Week 4 - The Self Flashcards
Who is William James?
“I-self” : knower, experiencer, present-tense, story-teller, consciousness
“Me-self” : known, experienced, past-tense
How do we know ourselves, what are 5 ways?
- Outmoded: projective tests (NOT REALLY USED ANYMORE)
- Introspection about the self
- Predicting feelings/behav
- Selfperception theory
- Social context
What is a projective method? (Association method)
-Unconcious self probed at VIA lateral method
Ex) First word that comes to mind after ________.
“Pencil” “sharp”
What is introspection?
Process where you look inwards examine own thoughts, feelings and motives
ONLY YOU have direct access
What might be a reason why we struggle to understand why we make the decisions we do?
Nisbett and Wilson suggest… may be based on our common naive theories, therefore may be WRONG
Do friends or strangers know us better?
Depends if the traits we are judged on OBSERVABLE or EVALUATE (+) and (-) more based on self-esteem
What is affective forecasting?
People are often bad at predicting their OWN feelings
Often wrong about DURATION and INTENSITY
Why?
- Focus (diff perspective VS when in the moment)
- Psycho “immune system” (good at bringing us back to homeostasis)
- We get over it BAD or GOOD ^
What is self-perception theory?
When internal cues are HARD to understand
=
WE gain insight by observing our OWN behaviour
How do facial expressions effect emotion?
Through self-perception
Evoke PHYSIOLOGICAL changes that produce an emotion experience
Ex) facial feedback hypothesis
What are the 2 kinds of motivation in self-perceptions of motivation?
- Intrinsic: factors W/IN a person
- Extrinsic: factors OUTSIDE the person
REWARD or PENALTY can decrease intrinsic motivation ——-> external attributes
Vise versa…
What is the overjustification effect?
Tendency for intrinsic motivation to DIMINISH with activities for rewards/other extrinsic factors
Ex) kids and drawing, kids that already like drawing?
What is the social comparison theory?
Process of evaluating ourselves through comparisons with other people
Happens most OFTEN when UNCERTAIN about self-evaluation
We compare ourselves with SIMILAR others
Ex) When I’m at uni and I’m feelin ugly I compare myself to get a sense to see if other people care about the way they look
***RECALL (cognition)
What is cognitive appraisal theory of emotions
Stimulus —> PRIMARY appraisal process—> SECONDARY appraisal process—> emotional experience
What is the 2- factor theory of emotion?
2 factors needed to FEEL emotion:
1) must feel physiological AROUSAL
2) must make cognitive INTERPRETATION
Ex) interact angry vs nice person with placebo VS adrenaline shot
Study by Schahter and Singer
For emotions the physiological interactions can’t be too “____________” and other people must be “____________” before its onset
Intense
Present
What is culture
A set of beliefs, attitudes, values, norms,
morals, customs, roles, statuses, symbols, and rituals
shared by a SELF-identified group
What is individualism?
Gives priority to ones own goals over group goals
Defining identity in terms of PERSONAL attributes
North American/Western cultures are…. (4)
Independent self
Context dependent
Analytic reasoning (emphasis on power of RULES)
Internal attributions (behav of others —-> correspond to self traits)
What is collectivism?
Promote concept of giving priority to goals of ones GROUP
Define group based on group
Connections with others, group goals, REJECT EGOISM
Eastern cultures are…. (4)
Interdependent selves (others part of self)
Context dependent (gestalt)
Holistic reasoning (contradictions are OKAY)
External attributions
What is effectance motivation?
The most BASIC and (positive) motivation
Is narcissism on the rise?
What are some “qualities” of millennials
Self-esteem movement “every social problem can be traced back to low self esteem”
Millennials- confident, engaged, wealth focussed, entitled, burned-out and stressed
Is anxiety and depression on the rise?
Yes
How is narcissism represented online?
- Larger audience
- Fishing for compliments
- IDEALISTIC self presented
Ex) the SELFIE
Want approval and superiority (likes)
Relieves anxiety for narcissist
What is self-control?
‘Over ride’ a pre potent impulse to entact a more appropriate/focus goal
INHIBIT motor responses
Self-control has to do with what part of the brain?
What happened in this study?
Right lateral PFC (pre-frontal cortex)
“Inhibitory spillover”
Inhibit motor responses to CERTAIN words (some highly charged, some neutral)
Varied in emotional content
Right lateral PFC REDUCED amygdala areas
Domain general, self control as a “___________”
Muscle (ego depletion)
Exercising self control “___________” self control
Improves!
