Self & Personality Flashcards
(91 cards)
What is the self?
The self refers to an individual’s comprehensive perception of their own identity, character, and nature. It encompasses various components that collectively answer the question “Who am I?”.
- The totality of Alex’s identity, including his thoughts, emotions, and personality.
Example: Alex is a unique individual with memories, feelings, and a sense of personal existence.
The notion of the self is fundamentally social
What is self-concept?
Self-concept is the mental image one has of themselves, including how they perceive their traits, behaviors, beliefs and attitudes. It is subjective and can be changed, in which case the environment plays a huge role.
* How Alex perceives himself overall.
**Example: **“I am a hardworking student, but I struggle with public speaking.”
How individuals see themselves.
What are the components of self-concept according to Carl Rogers?
According to Carl Rogers, the self-concept is composed of three parts:
* ideal self
* self-image
* self-esteem
What is the ideal self?
The ideal self is the person you want to be. This person has the attributes or qualities you are either working toward or want to possess. It’s who you envision yourself to be if you were exactly the person you wanted to be.
* The person Alex wants to be.
Example: “I want to be confident, successful, and a great leader.”
What is self-image?
Self-image refers to how you see yourself at this moment in time. Physical characteristics, personality traits, and social roles affect your self-image.
* How Alex sees himself in the present.
Example: “I see myself as intelligent but socially awkward.”
What is self-esteem?
How much you like, accept, and value yourself contributes to your self-concept. Self-esteem can be affected by a number of factors, including how others see you, how you think you compare to others, and your role in society.
* How Alex feels about himself (his self-worth).
Example:“I feel good about my academic achievements, but I often doubt my social skills.”
Evaluative component of self-concept, overall positive or negative view.
What is self-schema?
A self-schema is a cognitive structure derived from past experience that represents a person’s beliefs and feelings about the self, in both general and specific situations.
* Self-Schema – The mental framework Alex uses to organize information about himself.
Example: ‘hardworking student’ self-schema, so I always prioritize studying and get anxious if I don’t perform well in school.”
Self-schemas may increase the memory for information relevant to us.
Example of a self-schema
A person who identifies as athletic may:
* frequently engage in physical activities such as running, swimming, or playing sports.
* pay close attention to their fitness, diet, and overall health.
* feel confident and motivated in situations involving physical challenges.
How can personality be described?
Personality refers to the unique and relatively stable patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour that define an individual and their distinctive way of experiencing and interacting with the world.
What is working self-concept?
Working self-concept is a subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context.
Class: intelligent; organized
Party: outgoing; fun
What is reflected self-appraisal?
Reflected self-appraisal refers to a belief about what others think of one’s self.
What is reflected appraisal/looking glass theory? (Cooley, 1902)
Reflected appraisal, also known as the looking-glass self, is the process by which individuals form their self-views based on their perceptions of how others see and evaluate them. It involves reciprocal influence: self-views affect judgments of others’ views, and judgments of others’ views affect self-views.
What is self-stereotyping?
Self-stereotyping is the phenomenon whereby people come to define themselves in terms of traits, norms, and values that they associate with a social group when their identity as a member of the group is salient.
What is social identity?
Social identities are parts of a person’s sense of self that are derived from particular group memberships.
Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)
Social Comparison Theory suggests that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves, often in comparison to others, trying to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal states
Types of comaprison
According to Leon Festinger, there are two types of comaparison people engage in:
* upward social comparison
* downward social comparison
What is Upward Social Comparison?
Upward comparison takes place when we compare ourselves with those who we believe are better than or superior to us.
* These comparisons often focus on the desire to improve ourselves, our current status, or our level of ability. We might compare ourselves to someone better off and look for ways that we can achieve similar results.
confirms low self-esteem
What is Downward Social Comparison?
Downward social comparisons are when we compare ourselves to others who are worse off than us.
* Such comparisons are often centered on making ourselves feel better about our abilities or traits. We might not be great at something, but at least we are better off than someone else.
protects high self-esteem
Sociometer Hypothesis (Mark Leary)
The idea that self-esteem is and internal, subjective index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favourably by others.
High self-esteem indicates we are thriving in our relationships (low chance of rejection).
Low self-esteem suggests that we are having inerpersonal difficulties (high probability of rejection).
Contingencies of self-worth (Jennifer Crocker)
People’s self-esteem is contingent on their successes and failures in domains they deem important to their self-worth.
What is better-than-average effect?
The finding that most people think they are above average on various personality trait and ability dimensions.
e.g., most people believe they are above average drivers, even after having a car accident.
What is self-enhancement?
The desire to maintain, increase or protect one’s positive self-views.
Self-Affirmation Theory (Steele, 1988)
The idea that people can maintain an overall sense of self-worth after being exposed to psychologically threatening information by affirming a valued aspect of themselves unrelated to the threat.
Self-Verification Theory (Swann, 1990)
The theory that people strive for others to view them as they view themselves. Such verification o one’s view of the self helps people maintain a sense of coherence and predictability, which helps social interactions go more smoothly.
