The Social Self Flashcards
What is the spotlight effect?
Twins to be self conscious and think that people take lots of attention to our appearance and behaviours
What is the illusion of transparency
Thinking others can easily read our concealed emotions
Who was the experimenter for the spotlight effect?
Gilovich et al, 2000
With an undesirable shirt, how many people did they think noticed against how many really noticed
50 percent thought noticed- 20 really noticed
How many for desirable?
50% thought noticed- 10% really noticed
What is pro social implications?
Fear of rejection
We are super sensitive about what others think
We experience painful social emotions when we deviate
Negative emotions keep us in line
What effect does knowing about the illusion of transparency have on it?
It reduces it
What does the spotlight effect and the illusion of transparency really mean
They illustrate the interplay between sense of self and the social world
What does our sense of self impact
How we perceive, remember and evaluate our social world
How does the social self develop?
Biological factors e.g inherited personality e.g. Extroversion
The roles we play e.g. Birth order, student, employee
Social identity: the groups you belong to e.g. Religion, race
: favour ones in group
: out-group members are similar to one another
: random allocation to groups is sufficient
How does the social self develop continued
Social comparisons: we evaluate ourselves against others e.g. Wealth and intelligence
: downward comparisons make you feel better about ourselves
: upward comparisons make you feel better
Other people’s judgements- the looking glass self, the spotlight effect
Social self develop cont.
Success and failure
Actual successful performance improves confidence and self esteem (e.g. Academic success improves confidence in academic ability)
What is the wood experiment?
Experiment in 2009 where self esteem was measured
Had to repeat I’m a loveable person 16 times during a 4 min writing task
Rated mood
Those with low self esteem felt worse
Those with high self esteem felt a bit better
What is the evidence to show we are poor at explaining our own behaviour?
Life satisfaction when raining or sunshine
Miss attribution of fear arousal to attractive girl: 50% called for feedback vs 12% for same girl on low stable bridge
What is the evidence to say we are poor at predicting our behaviour
Migram’s obedience expect helping behaviour and the influence of bystanders
Relationship longevity ( couples overestimate this)
Others might not be accurate about us