-posture, physical exercise, verbal regulation etc…
Muscles need energy (glucose), but so does the “_________”
Brain!
Self-control DEPLETES glucose
Why do people criticize the glucose metaphor?
Glucose doesn’t work like that in the brain
Self-control is INFERRED
Difficult to say how this restores a lost source (glucose)?
How does ego-depletion work as a motivational process?
1) Self-control exertion
(shifts in emotion & attention)
2) self-control failure
= shifts in motivation (reduced “have to” tasks, increase in “want to” tasks)
How does self-control work as a motivational process?
1) “Cooling temptation” reduce motivation, increase self-control
(Reframe the rewards, emotion suppress/appraisal)
2) Sensitive to the “stop signal” is KEY in self-control
(Have to be aware something is WRONG)
What are the 3 aspects of emotion regulation?
1) Control how & when you experience & express emotion
2) Unconscious/conscious
3) GOAL-related
Ex) road rage
What is cognitive reappraisal?
Cognitively CHANGE a stimulus to ALTER emotional response in DESIRED ways
What are the costs of cognitive reappraisal? (2)
1) Ability
- some people are just BETTER than others
2) Might BACKFIRE for controllable stressors
The regulation of stress is linked to “___________ _______________”
Many disorders
NOT JUST PERSONALITY
Distress, trauma , poor living cond etc…
YET some people are resilient
What is a stressor?
Stimulus that THREATENS animals physiological HOMEOSTASIS
Vulnerable VS resilient?
What is a stress response?
What kind of feedback does the process give?
Active maintenance of physiological HOMEOSTASIS
Sympathetic (fight or flight)
HPA systems
Hypothalamus —> Anterior pituitary —> adrenal cortex
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
What happens to a chronically stressed animal?
Prolonged exposure —> maladaptive consequence
Chronic stress —> neuroendocrine change
Produce stress-typology…
CAN CAUSE coping and resilience
What is learned-helplessness?
Stressors that are inescapable OR escapable
Dog example they learned…
PUNISHMENT NOT CONTINGENT ON BEHAVIOUR
What did the dogs learn ultimately?
That stressor controllability BLUNTS stress- behaviour
Learned RESILIENCE
What’s does the process of stress emotion blunting include?
Hypothalamus —> Anterior pituitary —>adrenal cortex
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
**Involves the vmPFC (know this only)
Vulnerable people may be “___________” why?
What about “_____ ___________” people?
vmPFC is IMPORTANT in stress-regulation
Struggle to learn to be resislient
POSITIVE response b/w amygdala and vmPFC
= dispute control over emotions
————————————————————
In non- depressed people they have a NEGATIVE feedback loop
What is abstract control?
What are its two controls?
HUMANS CAN ABSTRACT!
1) primary control
(I have control)
2) secondary control
(Situation is under control, by larger agents)
What is resilient typology?
Attachment style
Secure people… find support, reduced stress, built resilient
Similar to control typology
What is “grit” in terms of resilience
Perseverance and passion for long time goals
What is active versus passive self-regulation?
Active: fear stimulus —> lateral nucleus —> basal nucleus —> striatum —> ACTIVE COPING REACTION (getting on with life)
Passive: fear stimulus —> central nucleus -> gray region, lateral hypothalamus —> PASSIVE FEAR REACTION
(aroused and stressed)
What does the working self-concept mean?
Refers to portion of a persons self-schema that is currently activated and influences their behaviour
What is solo-status?
Sense that one is UNIQUE from those in the current environment
Who coined the term symbolic interactionism?
Charles Cooley (looking-glass self)
George-Herbert Mead (‘generalized” other)
People use their understanding of how OTHER people view them for how they know themselves
What does reflected appraisal mean?
What we THINK other people think about us
What’s the “better-than-average” effect?
People’s tendency to rank themselves HIGHER than most other people
What is the 2 factor theory of emotion?
People’s level of AROUSAL= determined INTENSITY of an emotion
SPECIFIC type of emotion = determined by the MEANING they give to that arousal
What is self-discrepancy theory?
First cluster = conscience “how you should be” the ought self
Second cluster = “how you want to be” the ideal self
What is auto-motive theory?
Proposes that goals are strongly ASSOCIATED with people and objects in which the person pursues them
What is action identification theory?
How people conceive action (either own or others) in ways that range from CONCRETE to ABSTRACT
What is ironic processing?
The more we try to not think about something the MORE we think about it
What is the “hot” system?
Provides direction and energy to SEEK out goals
What is the “cool” system
Essential to keep us on TRACK as we face temptations and difficulties
