W2 Self + Identity

Question 1

The Self …

Answer 1

is a symbolic construct reflecting consciousness of our own identity and an awareness that we exist as a being, separate from other beings.

Question 2

Collective self

Answer 2

attributes shared with ingroup members and distinct from outgroup members.

Question 3

Individual self

Answer 3

attributes that make us unique relative to other people.

Question 4

Relational self

Answer 4

relationships one has with specific other people.

Question 5

Fazio et al. 1981 (the self)

Answer 5

found participants described themselves in very different ways when asking them loaded questions that made them search through their self-knowledge for information that presented the self in different lights.

Question 6

Abrams & Hoggs, 2001 (The self)

Answer 6

People experience different selves depending on situational factors, yet also feel they have a coherent self-concept that integrates all their selves together

Question 7

Self-awarness

Answer 7

A psychological state in which people are aware of their traits, feelings, and behaviors. We can have private and public self-awareness.

Question 8

When do we become self-aware?

Answer 8

Lewis and Brooks (1978) = Put a spot of rouge on the nose of babies and then put them in front of a mirror.
- Babies 9-12 months treated mirror image as another child, showing no interest in the spot on their nose.
- Around 18 months, children recognised that the reflection was themselves.

Question 9

Public self-awarness

Answer 9

(‘I know that others are aware of me’) = Evoked when = Giving a presentation, being photographed or filmed.

Question 10

Private self-awarness

Answer 10

(‘I’m aware of me’) = Evoked when = Looking in a mirror, Experiencing physiological arousal

Question 11

Mirror

Consequence of Private self-awareness (1)

Scheier & Carver 1977

Answer 11

Intensified emotional response: focusing on ourselves makes us focus on our state of mind = intensifying emotions.

Participants read aloud positive or negative statements whilst looking in a mirror or not. Participants who looked in the mirror during this task making them privately self-aware became more extreme in their emotional responses.

Question 12

Placebo

Consequences of pirvate self-awarness (2)

Gibbons et al. 1979

Answer 12

Clarification of knowledge = Focusing on internal events means we can report them with greater accuracy.

Participants were given a placebo and told it is a drug that would increase arousal, whilst looking in a mirror or not. Those in front of a mirror were less fooled. They experienced less arousal and side effects than those who could not see themselves. Mirror induced self-awareness - ignore the placebo and focus on their feelings leading to more accurate knowledge.

Question 13

Essay

Consequences of private self-awarness (3)

Scheier & Carver, 1980

Answer 13

Adherence to personal standards of behavior = True beliefs become emphasized and less susceptible to external forces.

Asked to write an essay that goes against their attitudes/beliefs whilst looking in a mirror or not. Induces cognitive dissonance (the discomfort a person feels when their behaviour does not align with their values or beliefs). Writing the essay in front of the mirror-> less attitude change.
Private self-awareness may increase adherence to one’s true beliefs.

Question 14

Audiences

Consequence of public self-awareness (1)

McKinney et al. 1983

Answer 14

Evaluation apprehension = Public self-awareness makes us realise that we are being observed by others. Fear of negative evaluation -> nervousness and reduced self-esteem.

Larger audiences increase anxiety during public speaking (McKinney et al. 1983).

Question 15

Eyes

Consequence of public self-awareness (2)

Bateson et al. 2006

Answer 15

Adherence to social standards of behavior = more ike to conform to group norms even if this goas against personal opinions.

Bateson et al. (2006) = Examined the effect of an image of a pair of eyes on contributions to an honesty box used to collect money for drinks in a university coffee room. People paid nearly 3x as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed rather than a control image.

Question 16

Self-consciousness

Answer 16

Individual differences in chronic self-awareness is referred to as self-consciousness. Self-consciousness: the extent to which an individual is chronically aware of their traits, feelings and behaviour.

Question 17

¨Privately self-conscious

Answer 17

Experience more intense emotions - greater tendency to suffer from depression and neuroticism, due to rumination on feelings of unhappiness/discomfort. Act in line with personal beliefs.

