week 3 Flashcards
Me
-Categorical self (known- thought)
-descriptive
-being
The self as known
Qualities we and others relate to us
The product of our memories
I
-Existential self (knower- thinker)
-agentic
-doing
(self-awareness)
(self-continuity)
(self-coherence)
(self-agency)
self-awareness
We exist as a separate entity from others
self-continuity
We continue to exist over time and space
self-coherence
As a single bounded entity
self-agency
We are agents of action
ideas about the self concept
personality and identity
personality
- who we are
- One cognitive structure
- Partly biologically determined
- Formed in early youth
- Fixed/stable
identity
- who we believe we are
- Multidimensional: many identities, motivated
- Changeable
- Responds to situations/context
Self-construal
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
Knowing who we are through:
- our own observation
- others
- the cultures we live in
introspection/self reflection
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
“The better-than-average””bias
Our tendency to evaluate ourselves better than the average
Also correlate with:
Optimism bias
Illusion of control
optimism bias
“It won’t happen to me”
illusion of control
“I can handle it”
Self-Perception Theory, Bem
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
intrinsic motivation
for the fun of it (interest, challenge)
extrinsic motivation
in order to get tangible rewards/avoid punishment (praise, esteem, money)
children experiment extrinsic, intrinsic motivation
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!
Social Comparison Theory, Festinger
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
When do people engage in social comparisons?
Uncertain about abilities or opinions
With whom does one choose to compare?
Those who are similar to oneself
Those who are slightly better or worse than ourselves
e.g. upward versus downward comparisons
Depending on motives
The influence of others on the self-concept
You integrate other people into your self-concept
You integrate groups in your self-concept= social identity (like i am dutch)
Identification
Falling in Love
-In love → self-concept changes and increasingly diverse
-Relationship partners often mix self-other
-Self concept expands
Includes features of the loved one
Bennington Study, Newcomb
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.
Influence of culture on self-concept
independent and interdependent self
independent self
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
interdependent self
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
Independent self-construals(self-schema)
consistent across contexts
Interdependent self-construals (self-schema)
vary across contexts (but consistent within each context)
Cultural frame switching
- Every culture offers a different framework for interpreting reality
- Context influences which framework is most relevant
Functions of the Self
Organizational (e.g., self-schemas)
Motivational (e.g., self-enhancement)
Regulatory (e.g., self-regulation theory)
Self-assessment
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
Self-enhancement
to see ourselves in a positive light
We focus on positive information about the self, which sometimes leads to bias
Positive illusions
Self-verification
confirm one’s self concept
The motivational functions of self
- self-assessment
- self-enhancement
- self-verification
self-enhancing information processing
Motivated reasoning (Kunda, 1990)
- motivated to focus on information that has favourable implications for self
- avoid information that has unfavourable implications for the self
Positive illusions (Taylor & Brown, 1988)
Better-than-average effect
Unrealistic optimism
Ingroup bias
self-enhancement cross-culturally observed?
Westerners self-enhance much more than East Asians
Americans: self-enhance on individualistic attributes
Japanese: self-enhance on collectivistic attributes
Self-verification
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
Self-handicapping
a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem
Self-Regulation Theory, carver and scheier
a system of conscious personal management that involves the process of guiding one’s own thoughts, behaviors, and feelings to reach goals
Self-regulatory strength
Self-regulation requires self-control
Self-control = Conscious process of self-regulation = impulse control
Limited Resource Model of Self-Control
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
Ego-depletion
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
Process Model of Self-Control
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
