THE SOCIAL SELF Flashcards
(22 cards)
The ABCs of the Self
*Affect
* Behavior
* Cognition
The Self-Concept
Sum total of an individual’s beliefs about their own attributes
Psychology is dominated by which culture?
Western Culture and its biases
Individualism
–> One’s culture values the virtues of independence, autonomy, and self-reliance
- personal achievement
- higher levels of self-esteem
- Feeling good about oneself, as an individual, is highly valued
Collectivism
–> One’s culture values the virtues of interdependence, cooperation, and social harmony
- People derive more satisfaction from the status of the valued group
- Value placed on self-improvement
- Feeling good about one’s contribution to collective goals
Independant vs Interdependant view of the self
Independent
― Defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions; and not those of other people
Interdependent
― Defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people; recognizing one’s behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others
Introspection:
The process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts,
feelings, and motives
Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1972)
When our attitudes/feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, or internal cues are difficult to interpret, we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs
Self–Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA; Vazire, 2010)
- For some traits, we perceive ourselves better than others
- Yet in other cases, others perceive us better than we do ourselves
Overjustification Effect
In the presence of rewards for behaviour (e.g., a paycheck!)
Social Tuning
The process whereby people
adopt another person’s attitudes
Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)
The idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people
Self-Control: The Executive Function
Making choices about present and planning for the future
Self-Regulatory Resource Model
Views self-control as a limited resource
Ego Depletion
State where previous acts of self-control drains ability to control future behavior
Sociometer Theory (Leary and Baumeister)
▪ People are inherently social animals
▪ The desire for self-esteem is driven by a more primitive need to connect with others
Terror Management Theory (Greenberg, Solomon, and Pyszczynski)
▪ Humans are biologically programmed for life and self-preservation
▪ We are conscious of—and terrified by—the inevitability of our own death
Impression Management
Strategies people use to shape what others to see them as they want to be seen
Spotlight Effect
A tendency to believe that the social spotlight shines more brightly on us than it really does
Impression Management
The attempt to get others to see us as we want to be seen (Appearing Likeable)
Ingratiation
Trying to make ourselves likeable to another person, often of higher status (similar to Impression Management)
Self-Verification Theory
When we are motivated to have views of the self that are accurate, consistent, and coherent
