Social Psychology Study Guide: The Self, Socialization, and Prejudice

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions from Stephen L. Franzoi's Social Psychology, including the self, self-presentation, gender socialization, and forms of prejudice and sexism.

Self

A person's understanding of who they are, including their thoughts, feelings, characteristics, and social roles.

Self-Concept

The collection of beliefs and ideas you have about yourself that answers the question, 'Who am I?'

Self-Awareness

The ability to focus attention on yourself and recognize your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and characteristics.

Self-Esteem

How positively or negatively you evaluate your own worth.

Implicit Self-Esteem

Your automatic, unconscious evaluation of yourself.

Explicit Self-Esteem

Your conscious, deliberate evaluation of yourself.

The "I" (Mead)

The spontaneous, impulsive part of the self that responds to situations in an unplanned way.

The "Me" (Mead)

The part of the self shaped by social expectations, rules, and how you believe others see you.

Spotlight Effect

The tendency to believe that other people notice and pay more attention to your appearance, behavior, or mistakes than they actually do.

Self-Regulation

The ability to control or adjust your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve goals or follow personal and social standards.

Self-Presentation Styles

The strategies people use to influence how others perceive them.

Ingratiation

A self-presentation strategy of trying to make others like you through compliments, friendliness, or agreement.

Modesty

A self-presentation strategy of downplaying your achievements or abilities to appear humble.

Exemplification

A self-presentation strategy of presenting yourself as especially dedicated, hardworking, or morally responsible.

Self-Promotion

A self-presentation strategy of emphasizing your accomplishments, skills, or abilities to appear competent.

Self-Monitoring

The extent to which people observe and adjust their behavior to fit different social situations.

Self-Handicapping

Creating or claiming obstacles that provide an excuse for possible failure and protect self-esteem.

Delayed Gratification

Resisting an immediate reward in order to receive a larger or more valuable reward later.

Sex

Biological characteristics associated with being male, female, or intersex, including reproductive anatomy, hormones, and chromosomes.

Gender

Socially shaped identities, roles, expectations, and behaviors associated with masculinity, femininity, and other gender identities.

Gender Socialization

The process through which people learn cultural expectations about gender from family, peers, schools, media, and other social institutions.

Looking-Glass Self

Charles Cooley's concept that our self-concept develops partly through how we imagine others perceive and judge us.

Public Self-Awareness

Focusing on the aspects of yourself that other people can observe, such as your appearance, behavior, and reputation.

Private Self-Awareness

Focusing on your internal experiences, such as your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and personal values.

Social Comparison

Evaluating yourself by comparing your abilities, achievements, opinions, or characteristics with those of other people.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself with someone you perceive as better or more successful than you, which can inspire you or make you feel inadequate.

Downward Social Comparison

Comparing yourself with someone you perceive as worse off than you, which may help you feel better about your own situation.

Self-Consciousness

The tendency to direct attention toward yourself and be aware of how you think, feel, behave, or appear to others.

Private Self-Consciousness

Frequently paying attention to your inner thoughts and feelings.

Public Self-Consciousness

Frequently worrying about how other people see and evaluate you.

Actual Self

Who you believe you are right now.

Ideal Self

Who you would like to become based on your hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

Ought Self

Who you believe you should be based on duties, obligations, and expectations.

Stereotype

A belief or generalized assumption about a group.

Prejudice

An attitude, evaluation, or feeling toward a group or its members.

Discrimination

Behavior or actions that unfairly treat people differently because of their group membership.

Institutional Discrimination

Policies, practices, or established procedures within organizations and institutions that disadvantage certain social groups, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Implicit Prejudice

Automatic or unconscious negative associations or evaluations toward a social group that may influence judgments and behavior.

Explicit Prejudice

Conscious attitudes or beliefs about a social group that a person recognizes and may deliberately express.

Contemptuous Prejudice

Negative attitudes toward groups perceived as having low status and posing little competition, marked by dislike, disrespect, or contempt.

Envious Prejudice

Mixed attitudes toward groups perceived as competent or successful but also as competitors, admiring their achievements while resenting them.

Racism

Prejudice, discriminatory behavior, or systems of disadvantage based on race or racialized group membership.

Weight Prejudice

Negative attitudes, stereotypes, or unfair treatment directed at people because of their body weight or size; also called weight stigma or weight bias.

Heterosexism

The assumption that heterosexuality is normal or superior, which can result in the exclusion or disadvantage of people with other sexual orientations.

Anti-Gay Attitudes

Negative beliefs, feelings, or behaviors directed toward gay people, which may be described as sexual-orientation prejudice or homophobia.

Religious Prejudice

Negative attitudes, stereotypes, or unfair treatment directed at people because of their religion or religious beliefs, or because they do not follow a particular religion.

Sexism

Prejudice, stereotypes, or discrimination based on sex or gender, often involving beliefs that one gender is superior or should occupy particular roles.

Ambivalent Sexism

A form of sexism that combines two seemingly different attitudes toward women: hostile sexism and benevolent sexism.

Hostile Sexism

Openly negative, resentful, or antagonistic attitudes toward women, particularly when perceived as challenging men's power or traditional gender roles.

Benevolent Sexism

Attitudes toward women that appear positive, protective, or affectionate but are based on traditional stereotypes and can limit women's independence.