Building Self Knowledge Flashcards
Intrapersonal Sources (2)
- Self-perception
- Introspection
Self-perception
We observe our overt behaviours and use these observations to infer what we’re like
- Similar to how we infer what other people are like
Introspection
We direct our attention inwards to our internal states (thoughts and feelings) and use this self-awareness to draw conclusions about what we are like
People report that knowing their internal states is better for understanding what
they’re really like compared to knowing their behaviour or interviewing close ones
STUDY: Access to Others’ Internal States - Cognitive/affective interviews produced impressions that are most in line with interviewee’s self-ratings (VS Behaviour)
Suggests that knowing…
thoughts and feelings is most useful for knowing someone well
People prioritize awareness of their thoughts and feelings (vs. behaviours) to construct
self-knowledge and believe this is most revealing of what others are like
Recognize that actions can be influenced by external factors so think that thoughts and feelings are more…
revealing of inner self
Self-perception may be more useful for forming self-knowledge when people are
unclear about their internal states
Study: Are people aware of what impacts their mood? RESULTS
- Average participant accuracy correlation=0.42
- Shows that participants made fairly accurate judgments about how various predictors influenced their mood
- But also indicates that participants made quite a few errors
- 49% of subjects got the direction of at least one estimate backwards
- Average accuracy correlation for observer=0.46
- Shows that observers were just as accurate judges of predictors of mood as were the participants themselves
Suggests that people don’t have
real, unique understanding of their mood, but instead rely on shared theories about predictors of mood
People don’t have a genuine understanding of
why they think and feel the way they do
Introspection may be more useful for describing internal states, but not very useful for explaining
why we have these in the first place
Symbolic interactionism
self-concept depends on our social interactions
Social Comparison
We compare ourselves with others to form conclusions about our relative standing on attributes, abilities, opinions, etc.
Introspection and self-perception often rely on
comparison
We tend to engage in social comparison…
automatically
Direction of comparison influences
self-esteem
Upward
comparing ourselves to people that are better than us which leads to a decrease in self-esteem
Downward
comparing ourselves to people that are worse than us which leads to an increase in self-esteem
Looking-Glass Self
We construct our self-concept based on how others see us
Infer how others see us using:
- Their direct feedback
- Their behaviours towards us (e.g. facial expression, sighs, etc.)
Not just close others, but also how others
generally see us
If looking-glass self theory is true, would expect a high correlation between
self-report and observer report
Literature review of looking-glass self research shows that there is
no consistent relationship between self-reports and observer reports
