The self

Question 1

spotlight effect

Answer 1

The belief that one is paying more attention to one’s appearance and behaviour than they really are

Question 2

self concept

Answer 2

a person’s answer to the question; ‘who am I’?

Question 3

self schemas

Answer 3

beliefs about the self that organize + guide processing of the self relevant information

Question 4

self discrepancy theory

Answer 4

• actual self= features people believe they posses
• ideal self =characteristics people wish they had
• ought self = concerning attributes that people believe they have responsibility to possess

Question 5

possible selves

Answer 5

images we dream of or dread becoming in the future

Question 6

the self and it’s brain

Answer 6

high hemisphere of brain - used to ‘recognize yourself’

medial prefrontal cortex - help put together your sense of self –> also used to recognize personality traits of mother

Question 7

what determines our self concepts?

Answer 7

1. roles we play
2. social identities we form
3. comparisons with other
4. our successes and failures
5. surrounding culutre

Question 8

role we play

Answer 8

eg; student, collegue - role we play becomes our reality

Question 9

social identity

Answer 9

one’s sense of self and identity based on membership in social groups - looking not at one’s personal identity but the identity of that person in a group

Question 10

social comparison

Answer 10

evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others - know if smarter, quicker, than other people - comparing yourself to other people
people also compare there in groups with out groups and therefore does not only look at personal identity
But when success tend to look upwards and not down (not comparing)

Question 11

Successes or failures

Answer 11

Success leads to feeling control and achieve more, work harder + makes you feel more competent
Raise in self esteem - “success feeds self esteem”
Low self esteem = insomnia, not happy, caused by problems and failures

Question 12

Individualism

Answer 12

• cultural orientation where individual is more important than a group
• prioritize one’s goals
• identity is commonly defined in terms of personal attributes rather than groups identifications

Question 13

collectivism

Answer 13

• cultural orientation where group is more important than individual
• priority is given to group goals and identity is defined accordingly

Question 14

interdependent self

Answer 14

construing one’s identity in relation to others

- deeply embedded in others WHILE independent self acknowledges relations with others

Question 15

intERdependent

Answer 15

identity = social, defined by connections with others
what matters = WE, group goals - social responsibilities and relationships
disapproves of = egotism
culture that supports= collectivistic asian and third world

Question 16

independent

Answer 16

identity= personal, defined by individua traits
what matters = ME, personal achievements + failures
disapproves of= conformity
culture that supports= individualistic western

Question 17

self efficacy

Answer 17

one’s sense of competence + ability to handle different situations + produce an intended result - being able to handle situation

Question 18

locus of control

Answer 18

a person’s belief about WHO or WHAT is responsible for what happens - internal/external

Question 19

Learned helplessness

Answer 19

Hopelessness + resignation learned when one has no control over repeated bad events
Uncontrollable events - perceived lack of control - learned helplessness

Question 20

self esteem

Answer 20

a person’s overall negative or positive self evaluation or sense of self worth

Question 21

Narcissism

Answer 21

uncontrolled, compulsive self love

Question 22

machiavellianism

Answer 22

manipulative behaviour aimed at obtaining an advantage for the self, without any moral concern and regard for others. Name comes from the italian writer macchiavelli

Question 23

cost of excess choice

Answer 23

• an excess of freedom causes decreased life satisfaction and increased clinical depression
• too many choices can lead to paralysis or ‘the tryanny of freedom’

Question 24

self serving bias

Answer 24

The tendency to perceive oneself favorably

Question 25

How self serving bias works ?

Answer 25

1. attributing one’s success to effort and ones failure to external problems
2. comparing oneself favorably to others
   3, unrealistic optimism
3. false consensus and uniqueness

Question 26

false modesty

Answer 26

• can elicit reassurance
• reduces performance pressure
• prevents others from being envious or resentful

Question 27

Self handicapping

Answer 27

Protecting one’s self image with sabotaging behaviours that create an excuse for later failure
(or a boost in self image - if succeeded nonetheless)
making success less likely, attributing failure to external factors

Question 28

self presentation

Answer 28

the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression
- act in certain way to be ‘liked’

Question 29

ONLINE self presentations

Answer 29

idealize virtually reality hypothesis (people use internet to display idealized selves that do not actually match their personalities)
VS extended real life hypothesis (people’s online personal info mirror there real feelings, thought information etc)

Question 30

self motoring

Answer 30

letting situational cues guide the way one presents oneself in social situations + adjusting one’s performance to create the desired impression