Social Psych ch. 5

Who is more likely to have a rudimentary sense of self: lesser apes (gibbons and such) or greater apes (chimps and orangutans)?

Greater apes

When does the sense of self develop in humans?

At around 18 to 24 months of age.

What is the self-concept?

The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes.

When are people most likely to give a concrete response to the question “Who are you?”?

When they are younger/more child-like

When are people most likely to give an abstract response to the question “Who are you?”?

Adults/more mature people, such as teens to adulthood.

What is central to the self-concept?

Morality instead of cog. processes or desires.

What is an “independent view of the self”?

A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions, not that of others.

What is an “interdependent view of the self”?

A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to others internal thoughts, feelings, and actions, not that of theirs.

Which countries are more likely to have an independent view of the self?

Western countries

Which countries are more likely to have an interdependent view of the self?

East Asian Countries

What kind of view of self will people who live in states more recently settled by European Americans show?

Independent view (states like Oklahoma and Utah)

What kind of view of self will people who live in states that are more “settled”?

Interdependent view (states like Massachusetts and Connecticut)

What are the four functions of the self?

Self-knowledge, self-control, impression management, and self-esteem.

Which function of the self allows us to understand who we are and formulate + organize this information?

Self-knowledge.

Which function of the self allows us to make plans and execute decisions?

Self-control

Which function of the self allows us to present ourselves to different people and get them to see us the way we want to be seen?

Impression management

Which function of the self allows us to maintain positive views of ourselves?

Self-esteem.

What is introspection?

When we look inwards to examine the “inside information” that we have about our thoughts, feelings, and motives.

What happens to us according to the self-awareness theory?

When we are focused on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values.

What are causal theories?

Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviors, and we usually learn these theories from our culture. (ex: my mood is affected by how much sleep I get; I am in a bad mood, so it must be bc of how much I slept last night).

What happens to us according to the self-perception theory?

When our attitudes and feelings are uncertain/ambiguous, we determine the cause of it by studying our behavior in the context that it occurs in. 

How does the attributional theory connect with the self-perception theory?

The principles that we use to observe other people and make assumptions about them (attributional theory) we apply to ourselves (self-perception theory)

What is the two-factor theory of emotion?

The idea that emotional experience is the result of two-step self-perception process in which people first experience physiological arousal and then seek and appropriate explanation for it.

Why is it called the two-factor theory of emotion?

Because you go through 2 processes when deciding what emotion you are feeling: you look at your body’s physiological state and then you look at the context and determine if that is why you are feeling that emotion.

What is the misattribution of arousal?

When people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do. 

What is intrinsic motivation?

When you want to do something/engage in an activity bc we enjoy it or find it interesting (internal purposes).

What is extrinsic motivation?

When we want to do something/engage in an activity because we will get a reward out of it (external purposes).

What is the overjustification effect?

When people view their behavior as caused by compelling external motivations, allowing them to underestimate how much they may actually enjoy the activity.

What are task-contingent rewards?

Rewarding people for simply doing a task, regardless of how good they did the task.

What are performance contingent rewards?

Where the reward depends on how well the person completes the task.

Which kind of reward is more effective: task-contingent or performance-contingent?

Performance-contingent, because people are more likely to increase internal motivation bc the reward was based on how good they did.

What does the social comparison theory state?

That people learn their own abilities and attitudes by comparing themselves to others around them.

What are the two main components/questions about the social comparison theory?

When do people engage in social comparison and with who do they choose to compare themselves to?

What is upward social comparison?

When you compare yourself to people who are better than you in regards to a particular trait or ability.

What is downward social comparison?

When we compare ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability. 

What is self-control?

The ability to subdue immediate desires to achieve long-term goals.

What are implementation intentions?

When you make specific plans about where, when, and how we will fulfill a goal and avoid temptation.

What is impression management?

The attempt by people to get others to see them the way they want to be seen.

What is ingratiation?

When you use flattery or praise to make yourself likeable to another, usually someone in higher status.

What is self-handicapping?

When people create obstacles and excuses for themselves so that if they do badly, then they can avoid blaming themselves. 

What is behavioral self-handicapping?

When people act in ways that reduce the likelihood that they will succeed on a task, so that if they fail, they can blame it on the obstacles they created.

What is reported self-handicapping?

When people have ready-made excuses in case they fail.

Which gender is more critical of those who self-handicap?

Women are more critical and are less likely to engage in self-handicapping.