Self-Presentation (Midterm #2) Flashcards
Self-Presentation
Any behaviour made with the intention of influencing how other people see you. The process of constructing and maintaining a desired reputation.
Self-presentation tends to be automatic not strategic
Follows behavioural scripts/habits that have been frequently rewarded in the past. (E.g. smiling and listening attentively because these have led to past approval). More likely with people we’re familiar with and who know us well.
Self-presentation is sometimes more controlled
i.e. more self-conscious and focused on the impression we’re creating, including planning and rehearsing the self-presentation. More likely when the audience is important and we’re uncertain bout the impression we’re creating (e.g. job interview or date).
Self-Presentation Stems from desire to be Liked
Self-presentation is often motivated by the desire to be liked by others. Rooted in evolution: A good reputation increases one’s chances of survival and reproduction. In modern times, a good reputation is also essential for smooth and successful social functioning. Leads to pervasive socially desirable behaviour.
Public vs Private Self
Lab studies consistently demonstrate that people behave in more socially desirable ways in public vs. private. In public, people are: more generous and helpful when others are watching, conform more and accept more influence from others, work harder when watched.
The Pains of Avoiding a Bad Impression Study (Vonasch et al., 2018)
Study: How far will people go to avoid a bad reputation? Method: Recruited non-Black students. Participants informed that the university is studying implicit racism in students. Completed IAT as measure of implicit racism. Get fake feedback that they got a score showing that they are highly racist. Given a choice to endure pain instead of broadcasting IAT score to university community. What do they choose?
The Pains of Avoiding a Bad Impression Study (Vonasch et al., 2018) - Results
63% of participants chose to endure pain instead of sharing IAT score.
The Pains of Avoiding a Bad Impression Study (Vonasch et al., 2018) - Follow-up Study
30% of students chose to hold their hand in a bucket of worms for 1 min rather than broadcast high racism score. Suggests that people have a strong desire to maintain a moral reputation and will go to great lengths to avoid a bad reputation.
Self-Enhancement Moderated on Audience
In order to be liked, self-presentation is usually self-enhancing. But, the extent to which we are self-enhancing in self-presentations depends on the audience. With strangers, we are generally more self-enhancing (job interview or date). With close others (e.g. friends) we are generally more modest and more willing to self-present a less perfect image.
Self-presentation adjusted to please the audience
We conform our behaviour to what we think others expect and want from us. What is likeable and appropriate depends on the audience. E.g. pretending to like the same band as your crush. Can lead to self-presenting in a negative way.
Dumbing down to be liked study (Zanna & Pack, 1975)
Study: Do women minimize their competence in order to create positive impressions? Method: Female students at Princeton University. Pre-test questionnaire: agree/disagree with traditional female stereotypic traits. 3 weeks later “Impression formation study”: Male interaction partner will form impression based on info female participant provides. Meet interaction partner to determine accuracy of impression. Manipulated perceptions of the man as: traditional/untraditional and attractive/unattractive. Participants then completed the following as part of info that partner will see: “Intelligence test”: Anagram task & Same pre-study questionnaire about traditional values given 3 weeks ago.
Dumbing down to be liked study (Zanna & Pack, 1975) - Results
If man was unattractive, didn’t affect performance on intelligence test. If the man was attractive, women conformed intellect performance to what they thought the man would like. If man was unattractive, no change in self-descriptions. If attractive, women changed self-descriptions to conform to what they thought the man liked.
Implications of Dumbing down to be liked study
Evidence that we conform our self-presentations to what we think our interaction partner will like. BUT this desire to be liked can lead us to self-present in a negative, problematic way if we believe this will please the audience (E.g. minimize competence if the audience values less competence, present in an inauthentic way that conflicts with identity and important values).
The Dark Side of Self-Presentation
Research indicates that our desire to be liked by others can lead us to self-present in ways that are unhealthy and detrimental: Smoking and substance abuse, malnutrition and eating disorders, plastic surgery…etc
Taking a Risk for a Good Impression Study (Ronay & von Hippel, 2010)
Study: Does the desire to come across as attractive lead to greater risk-taking? Method: 96 heterosexual male skateboarders. In front of a male experiments, instructed to perform 10 tricks with a. mix of easy and difficult tricks. Experimental manipulation: Male experimenter: Perform the tricks again in front of the male experimenter. Female experimenter: Perform the tricks again in front of an attractive female experimenter. Coded tricks: Successful trick, crash landing (failed): indicator of high risk-taking.
Taking a Risk for a Good Impression Study (Ronay & von Hippel, 2010) - Results
Participants had more successful tricks when performing in front of the female experimenter, but also performed more risky tricks and had more crash landings. Suggests that the desire to impress the female experimenter led to more risk-taking and therefore more accidents.
Ways that Self-Presentation Backfires
When our attempts to get others to like us actually creates a negative impression.
1. Too obvious: If it becomes clear that we’re doing things mainly to be liked, they are less effective.
2. Come across as bragging: Bragging is interpreted as a negative judgment about others, including the listener.
3. Behaviour doesn’t match claims: Leads to perception of being unreliable and untrustworthy.
Self-Presentation to Achieve Other Goals
Self-presentation, whether positive or negative, can also be motivated by other goals. E.g. Come across in an intimidating way to install fear in others to get them to do what you want. E.g. Self-present as a weak and helpless to get others to take care of you. E.g. Assert important identity even if it interferes with the being liked (consistent with self-verification).
Characteristic of Desirable Self-Presentations
Beneficial: The actor views it as facilitating their goals. Believable: The self-presentation can be credibly presented and defended to the audience.
Believability of Self-Presentations
In general, people are pretty good at creating believable self-presentations (E.g. when instructed to behave in an introverted or extrovert way, people are able to convince onlookers that they actually have these characteristics, regardless of whether they really do). In general, onlookers are bad at detecting deception: Even in close relationships, even people who we think should be experienced lie detectors like police officers, psychologists, judges.
Importance of Consistency
Self-presentation produces obligations for people to follow through on who they say are in the long-run: If don’t live up to self-presentation, will be seen as unreliable, untrustworthy, and/or incompetent. Highlights that a good reputation matters more than a good impression. People that are seen as inconsistent tend to be less liked.
Creating a Believable Impression Study (Schlenker, 1975)
Study: How positive of an impression to convey in order to ensure believability? Method: Participants led to believe that they would participate in a group on a social intelligence task. Experimental manipulation: Performance on group task will be public to the group, or performance on task is anonymous. Give a pre-test to assess their individual social intelligence and give bogus feedback (experimental manipulation). Success: Told that they’re either very socially intelligent. Failure: Told that they’re not very socially intelligent. Before the group task, participants exchanged personal information with each other (opportunity to self-present).
Creating a Believable Impression Study (Schlenker, 1975) - Results
Self-presentation depends on whether others can verify the claims or not. Under anonymous conditions, self-presentation was self-enhancing regardless of actual performance (claims cannot be verified). Under public conditions, self-presentation consistent with actual performance (claims can be verified).
Creating a Believable Impression Study (Schlenker, 1975) - Implications
We present ourselves as positively as we can get away with. If information contradictory to claims can be hidden, people tend to be self-enhancing. If contradiction will be public, people self-present more accurately to ensure consistency between claims and behaviour: E.g. better to set realistic expectations in work setting so that boss doesn’t have expectations of you that you can’t meet.
