Actor, Agent and Author article Flashcards
(64 cards)
1
Q
What are the 3 influences on personality?
A
- Universal human nature (how our genetic makeup allows us to behave, makes use feel emotions, relate to environment, impulses) - !!! A new organism in nature !!!
- Culture (previous existing culture, including it’s myths, symbols, conventions affects our personality as well) - !!! A new person in a culture !!!
- A singular human live ( how our own experiences and story shape our personality) - !!! A new subject of an individual life !!!
2
Q
In what order can these three influences on personality actually shape it/influence personality?
A
- Human nature -> Individual life history -> Schemata (called first nature)
- Human nature -> Culture -> Individual life history -> Schemata (second nature)
3
Q
What are the 2 crucial steps that distinguish human cooperation from that of other animals?
A
- Obligative Collaborative forging
- Group-mindedness
4
Q
Obligative Collaborative Forging
A
- Humans have developed very strong skills for collaborating with each other, as evidenced by how they’re attuned to sharing mental states with other humans from birth.
- What can also be observed from both is the tendency towards shared intentionality. Through this humans acquire the capacity for intersubjectivity (shared mental states and goals)
- Through both of the above, shared meanings and shared stories can come into existence.
5
Q
Group mindedness
A
- Given the capability for shared intentionality humans also develop a capability for conventions.
- Therefore, babies are born into a world of pre-existing conventions and a symbolic order, which is characteristic of all signs and cultures of humanity
6
Q
ARTICLE
A
7
Q
What memory loss did W.J. suffer from?
A
Episodes memory for recent past, but NOT SEMANTIC MEMORY
8
Q
What interesting finding regarding W.J.’s personality and self-reported traits were observed?
A
Even after 4 months were her episodic memory had returned, her self-reported trait scores highly correlated with her self-reported trait scores in the beginning were her episodic memory was impaired
9
Q
What implications do these findings have?
A
- Semantic memory and not episodic memory is enough to determine personality (at least to some extent as we’ll see later on)
- Semantic and episodic memory a functionally independent
- Although people initially derive info about themselves from experiences (episodes), this info is summarized into semantic info and then becomes independent from episodic info. This means that rating one on traits doesn’t activate episodic memory
- Independence of trait self and story self leads to the creation of William James’ important concepts of “I” and “Me” (See next flashcard)
10
Q
According to James, what is the “I” and “Me”?
A
The “I” creates the “Me” as both a collection of of abstract traits and a collection personal experiences or stories about my life
11
Q
According to the article, what are the three main psychological content that make up the self?
A
- Self as an Actor
- Self as an Agent
- Self as an Author
12
Q
What are some important notes on these three definitions of the self?
A
- They each appear at different levels of a person’s life/development
- Despite this, it’s not that when one appears the other stops developing; they all develop in parallel at the same time, just some appear later than others
- Each self is not independent and can be switched on and off by the environment
- The 3 psychosocial problems in each part of the self overlap, and each problem might be understood through the lenses of each of the three types of the self
(e.g. self-regulation can be observed through the self as an actor, agent or author as well)
13
Q
Self as an Actor
A
14
Q
What is the main concept of the self as an (social) actor?
A
This part of the self includes semantic representations of traits, social roles, and other features of self that are a result of
repeated performances on the social stage of life.
(Link to Flashcard 3, human cooperation and social aspect of human life)
- Humans have strong needs to belong to groups
- Humans have developed adaptive mechanisms to enact. monitor, develop and refine behaviors they exhibit in groups, as well as process feedback from others about their social performance
15
Q
Do people have to be aware of their social “acting” in order to behave in this way?
A
NO.
By the time people are aware of themselves as actors, they have already been acting in a social way. They way infants “act” depends on:
- Temperament
- Early social interactions
16
Q
What are the developmental stages of the self as an actor?
A
- 0 - 18 months old: unconscious phase (as described above)
- Around 18-24 months: Infants start recognizing themselves.
-> experiments with infants recognizing themselves in mirrors or recordings)
-> Start using self-referential words such as “mine”, “me” as well as self-referential emotions
!!! The “I” emerges during this period. Reflexively, the “Me” starts forming as well as the person starts observing his/her own social actions and other’s response to these actions !!! — The I defines the Me only in terms of observable performance and situational cues - At around 10, the I starts attributing to the Me more general tendencies (traits) that summarize general trends in social behavior. Other’s feedback also shape these general tendencies
- Early adolescence: Self-report scores on personality start to stabilize and show the 5-factor structure (people create a stable concept of their personality)
- Into young adulthood and midlife:
-> people become more agreeable, conscientious, and less neurotic.