Question 18

Publicly self-conscious

Answer 18

Concerned with others’ perceptions of them, and so adhere to group norms. Avoid embarrassing situations (Froming et al., 1990). More concerned with their appearance, and judge others according to appearance

Question 19

Self-concept

Answer 19

he completes set of beliefs that people have about themselves, which form their understanding of who they are.

Question 20

Self-schemas

Answer 20

= how we expect ourselves to think, feel and behave in a particular situation.
Self-schemas consist of: Perception of ourselves: e.g., “I am talkative”. Our experiences on this dimension: “I know that I am likely to be talkative at a party”.
Having complex and varied self-schemas is beneficial.

Question 21

Self-schemas importance (Crisp & Turner, 2010)

Answer 21

Self-schemas vary in their importance to the self. Such as: In relation to a particular trait we may be self-schematic, somewhat schematic, or A-schematic.

Question 22

Importance of self-schemas for well-being

Answer 22

Buffer against the impacts of negative self-schemas with more positive self-schemas (Linville, 1985; 1987).
Expands opportunities for social interaction, pleasure and personal growth (Multiple Role Theory, Powell & Greenhouse, 2010).

Question 23

How do we maintain our sense of self?

4 Theories

Answer 23

1- Theories of self-comparison: self-discrepancy theory
2- Theories of social comparison: social comparison theory
3- Theories of group comparison: social identity theory
4- Inter-dependence theories: Michelangelo phenomenon

Question 24

(Higgins, 1987)

1- Self-discrepancy theory 1

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 24

The self consists of
Actual self
Ideal self
Ought self
Individuals compare their “actual” self to internalized standards of the ideal and ought self. We are motivated to ensure match between actual, ideal and ought self (Higgins, 1987)

Question 25

Higgins et al. 1987

1- Self-discrepancy theory 2

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 25

People are motivated to try to ensure that their actual self matches their ideal and ought self. Discrepancies lead to psychological discomfort.

Higgins et al. (1987) had Ps think about the discrepancy between their actual and ideal self, vs their actual and ought self, and report on their emotions after thinking about the discrepancy.
o Actual-ideal discrepancy related to dejection.
o Actual-ought discrepancy is related to agitation.

Question 26

Altintas et al. 2020

1- Self-discrepancy theory 3

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 26

Altintas et al. (2020) investigating the effects of a “Best Possible Self” intervention on academic motivation and commitment at the University
176 French undergraduates
Experimental group - think of their best possible ideal self (had significanttly hifher levels of + affect/motivation/academic commitment compared to controled group)
Control group – read neutral information
Discrepancies that occur with the actual self can have positive effects and motivate people to do better.

Question 27

Festinger, 1954

2- Social comparison theory 1

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 27

Festinger, 1954: We learn how to define the self by comparing ourselves to others. Other people provide external and objective benchmarks to compare oneself against.
We make two different sorts of comparisons.
o Upward comparisons (to someone better).
o Downward comparisons (to someone worse)

Question 28

Tajfel & Turner, 1986

3- Social identity theory 1

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 28

Tajfel & Turner (1986) = “Social identity is the part of the individual’s self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance of that membership”.
The ones which are active at a given time are those which suit the social context -> context dependent = E.g., talking to a close friend vs watching a sports match between your university and a rival university

Question 29

Klein, 1997

2- Social Comparison theory 2

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 29

Participants asked to select the aesthetically superior picture. They are then given feedback about their performance: Absolute (40% or 60% correct responses). Relative to other people (20% better or worse than average)
Given a choice of two tasks: a game of skill or a game of luck to win money

Question 30

Categories

3- Social identity theory 2

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 30

We each belong to some categories and not others. We discriminate between those categories in a way that is beneficial to our self-esteem and our identity.

Self-esteem related to our group membership it requires social comparison to a group of lower status. (Man united fan comparing themselves to Sheffield united)
We are motivated to display ingroup favouritism as this can increase our self-esteem.

