Lecture 3

Question 1

What is the self concept?

Answer 1

What we know and believe about ourselves.

Question 2

How well do we know ourself?

Answer 2

We think we know ourselves better than other people know us. But we tend to eye ourselves in a more positive light. We are also not aware of our mental processes.

Question 3

What are schemas?

Answer 3

They are internal cognitive structures that contain generalized knowledge about the world.

Frameworks that guide our perceptions and interpretations of incoming information.

Help us organize our knowledge about the world.

Question 4

What are self-schemas?

Answer 4

Cognitive generalizations about the self —> from past experiences

Question 5

What is the study of nisbett and Wilson about our knowledge of why we do things?

Answer 5

Participants were asked to choose a pair of nylon stockings to show the influence of the order of things. People were not able to identify why they chose one nylon over the other.

Question 6

What is the self-perception theory?

Answer 6

When we are uncertain about our attitudes and feelings, we infer by observing our own behaviour.

Question 7

What is the study of chairmen and Baldwin about weak and strong attitudes?

Answer 7

Ps had weak or strong attitudes about the environment. Manipulated the perception of their env-related behaviour.

Do you sometimes recycle vs do you always recycle.

People with weak attitudes prior engaged in self perception processes and inferred by the behaviour their position. Strong attitudes not influenced.

Question 8

Name the concept.

We come to know ourselves through people’s reactions to us.

Answer 8

Looking glass self

Question 9

What is the key point of reflected self appraisal?

Answer 9

Our self-identity develops from how we imagine others see us.

Question 10

Name the concept.

A belief about what others think of one’s self.

Answer 10

Reflected self-appraisal

Question 11

What is the social comparison theory?

Answer 11

It has 3 hypotheses.

• we are driven to evaluate our opinions and abilities
• when objectives standards are not available, we engage in social comparisons
• we tend to engage in comparisons with people who are not too dissimilar

Question 12

What were the findings of the Morse and Gergen study where people went to an interview and compared themselves to a good looking man or an unkept man?

Answer 12

Downward comparison = comparing ourselves with people who are worse off
Upward comparison = comparing ourselves with people who are better off

Question 13

Describe self-esteem.

Answer 13

The positive or negative evaluation a person has of themselves.

Question 14

What is the trait level of self-esteem?

Answer 14

It’s our self-esteem that is fairly stable and has an enduring level of self-regard.

Question 15

What is the state level of self-esteem?

Answer 15

It’s the dynamic and changing feelings about the self. It varies from moment to moment.

Question 16

What are the contingencies of the self-worth model?

Answer 16

People seek to maintain, protect and enhance self-esteem by attempting to obtain success and avoid failure in domains on which self-esteem has been staked. It impacts what activities we seek out. Domains we care about more impact our self esteem more. It is wise to space our self esteem in more fields so that it’s not dependent on only one field.

Question 17

What is the social meter theory?

Answer 17

Theory posing that people use self-esteem as a gauge to assess the degree to which they are accepted by others.

Question 18

How is self esteem influenced by what others believe?

Answer 18

Success in a given domain increases self-esteem to the extent that the domain is believed to be valued by others.

Question 19

What is naive realism?

Answer 19

Belief that we see the world as it is.

Goes with the belief that others see the world as we do.

Question 20

What is narcissism?

Answer 20

It is characterized by an unrealistic and self-aggrandizement views of the self. It can lead to defensiveness and aggression toward people who threaten their positive self-view.

Question 21

What is self- enhancement motivation?

Answer 21

-Motivation to view oneself positively

Question 22

What is the better than average effect?

Answer 22

’ Most people think they are above average on various personality trait and ability dimensions

Question 23

What are self-serving construals?

Answer 23

• People think of themselves as above average on value traits (niceness ‘ intelligence). -When specific, this construal diminishes
  .

Question 24

Name the theory. - theory explaining how people can maintain a positive overall sense of self-worth in the face of threats to their self-concept.

Answer 24

Self-affirmation theory

Question 25

What is the self-concept clarity?

Answer 25

The extent to which one possess a clearly defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable sense of self

Question 26

What is the self-verification theory?

Answer 26

People strive to maintain a coherent self-view because it serves our need for prediction and control. People will seek feedback that reinforced their self-view, even when self-view is negative.

Question 27

What are the self-verification strategies?

Answer 27

1) developing self-confirmatory social environments - people see interactions with people that will support their self-view. - Looking the part of how we want people to view us to confirm our self-view 2) Engaging cognitive strategies that produce the illusion of a self-confirmatory social environment - selective attention to feedback confirming one’s self-view -better recall for self-confirmatory rather than self-discrepant feedback

Question 28

What is the difference between self-enhancement and self-verification?

Answer 28

Both motivations are in play Self-enhancement theory is connected to affective responses Self-verification theory is connected to cognitive responses

Question 29

What is self-regulation?

Answer 29

Processes by which people initiate, later, and control their behaviour in the pursuit of their goals? Involves ability to prioritize long-term goals over immediate rewards

Question 30

Explain the self-discrepancy theory.

Answer 30

*Actual self* - beliefs about what you are actually like *Ideal self* - beliefs about what we would like to be *Ought self* - beliefs about what we ought to be

Question 31

What are the emotions felt with congruencies between the actual self and the ideal self and what emotions are felt when there are discrepancies?

Answer 31

Congruancies? - cheerfulness related emotions Discrepancies - dejection related emotions

Question 32

What are the emotions felt when people experience congruencies and discrepancies between the ought self and the actual self?

Answer 32

Congruencies - quiescence related emotions Discrepancies - agitation related emotions

Question 33

What is the difference between hot and cool processes?

Answer 33

Hot - drive by strong emotions - energize ys to pursue rewards Cool - driven by reasoning - keep us on track as we pursue long-term goals

Question 34

What is the implémentation-intention?

Answer 34

An « if-then «  plan to engage in a goal-directed behaviour whenever a particular clue is encountered

Question 35

What is the self-presentation?

Answer 35

Presenting the person we would like others to believe we are. Social interaction as dramatic performance

Question 36

Describe self-monitoring.

Answer 36

Tendency to monitor our behaviour to fit the current situation. People dan be high or low on this

Question 37

Describe self-handicapping

Answer 37

Protecting one’s self-image by engaging in self-defeating behaviours that provide an excuse for later failure