Week 4-Self and Identity

Question 1

According to Brewer & Gardner (1996) when the self is defined by our group memberships this is known as…..

Answer 1

Collective Self

Question 2

According to Tesser’s (1988) self-evaluation maintenance model when we are forced to make upward comparisons we….

Answer 2

Withdraw from Others

Question 3

The desire to learn favourable or flattering things about the self is known as …

Answer 3

Self Enhancement

Question 4

History and Self

Answer 4

Medieval Self

• Extended family, social class, geographical location
• Relatively stable, fixed, unchangeable

Modern Self

• Fewer family bonds, broader education, geographical mobility
• Flexible, re-negotiable; Inner and outer self

Question 5

According to William James, what is the self?

Answer 5

William James (1890), described the self as containing two aspects: The “I” and the “me”
-The “me” is the knowledge I have about myself or the self-concept

• The “I” refers to the fact that I can be reflexively aware of myself
• The self is both subject and object of perception (in other words, humans can think about themselves)

You are both the book and the reader of the book.

Question 6

According to Brewer and Gardner, what is:

• The individual self
• The collective self
• The relational self

Answer 6

Individual self: personal traits that differentiate the self from others

The relational self: connections and role relationships with significant others. E.g. roles of being a mother; daughter the traits you assign

Collective self: group memberships that differentiate us from them.

Question 7

What is self-awareness?
What is self-concept?
What is Self-schema

Answer 7

Me-the object of the book
Self-awareness: the act of thinking about ourselves (the knower)
How we see ourselves
The self can have both a private (our inner) view and a public (what others see) view
Agent

Self-concept that includes the knowledge about who we are

Self-Schema: a cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a concept. Influence
Information processing
Behaviour

Question 8

What is the “I”?

Answer 8

“I” is the ACTIVE AGENT
18 months-2 years- self awareness
3-4 years- self concious emotions shame; guilt etc.

Question 9

ABCs of the self

Answer 9

A = AFFECT
We have feelings toward ourselves (like ourselves, hate ourselves)
This is commonly known as self-esteem

B = BEHAVIOUR
Obviously, we behave and our behaviour says something about who we “are”

C = COGNITIONS
We also obviously have ideas about who we are. These ideas can be called cognitions about the kind of person we are.
The cognitive component of the self is typically what we mean when we use the word “self-concept”

Self-comparison (internal standards)

Question 10

Self-Awareness Theory (Duval & Wicklund, 1972)

Answer 10

Mirror, other people, other people might be viewing us. Compare our present behaviour to internal standards.

When we become self-conscious we become objective observers of our own behaviour.

Compare present behaviour to internal standards and values

If current behaviour is inconsistent with values or standards, you then either change your behaviour or flee from the state of self-awareness.
Motivated to “escape the self” by engaging in destructive or spiritual practices (Baumeister, 1991)

Question 11

What is objective self-awareness?

Answer 11

Yourself as an object.
Two types of self you can be aware of:
The private self – your private thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

The public self – how other people see you, your public image.(Carver & Scheier, 1981)

Question 12

Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins)

Answer 12

Higgins (1987)

1) Actual Self-Who we are in the moment, what are we doing right now
2) Ideal Self- Who we aspire to be
3) Ought Self- How we should be acting

The discrepancy between any two–>self-regulation
Actual-Ideal-Dejected; disappointed; sad
Actual-Ought-Agitated; anxious; fearful

Discrepancies influence emotions; physical health; mental health; motivations (promotion focus)

Self-regulation: Strategies that we use to match our behaviour to an ideal or ought self; reduction of the discrepancy

Question 13

Self-perception Theory (Bem, 1965)

Answer 13

When our attitudes or feelings are ambiguous, we infer them by observing our own behaviour

Role of external justification
When extrinsic motivation is very strong, people discount the influence of intrinsic motivation
Overjustification effect (external reward removed, less likely to be involved)
It can decrease the likelihood of engaging in the behaviour in the future

Question 14

Social Comparison Theories

Answer 14

Aptitude or personality test-object info of who we are. Comparing ourselves to others when no objective measurements. Not real standards.

Upward Social Comparison- compare to people BETTER than we are on a particular trait; characteristic. Aspirations best of the best. Forced to make upward comparisons younger to older.

Self-evaluation maintenance model- Underplay or deny similarity to others. Change the target comparison of person or activity.

Downward Social Comparison- Self protective strategy, self-enhancement strategy. compare to people WORSE than we are on a particular trait; characteristic. Aspirations best of the best.

Question 15

Other People

Answer 15

Self-concept shaped by other people
“We have as many selves as there are people who have impressions of us” (William James)

Charles Horton Cooley (1902) “the looking-glass self”: Each to each a looking-glass. Reflects the other that doth pass- Look to other people to who we are. Define ourselves according to how other people see us. Hero or villain.

Question 16

Looking Glass Self (Cooley)

Answer 16

The ‘looking glass self’(Cooley, 1902): we see ourselves and the social world through the eyes of other people and often adopt those views

3 components (Cooley, 1902):
you imagine how you appear 
to others
you imagine how others 
will judge you
you develop an emotional 
response to that judgment 
(pride or shame)

Emotions such as pride

Question 17

Other People

Answer 17

Self-concept shaped by other people
“We have as many selves as there are people who have impressions of us” (William James)

Charles Horton Cooley (1902) “the looking-glass self”: Each to each a looking-glass. Reflects the other that doth pass- Look to other people to who we are. Define ourselves according to how other people see us. Hero or villain. Emotional response to this judgement.