-> People start recognizing how situations and the environment determine the Me and Personality
17
Q
When do social roles become more important features of the social self?
A
In and through adulthood
!!! Even children and adolescents can understand themselves though in terms of social roles !!!
18
Q
What are the benefits of social roles?
A
On the one hand, they put forth conventions and provide scripts for social behavior. On the other hand, they also leave room for improvisation
19
Q
Is the relationship between traits and social roles uni-directional or bi-directional?
A
Bi-directional
Traits influence how we behave in our social roles and which social roles we take on.
But social roles also influence our traits, as evidenced by social investment research in adults (father example)
20
Q
With the self as an actor, where is the temporal emphasis on? (Present, Past, or Future?)
A
Present
21
Q
What is the psychosocial problem with this part of the self?
A
Self-regulation.
Losing control can be problematic for both ourselves (lose reputation and well-being) but for others as well if we endanger them or harm them.
22
Q
What are two different ways in which self-regulation has been conceptualized? And what are the solutions to self-regulation problems that are proposed through these two theories?
A
- Freud: id represents our impulses, the establishment of the superego acts as a monitoring system that allows the person to control the id
- Mead: As we become more aware of how the world sees us, we will monitor our behavior and aim to act in ways that met the approval of the general population around us
23
Q
In terms of the “I” and “Me”?
A
The I observes the Me. This is called self-awareness, and a lot of theories believe that the main function of self-awareness is to regulate social action
24
Q
So based on the above connection between self-regulation and I/Me, when should self-regulation resolve?
A
Around 18-24 months, where the I emerges, and thus the Me as well
25
What is the importance of effortful control in self-regulation?
- Responsible for moral development and and the consolidation of conscience
- Responsible for making us inhibit responses and win social approval
26
How does culture help shape the self as an actor?
It establishes constraints and norms for how we should express our traits and roles
27
What are some cross-cultural aspects regarding personality?
- People in all cultures attribute traits to themselves
- People's self-reported traits tend to follow a five-factor model in all cultures
28
What differs then across cultures regarding personality?
Not all people from different cultures give the same weight to their traits and trait ratings when it comes to understanding the self as a social actor.
E.g. Eastern cultures list more social roles and fewer traits than Western cultures when it comes to defining the self as a social actor
29
What is the most evident influence of culture on the self as a social actor?
How social roles and self-attributed traits are expressed on social behavior
30
Self as an Agent
31
What is the main concept of the self as an agent?
The person starts defining goals, values, hopes, fears etc. as well as important goals, decisions and life commitments
32
What is an important distinction regarding being a motivated agent?
Being/acting as a motivated agent is different from explicitly and self-consciously experiencing yourself as motivated agents.
The self does not become an agent until the I views and constructs the Me in terms of personal goals, values, hopes, life goals, decisions etc.
(Even if infants express agency, they are not motivated agents, since they don't recognize themselves as such a thing and don't consciously set forth future goals)
33
Therefore, based on the above, where is the temporal emphasis in the self as an agent?
Present and Future
34
What are the developmental stages of the self as an agent?
1. At 1 years old: basic understanding of agency.
-> Infants can distinguish between accidental and intentional behavior and prefer to imitate intentional behaviors rather than accidental ones
2. At 4 years old: Theory of mind. Children perceive others as motivated agents (they do things because of their own goals, beliefs, desires etc.)
