Lecture 17: Self I

Question 1

what is the self?

Answer 1

psychological, rather than physical

• multi-faceted construct– not just one thing, rly broad and general
• duality of self: self as object

Question 2

what are the levels of self

Answer 2

brewer + gardner

• personal (individual) self= beliefs about private self
• relational self= self in context of interpersonal relationships (ex. intimate relationships)
• collective self= self in relation to group (ex. social identity theory)

Question 3

duality of self?

Answer 3

• self as object that can be observed “me”= self concept
• self as agent doing observing= “i”= self-awareness
  = shows identity

Question 4

how does western culture define self

Answer 4

• value independence, uniqueness
• when you define yourself–> separate from others
  = independent

Question 5

how do asian cultures define self

Answer 5

• value interdependence, connectedness
• when you define yourself–> in terms of relationships to others
  = interdependent

Question 6

gender differences in defining interdependent self

Answer 6

• women= relational interdependence= focus more on their close relationships (ex. how they feel about their partner or child)
• men= collective interdependence= focus on membership in larger groups (ex. Australian, belong to cricket team)

Question 7

variability can be seen in…

Answer 7

• within culture and gender differences

- diff types of self-views can be important within individual (bicultural individual)

Question 8

how do we know who we are: introspection

Answer 8

• looking inward
• look at you own thoughts and feelings
• problem: we don’t always have access to our internal feelings, or their causes

Question 9

how do we know who we are: introspection–> experiment 1

Answer 9

Nisbett + Wilson

• product evaluation: how much do you like product– all stockings were identical
• ps chose pair of stockings from display
• showed right hand bias= majority right handed, so drawn to R side
• don’t know reasons for our decisions

Question 10

how do we know who we are: observing our beh

Answer 10

self perception theory (Bem)

• try to understand who we are from what we do– observing our beh
• likely to occur when:
• unsure of our attitudes + feelings
• attitudes + feelings are weak
• we chose beh freely

Question 11

when we are observing our own beh, what do we ask ourselves?

Answer 11

is situation sufficient to explain beh?– situation made you do it

• if yes= beh due to external factors
• no= beh due to internal reasons= reveals something about self

Question 12

how do we work out whether situation is sufficient to explain our behs?

Answer 12

ask ourselves: is beh freely chosen?

• intrinsic: do something cause you enjoy it
• extrinsic: do something cause of external rewards or pressures
• if intrinsic= infer feelings from beh

Question 13

rewards decreases…

Answer 13

intrinsic motivation

- kids who were promised + received reward for drawing later showed less interest in drawing

Question 14

how do we know who we are: introspection–> experiment 2

Answer 14

Wilson + Laser
“introspection” group (diary group)
- in diary recorded:
1. various factors that could influence mood– so like record if it was raining, if it was a monday, etc
2. rate your mood
- estimated extent to which various factors influenced their moods
“observer” group
- estimated extent to which various factors influence mood
results= observer group= just as accurate as introspection group
introspection= doesn’t lead to insight about causes of our moods