Question 18

How does knowledge of oneself affect information processing?

Answer 18

Motivation and the quest for self-knowledge

• Self-assessment
• The desire to learn the truth about the self

Self-enhancement

• The desire to learn favourable or flattering things about the self
• Strong emotional appeal

Self-verification
-The desire to get feedback that confirms what the person already believes about the self, even if negative!

Cognitive appeal

Question 19

Self-enhancement
Self Affirmation Theory
Self-serving Attribution Bias

Answer 19

Self-affirmation theory: People reduce the impact of a threat to the self-concept by focusing on and affirming their competence in other areas

• Bad at art but good at cooking
• Blatant or subtle

Self-serving attribution bias: Self-enhancing bias with success and self-protecting bias with failure on important domain

Question 20

What is self-esteem?

Answer 20

Maintain/Boost self-esteem

• Attainment and maintenance of positive self-esteem is an important individual motivation
• While we may have some choice in the comparisons we make, often we are confronted with unflattering comparisons

There are a number of strategies people use to maintain positive self-views in the face of negative feedback-denial, escape, self-handicapping etc.

Self-enhancing triad- overestimate good points/control over events/unrealistically optimistic

Question 21

What impact does self-enhancement have on self-esteem?

Answer 21

Maintain/Boost self-esteem

• Attainment and maintenance of positive self-esteem is an important individual motivation
• While we may have some choice in the comparisons we make, often we are confronted with unflattering comparisons

There are a number of strategies people use to maintain positive self-views in the face of negative feedback-denial, escape, self-handicapping etc.

Self-enhancing triad- overestimate good points/control over events/unrealistically optimistic

Question 22

Social Categorization and Ingroup Behaviour

Answer 22

Realistic conflict theory (Sherif, 1966):

• Real conflict of interest, competition for valued but scarce resources
• Goal relations: superordinate goals can reduce conflict

Minimal group paradigm (Tajfel et al., 1971):

• Self-interest or group interest?
• Mere categorisation?
• Behaviour cannot be explained in terms of relative deprivation, frustration, or competition for limited resources —> Social Identity Theory (SIT)

Question 23

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner)

Answer 23

Personal identity (who we are) “I”—-> Social Identity (who we are as a group) “We”

Interpersonal-intergroup continuum:
-Interaction ranges on the spectrum from purely interpersonal (individuals) to purely intergroup (group)

Categorisation changes how people see each other:
making ‘us’ and ‘them’ salient —->people enhance similarities within the group (‘we’re all the same’) and differences among the group (‘we’re different from them’)

Group identification: the degree to which people see themselves in terms of group membership, and the value and emotional attachment to the group

Question 24

What is positive distinctiveness?

Answer 24

Need for positive social identity, positive distinctiveness between ingroup and outgroup:
People strive to attain and maintain a positive social identity

Festinger’s social comparison theory: people compare their ingroup with other groups and seek to differentiate their own group positively

Question 25

Social Identity Theory- Why do people favour their own group relative to outgroups? (Tajfel)

Answer 25

• Categorization as a group member gives an individual‘s behaviour a distinct meaning*
• A (positive) social identity becomes an integral aspect of the individual‘s self*

Motivation:
Desire for a positive and secure self-concept (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), self-esteem/self-enhancement (Hogg & Abrams, 1990)
Uncertainty reduction (Hogg & Abrams, 1993)

Question 26

Self-Categorisation Theory(Turner)- Why we attend to different identities in different context?

Answer 26

Human Identity; Social Identity; Personal Identity

• Fit- structural; comparative fit- individual characteristics to specific context. Normative fit into categories.
• Accessibility: certain categories more chronically acceptable.

Question 27

Uncertainty Reduction in Social Identity Theory

Answer 27

Uncertainty reduction theory (Hogg & Abrams, 1993, 2000)
People have the need to reduce uncertainty to make their world and their place within it meaningful
Group identification defines our relationship with ingroup and outgroup, and sets out how we and others will act

Question 28

Depersonalisation and prototypes

Answer 28

Social attraction.
The salience of social identity—> depersonalisation—>group behaviour
People cognitively represent their groups in terms of prototypes

Prototype maximises similarities between ingroup members and differences between ingroup and outgroup.

Depersonalisation: when category becomes salient, people come to understand themselves (and others) as interchangeable examples of the prototype.
This prescribes attitudes, emotions and behaviours that are appropriate in a given context
E.g. if ‘student’ category becomes salient, a person is more likely to behave in line with the norms associated with this category (sitting down in class, taking notes, etc.)

Question 29

Culture and the self

Answer 29

• Identity and the Self is a product of the culture and society we live in
• Different cultures put emphasis on different aspects of the self

In western cultures: an INDEPENDENT view of the self.-f one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people. MORE STABLE; ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED; RESPONSIBLE FOR OWN BEHAVIOUR

In more non-western cultures: INTERDEPENDENT view of the self.-recognising that one’s behaviour is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of OTHERS. CONNECTED; FLEXIBLE; FLEXIBLE; ORIENTED TO COLLECTIVE; RESPONSIBLE FOR JOINT BEHAVIOUR.

Question 30

Summary

Answer 30

• The self is multifaceted and malleable
• The self is shaped individually and socially.
• People don’t just want to know themselves, typically they also want to feel good
• Groups, society and culture impact the self