Chapter 2: The Self in a Social World Flashcards

1
Q

Spotlight Effect

A

Putting ourselves in the spotlight, assuming others are paying attention to us

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2
Q

Illusion of Transparency

A

Our awareness of our feelings causes us to assume others will notice them

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3
Q

How our Social Surroundings Affect Our Awareness

A

We are keenly aware of differences between us and others

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4
Q

Self Interest & Social Judgement

A

We attribute negative events to others’ actions and positive events to our own

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5
Q

Self Concern and Social Behavior

A

We attempt to maintain a good image and adjust our behavior to match others’

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6
Q

Social Relationships and the Self

A

Since our actions depend partially on who we’re with, who we’re with affects our self-image
- Self and society is a 2-way street

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7
Q

Self-Schemas

A

Mental templates for organizing ourselves

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8
Q

Social Comparison

A

We base our self-image on our comparison to those around us

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9
Q

Charles Cooley’s Looking Glass Self

A

We reflect what we think other people think of us
- How do I appear
- What do others think of me
- Revise how we think about ourselves
- Can be based on correct or incorrect perceptions

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10
Q

Individualism

A

A way of seeing oneself apart from those around you - popular in Western cultures

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11
Q

Individualism: The Independent Self

A

The extent to which we see ourselves as independent from others

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12
Q

Individualism: Social Comparisons

A

People often compare upwards: they want to move up toward those that have more than them

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13
Q

Collectivism

A

Looking at oneself as part of a larger group

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14
Q

Collectivism: Interdependent Self

A

The extent to which we see ourselves as connected to those around us

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15
Q

Collectivism: Social Comparisons

A

People compare downwards: want to bring others up to their level

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16
Q

Individualism: Self & Culture

A

More individualistic words are being used worldwide

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17
Q

Self-Knowledge: Planning Fallacy

A

We tend to underestimate how long it will take us to do something

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18
Q

Self-Knowledge: Affective Forecasting

A

We are bad at predicting how we will feel

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19
Q

Self-Knowledge: Impact Bias

A

Overestimating how long we will feel a certain way

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20
Q

Self-Knowledge: Immune Neglect

A

The tendency to underestimate the speed of our “psychological immune system”

21
Q

Self-Knowledge: Dual Attitude System

A
  • IMPLICIT ATTITUDES: Change slowly with practices that form new habits
  • EXPLICIT ATTITUDES: Can be changed with persuasion
22
Q

Self-Knowledge: Practical Implications

A
  • Self-reports are often untrustworthy
  • Sincerity does not guarantee validity
23
Q

Self-Esteem

A
  • How one evaluates themselves or their worth
24
Q

When is Self Esteem Motivating vs Harmful

A
  • Comparing ourselves to others can harm our self-esteem
  • The context dictates how our self-esteem is impacted (2nd vs 3rd place)
  • We measure our self-esteem with the traits that we think matter to others
25
Q

Self-Esteem: Setting Goals

A
  • Pursuing self-esteem can lead to us having a bloated view of ourselves, less empathy, and pressure to succeed rather than enjoy
  • Setting compassionate goals helps us to reframe where we get our self-esteem from
26
Q

Terror Management Theory

A
  • We have an innate fear of death which motivates our self-esteem
  • This creates a desire for recognition, which can be social or personal goals
27
Q

Trade Off: Low vs High Self-Esteem

A
  • Low: anxiety, loneliness, negativity, leads to depression
  • High: More initiative, doesn’t lead to higher achievement, less empathy and open mindedness
28
Q

Narcissism

A

High self esteem with low empathy - care more about themselves than others
- Dangerous when challenged socially
- Children who get special treatment are more likely
- Product of extreme individualism

29
Q

Personal Pros of High Self-Esteem

A

Value individual achievement and relationships, think they are worthy and good

30
Q

Self-Efficacy

A

How competent we feel at a task

31
Q

Benefits of Self-Efficacy

A

More persistent, healthy, successful, goal-oriented, less anxious and depressed

32
Q

Efficacy vs Esteem

A
  • Efficacy is based in competence beliefs
  • Esteem is based in beliefs about worth
33
Q

Self-Serving Bias

A

We are all biased to maintain our ego wherever that is

34
Q

Self-Serving Attributions

A

We attribute success to us, and failure to external forces

35
Q

Explanatory Style

A

A person’s habitual way of explaining life events. Can be depressive or optimistic

36
Q

Can We All be Better Than Average?

A

No, but most people rate themselves higher than others on many scales, especially subjective behaviors

37
Q

Unrealistic Optimism

A
  • We are predisposed to be optimistic about future events (especially compared to others)
  • This optimism increases vulnerability
  • It also increases feelings of efficacy
38
Q

Defensive Pessimism

A

The adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one’s anxiety to motivate effective action

39
Q

False Consensus Effect

A

The tendency to overestimate how much people agree with you, especially when considering bad behaviors

40
Q

False Uniqueness Effect

A

The tendency to underestimate how common your abilities and successes are

41
Q

Temporal Comparisons

A

People tend to think they’re better than they used to be

42
Q

Self-Presentation: Handicapping

A
  • Using excuses and behaviors to account for potential failures
  • Attributing failure to external forces
43
Q

Handicapping Behaviors

A
  • Reduced preparedness
  • Giving opponents an advantage
  • Poor initial performance
  • Decreased Effort
44
Q

Impression Management: Self-Presentation

A

We express ourselves the way we want to be perceived

45
Q

Impression Management: Self-Monitoring

A

How we monitor our behavior and adjust according to the image we want

46
Q

Self-Presentation Theory

A
  • We want to present the “good side” of ourselves
  • We have anxiety when we are motivated to impress others
  • Anxiety leads to “overpersonalizing” situations
  • We use things that reduce anxieties
47
Q

Perceived Self Control: Learned Helplessness

A
  • Occurs when you feel that you have no control over repeated negative events
  • Leads to passivity
48
Q

Perceived Self Control: Too Much Choice

A

Too much self-determination can make us feel bad when we realise we have less choice than we thought