-> Overgeneralization is observed here: Children attribute agency to everything, even inanimate objects
3. 5 to 7 years old: Children start to learn in a reflexive sense how to shape their own desires and wants into socially acceptable goals
4. 7 to 8 years old: Concrete operational thought (Piaget). Children understand better others the perspectives of other motivated agents and compare themselves and their goals to others
5. 8 to 9 years old: Combination of the self as an agent with the self as an actor: future goals are combined with self-attributed traits as well as social roles
6. Adolescence to adulthood: Start forming our own values ideology
(What are values? = the cultural, personal and social goals we cherish the most and we think are the most important and worthy)
-> Identity development starts off with the broadening of consciousness to encompass a wide range of life goals. Then we narrow it down to focus only on the goals we deem to be the most important to us
-> Once we decide what we want to focus on in our life, the I chooses to invest energy and effort into achieving these values and goals. Since investments are fluid and dynamic, we tend to put in effort into the things that provide us the best returns for the future
7. Adulthood into midlife: More prosocial involvement and improving one's community
(!!!Starts from volition/goals and then goes to values and ideology, which are crucial for development of identity in adolescence. From broad goals, narrow it down to include the ones you deem most worthy !!!)
35
What are the main differences between the self as an agent and the self as an actor?
- People feel that they choose their goals in life, whereas they feel that their traits have been put on them (out of their choice)
- Goals focus on the future, traits are mainly about the present
-> Based on the above, the self as an agent exhibits episodic future thought: Based on specific past episodes we try to imagine what the future will look like. The self as an actor doesn't exhibit this
36
What relationship has been observed between episodic future thought and the ability to remember specific episodes from the past?
Close relationship:
Impairments in episodic memory have significant implications for goal setting (case of W.J.)
37
What is the main psychosocial problem regarding the self an agent?
Self-esteem.
!!! It is basically about the self's relative success or failure as a motivated agent who strives to achieve goals in domains of life the person values a lot !!!
It depends on the extent to which a person feels and are able to achieve goals and obtain dreams and expectations.
- Depends usually on many different sources
38
What are contingencies of self-worth?
They represent the domains in which success or failure leads to an increase or decrease in self-esteem respectively
39
What is William James' self-esteem ratio?
Self-esteem = success/pretensions
Pretensions refer to goals, values, expectations etc.. Success is what we feel when we achieve them or make good progress towards achieving them.
40
What is the implication of this ratio?
If we didn't have pretensions we wouldn't gave to worry about self-esteem.
!!! Self-esteem is linked to self as an agent !!!
41
What is self-esteem in terms of the I?
Self-esteem is the logical outgrowth of the I's tendency to set forth goals and evaluate your progress towards attaining them
- This becomes even more salient during 5 to 8 years old, due to social interactions with teachers and peers, increasing demands from parents and schools, and cognitive-developmental advances and brain maturation (start to see themselves and the world around them in a more goal-oriented way)
42
How does self-esteem develop/change with age?
- Young children (kindergarten) show few individual differences in self-esteem (see themselves in a positive light)
- 7 to 8 years old: differences in self-esteem:
-> Compare your won achievements to those of others
-> Self-esteem becomes domain specific
-> Happens due to the reasons stated above
43
What is the relationship between the self as an actor and the self as an agent in the development of self-esteem?
Self-reported traits of high extraversion, conscientiousness, and low neuroticism were significantly associated with self-esteem
44
What factor plays the most important role in the increase of self-esteem from 14 to 30?
Sense of mastery: Extent to which individuals feel like they have control over their lives
45
What is the most evident way in which culture influences how we formulate goals, values, expectations etc.?
Individualistic vs Collectivistic cultures
-> Collectivistic: People's goals are more about avoiding negative states (prevention-focused), Individualistic: about approaching positive states (promotion-focused)
-> Prevention-focused approaches suggest social vigilance and caution, whereas Promotion-focused approaches suggest entrepreneurship and pursue of self-fulfillment
46
How do societal norms influence our goals?
- Societal norms influence what goals we pursue
- Societal norms also influence when to pursue what goals -> Gender norms as an example
47
Self as an Author
48
What is the main concept of the self as an author?
We try to synthesize episodic info about the self into a coherent and meaningful life narrative.
- We integrate the reconstructed episodic past and the imagined episodic future in order to explain to others and ourself why we do what we do, want what we want and who the self is and will be
49
What does narrative identity start with?
Autobiographical memory
50
What are the developmental stages of the self as an author?