Question 31

Helping behavior (Levine et al, 2005)

Answer 31

Study 1 = Man United fans on a walk witness an accident, group membership manioulated ( actor in accident wearing liverpool/man united/plain tshirt) measure rate of helping.
helping behaviur increase for in group members, equally likely to help btoh football fans but those wearing a plain tshirt when possitve of being a football fan.

Question 32

Rubult et al 2009

4- Michelangelo Phenomenon

Maintain our Sense of Self

Answer 32

role of other people and how they shape who we areor would like to becoming.
Michelangelo Phenomenon = how significant others shape (enhance or hinder) our pursuit of the ideal self.

=>Significant others can shape individual selves through partner affirmation which has two components (Rusbult et al. 2009)

Question 33

Evidence for the Michelangelo phenomenon

Answer 33

Rusbult et al., 2009 = found that partner affirmation of each other’s ideal goals is related to personal growth and movement toward the ideal self and partner well–being.
Drigotas et al., 1999 = found strong associations between perceived partner affirmation + movement towards the ideal self. Drigotas (2002) = when the partner is affirming and the person moves closer to their ideals, this leads to improved personal wellbeing, life satisfaction, and psychological health.

Question 34

Self-esteem

Answer 34

The evaluative component of the self-concept. A person’s subjective appraisal of themselves as intrinsically positive or negative to some degree (Sedikides & Gregg, 2002)

Question 35

Low self-esteem

Answer 35

low confidence, unsure about value to others, easily disheartened, more easily persuaded.

Question 36

High self-esteem

Answer 36

confidence, feeling loved and respected, resilience, less easily influenced.

Question 37

Dev of self-esteem

Answer 37

How positive our self-concept is in later life appears to depend to some extent on the parenting styles of our primary caregivers (Baumrind, 1991):
Authoritative (enforce rules but supportive, warm) = High self-esteem
Authoritarian (overly strict) = low self-esteem.
Permissive ( relaxed ‘friend’) = low self-esteem.

Question 38

Stability of self-esteem (Robins et al., 2002)

Answer 38

= A meta-analysis found that tendencies to have high or low self-esteem can vary – there were differentially stable and unstable time points.
9-18 = unstable self-esteem, perhaps because of adolescence and self-concept is still developing.
Late 20s-40s (mid adulthood) = greatest stability
60 = self-esteem stability declines, perhaps due to later life changes (retirement, loss).

Question 39

Consequence of low self-esteem

Answer 39

Mood regulation and mental health (1), Narcissism (2)

Question 40

Mood regulation and mental health (low self-esteem) (1)

Answer 40

Actively dampens + feelings, feels worse after a negative event, makes few goals or plans to improve mood after failure. higher levels of depression and anxiety + lower mental well-being.

Question 41

Narcissism (low self-esteem) (2)

Answer 41

high self-esteem, unstable, reliant on validation

Question 42

Self motives = Self-assessment

Answer 42

a desire to know ourselves

Question 43

self-verification

Answer 43

we seek information to verify what we already believe to be true about ourself-concept.

Question 44

Self-enhancement

Answer 44

A desire to seek information that allow us to see ourselves in the best possible light. (most important)

Question 45

Strategies to enhance personal self

Answer 45

(1) Self-affirmation theory = we respond to threatened self-esteem by publicly affirming positive aspects of the self.
, (2) Self-serving attribution bias = we interpret events in a manner that is favorable to our view of ourselves?

Question 46

Strategies to enhance the social self

Answer 46

Social group membership (Ciadini et al., 1976) =
University football team winning matches-> increase in students wearing clothing with university name.
People derive a positive self-concept from the achievements of other group members even if they were not personally instrumental

Question 47

Objecitve self-awareness

Answer 47

= generated by anything that focuses your attention on yourself as an object (e.g. being in front of an audiance or a mirror). Popular method for raising self-awareness = placing participants in front of a mirror.

Question 48

Private self (awarness)

Answer 48

= private thoughts, feelings and attitudes (internalized standards).

