Question 13

“The better-than-average””bias

Answer 13

Our tendency to evaluate ourselves better than the average

Also correlate with:
Optimism bias
Illusion of control

Question 14

optimism bias

Answer 14

“It won’t happen to me”

Question 15

illusion of control

Answer 15

“I can handle it”

Question 16

Self-Perception Theory, Bem

Answer 16

Particularly when inner states are ambiguous
You look at your behavior and infer meaning (example, i eat a lot italian food out so i must be italian)

We observe our own behavior
We make attributions about the causes of our behavior

But: we also take situational pressures into account

Question 17

intrinsic motivation

Answer 17

for the fun of it (interest, challenge)

Question 18

extrinsic motivation

Answer 18

in order to get tangible rewards/avoid punishment (praise, esteem, money)

Question 19

children experiment extrinsic, intrinsic motivation

Answer 19

Children engage in fun drawing activity at nursery school
3 conditions:
know they will receive reward
don’t know they will receive reward
don’t receive reward

2 weeks later: Less drawing (on the same drawing task) by those who were given a reward

Overjustification: view their behavior as extrinsically caused, underestimate intrinsic reasons
Killing off intrinsic motivation!

Question 20

Social Comparison Theory, Festinger

Answer 20

knowing ourself by comparing to others
With whom does one choose to compare?
When do people engage in social comparisons?

The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self

Question 21

When do people engage in social comparisons?

Answer 21

Uncertain about abilities or opinions

Question 22

With whom does one choose to compare?

Answer 22

Those who are similar to oneself
Those who are slightly better or worse than ourselves
e.g. upward versus downward comparisons
Depending on motives

Question 23

The influence of others on the self-concept

Answer 23

You integrate other people into your self-concept
You integrate groups in your self-concept= social identity (like i am dutch)
Identification

Question 24

Falling in Love

Answer 24

-In love → self-concept changes and increasingly diverse
-Relationship partners often mix self-other
-Self concept expands
Includes features of the loved one

Question 25

Bennington Study, Newcomb

Answer 25

Political preferences of female students at Bennington College. many were conservative first year because of their families. 3/4th year suddenly liberals were with way more because they took that over from older years and so changed their attitude.

Question 26

Influence of culture on self-concept

Answer 26

independent and interdependent self

Question 27

independent self

Answer 27

Self-concept determined by differences with regard to others
Maintain the individual as a separate, self-contained individual

Focus on internal attributes (ability, intelligence, personality, goals, preferences, rights)

Verify and confirm through social comparison

Question 28

interdependent self

Answer 28

Self-concept determined by relationships with others
Adjust oneself so as to fit in and maintain the interdependence among individuals

Fit in and be part of a relevant ongoing relationship, strive to meet/create duties, obligations, and social responsibilities

Self is unbound, flexible, and contingent on context

Question 29

Independent self-construals(self-schema)

Answer 29

consistent across contexts

Question 30

Interdependent self-construals (self-schema)

Answer 30

vary across contexts (but consistent within each context)

Question 31

Cultural frame switching

Answer 31

• Every culture offers a different framework for interpreting reality
• Context influences which framework is most relevant

Question 32

Functions of the Self

Answer 32

Organizational (e.g., self-schemas)
Motivational (e.g., self-enhancement)
Regulatory (e.g., self-regulation theory)

Question 33

Self-assessment

Answer 33

gain valid and accurate knowledge about oneself
We like to learn things about ourselves but
We are motivated to view ourselves positively
To protect and enhance self-esteem

Question 34

Self-enhancement

Answer 34

to see ourselves in a positive light
We focus on positive information about the self, which sometimes leads to bias
Positive illusions

Question 35

Self-verification

Answer 35

confirm one’s self concept

Question 36

The motivational functions of self

Answer 36

• self-assessment
• self-enhancement
• self-verification

Question 37

self-enhancing information processing

Answer 37

Motivated reasoning (Kunda, 1990)

• motivated to focus on information that has favourable implications for self
• avoid information that has unfavourable implications for the self

Question 38

Positive illusions (Taylor & Brown, 1988)

Answer 38

Better-than-average effect
Unrealistic optimism
Ingroup bias

Question 39

self-enhancement cross-culturally observed?

Answer 39

Westerners self-enhance much more than East Asians
Americans: self-enhance on individualistic attributes
Japanese: self-enhance on collectivistic attributes

Question 40

Self-verification

Answer 40

People look to affirm their self-concept, regardless of whether it is positive or negative
because:
- We have a desire for stable and coherent self-views
gives assurance that the world is coherent
-It is confusing if other people disprove our self-views

Question 41

Self-handicapping

Answer 41

a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem

Question 42

Self-Regulation Theory, carver and scheier

Answer 42

a system of conscious personal management that involves the process of guiding one’s own thoughts, behaviors, and feelings to reach goals

Question 43

Self-regulatory strength

Answer 43

Self-regulation requires self-control

Self-control = Conscious process of self-regulation = impulse control

Question 44

Limited Resource Model of Self-Control

Answer 44

Self-control is exhausted if you exercise it often because self control is based on “limited resources”
-Strength: self-control requires energy
and this energy can wear out with use
-Stamina: improvement via exercise

Question 45

Ego-depletion

Answer 45

The idea that energy for self-regulation is limited and quickly exhausted
= a temporary reduction in the limited self-regulatory resource caused by sustained self-control

Question 46

Process Model of Self-Control

Answer 46

Unlimited willpower versus limited

Seeing the process of self-regulation as a:
motivational process

People can self-regulate, but choose not to

People are focused on avoiding short-term costs and fulfilling their hedonic gratification.

Ego-depletion = less motivation to exert self-control