1. 2 to 3 years old children start showing the first sign of autobiographical memory
2. 3 to 4 years old: Children are able to recall recent episodes within which they played a role and to tell brief stories about these events
3. Kindergarten: Children can tell coherent stories of their past experience independent of adult guidance
(Individual differences in storytelling can also be due to gender, parent's conversational styles, social class, and culture)
4. Late childhood to adolescence: Autobiographical reasoning emerges.
-> Refers to a wide set of interpretive operations through which people draw on autobiographical memories to make inferences about who they are and what their lives mean (e.g. derive meaningful lessons from negative experiences, by searching for redemption and meaning in suffering)
-> Also encompasses how how authors string together multiple events into causal sequences in order to make a conclusion about the self
5. Late adolescence and young adulthood: Autobiographical reasoning improves
-> Better at deriving organizing themes in their lives
-> Sequencing personal episodes into causal chains in order to explain their development
-> Illustrating personal growth over time
-> Identifying clear beginnings and endings in their life narrative accounts
-> Incorporate retrospective reflection
6. Adulthood: Use autobiographical reasoning to reconstruct the past and imagine a future in a meaningful way as well
-> People's life stories become more integrative and nuanced as they move through adulthood
-> More likely than adolescents to narrate wisdom scenes and connect them the experiences to larger life themes/philosophies
-> Use more positive words and less negative ones to describe oneself and our story
51
What is the temporal emphasis of the self as an author?
Past, Present, and Future
52
What is the main psychosocial problem of the self as an author?
Self-continuity. Refers to the extent to which the I perceives the Me as continuous in space and time
53
What does identity refer to?
The extent to which the I sees the Me as the same thing across different situations and continuous over time
54
What have social psychologists focused on regarding identity?
The spatial continuities of identity: How similar is the self across different social situations and roles
(Is the self stable or multifaceted? = )
-> The self is multi-faceted. People have many different selves in order to address the many different social situations of life.
55
What have developmental psychologists focused on regarding identity?
Continuity in identity over time (else, temporal continuity): The main point is that the self aims to maintain or create some sense of continuity regarding one's past, present and future
56
What are the two different ways in which the I experiences the Me as continuous over time?
- Phenomenological continuity
- Narrative continuity
57
What is Phenomenological continuity?
The moment-by-moment feeling that I continue to exist as the same person
(What type of memory does it depend on?)=
- Episodic memory
- Disruptions occur in dissociative states and psychosis
58
What is Narrative continuity?
The I creates an integrative life story that demonstrates continuity by explaining in a narrative form how the self has changed and how it has remained stable over time
(What type of memory does it depend on?)=
- Requires both episodic and semantic memory. Without semantic memory you can't interpret specific episodes or make connections about the self, which is crucial to autobiographical reasoning (This reasoning is crucial to determining new conclusions and info about the self)
59
What is the relationship between self-continuity and self as an actor or as a motivated agent?
- Self as an actor: The I does attribute some dispositional (trait) continuity to the Me:
-> Even with severe neural damage, basic dispositional ratings of the self remain stable
- Self as an agent: By projecting long-term goals, I project a sense of self-continuity in into the future
60
How does culture influence the self as an author?
!!! Provides the basic motifs, symbols, metaphors and plots out of which a narrative identity is made !!!
How the memories are told, how they are linked together to make a coherent story, what meanings are drawn from them, what causal explanations are offered to document a narrative point about the self, what counts as a convincing or dramatic or compelling narration and all the similar stuff
61
What is a master narrative?
A cultural narrative that captures the fundamental journeys and conflicts that its people have traditionally faced
62
What is the master narrative in America?
Redemption and meaning through suffering
The protagonist:
(a) enjoys a special advantage or blessing early in life
(b) expresses sensitivity to the suffering of others or societal injustice as
a child
(c) establishes a clear and strong value system in adolescence that remains a source of unwavering conviction through the adult years
(d) repeatedly overcomes
adversity
(e) tries to integrate experiences of power and love, and
(f) looks to achieve goals to benefit society in the future.
63
What is the difference in autobiographical recollection between Eastern and Western cultures?
- People in Western cultures:
-> report an earlier age of first memory and have longer and more detailed memories of childhood
-> Focus attention on your own roles and emotions
- People in Eastern cultures:
-> More likely to recall memories of important social and historical events
-> Place a greater emphasis on social interactions and significant others
-> draw on past events to convey moral messages
64
What are the differences in personal narratives between Western and Eastern cultures?
- Western: prioritize self-expressive functions. They view personal narratives as vehicles for creating the inner self
- Eastern: prioritize the self-direction functions, viewing personal narratives as guides for social conduct