Question 49

Public-self (awareness)

Answer 49

= how other people see you, your public image (ppresenting yourself to others)

Question 50

Self-awarness

Answer 50

= a state in which you are aware of yourself as an object, much as you might be aware of a tree or another person. You make comparisons between how you actually are and how you would like to be – an ideal, a goal or some other standard. Being self-aware can be very uncomfortable.

Question 51

Self-concious

Answer 51

= we feel anxious, we become tongue-tied, or we make mistakes on tasks. We can even feel slightly paranoid.

Question 52

De-individuation

Answer 52

= a state in which people are blocked from awareness of themselves as distinct individuals, fail to monitor their actions and can behave impulsively

Question 53

Self-discrepancy Model

Answer 53

three types of self-schema:
1- actual self = how we currently are;
2- ideal self = how we would like to be;
3- ‘ought’ self = how we think we should be.

Question 54

Self-regulations

Answer 54

= change to reduce the discrepancy between the actual and ideal self.
- When we fail to resolve an actual-ideal discrepancy = we feel dejected (e.g. disappointed, dissatisfied, sad);
- When we fail to resolve an actual-ought discrepancy = we feel agitated (e.g. anxiety, threat, fear).

Question 55

Self-discrepancy model = The promotion system of regulation

Answer 55

= concerned with the attainment of one’s hopes and aspirations = one’s ideals. It generates sensitivity to the presence or absence of positive events.

Question 56

Self-discrepancy model = The prevention system

Answer 56

= concerned with the fulfilment of one’s duties and obligations = one’s ought’s. It generates sensitivity to the presence or absence of negative events. People in a prevention focus use avoidance strategic means to attain their goals.

Question 57

Self-perception theory

Answer 57

= gain knowledge of ourselves only by making self-attributions: for example, we infer our own attitudes from our own behaviour.

Question 58

Over justification effect

Answer 58

= In the absence of obvious external determinants of our behaviour, we assume that we freely choose the behaviour because we enjoy it.

Question 59

Self-evaluation maintenance model

Answer 59

= People who are constrained to make esteem-damaging upward comparisons can underplay or deny similarity to the target, or they can withdraw from their relationship with the target.

Question 60

social comparaison therory

Answer 60

Comparing our behaviours and opinions with those of others in order to establish the correct or socially approved way of thinking and behaving.

Question 61

Social identity theory

Answer 61

Thoery of group membership and intergroup relations based on self-categorization, social comparison and the construction of a shared self-definition in terms of ingroup-defining properties.

Question 62

Slef-categorization theory

Answer 62

Turner and associates’ theory of how the process of categorizing oneself as a group member produces social identity and group and intergroup behaviours.

Question 63

Self-motives = Self-assessment

Answer 63

The motivation to seek out new information about us in order to find out what sort of person we really are.

Question 64

Self-motives = self-verification

Answer 64

= Seeking out information that verifies and confirms what we already know about ourselves.

Question 65

Self-motives = self enhancement

Answer 65

= motivation to develop and promote a favorable image of self.

Question 66

Terror management theory

Answer 66

= notion that the most fundamental human motivation is to reduce the terror of the inevitability of death. Self-esteem may be centrally implicated in effective terror management

Question 67

Narcissim

Answer 67

= a personality trait that is volatile, comprising self-love and an inflated or grandiose view of oneself.

Question 68

Stigma

Answer 68

= group attributes that mediate a negative social evaluation of people belonging to the group.

Question 69

Self-motives = self-handicapping

Answer 69

Publicly making advance external attributions for our anticipated failure or poor performance in a forthcoming event.

Question 70

Self-affirmation theory

Answer 70

= people reduce the impact of threat to their self-concept by focusing on and affirming their competence in some other area.

Question 71

Self-esteem

Answer 71

= Feelings about and evaluations of oneself.

Question 72

Actual Self

Answer 72

How we are at present.

Question 73

Ideal self

Answer 73

How we would like to be.

Question 74

Ought self

Answer 74

How we think we should be.