PSYC 307 - Chapter 8

Self-Enhancement

The motivation to view oneself positively.

Self-Esteem

The positivity of your overall evaluation of yourself.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency for people to exaggerate their positive characteristics.

Downward Social Comparison

Comparing your performance with that of someone who is doing even worse, thereby making your performance seem not as bad.

Upward Social Comparison

Comparing your performance with someone who is doing better than you.

Compensatory Self-Enhancement

When you acknowledge the poor performance you had but think about how good you are at something unrelated to your setback; can compensate for the pain of failure.

Discounting

Reducing the perceived importance of your poor performance.

External Attribution

Interpreting the reason for your poor performance as being caused by something outside yourself.

Internal Attribution

Interpreting the reason for your poor performance as being caused by factors within yourself.

Basking in the Reflected Glory

Feeling a sense of pride or success by associating oneself with the achievements of others, particularly in a group context.

Predestination

The idea that before a person is born, it was already determined whether he or she would be one of the fortunate “elect” who would spend eternity in blessed heaven after death, or one of the wretched many doomed to burn in hell forever.

Face

The amount of social value others give you if you live up to the standards associated with your position.It reflects your social reputation and respect in various contexts.

Self-Improvement

Identifying potential weaknesses and working on correcting them.

Prevention Orientation

A cautious approach that tries to ensure that people are not acting in a way that will cause them to lose face.

Promotion Orientation

A concern with advancing oneself and aspiring for gains.

Incremental Theory of the World

Holds that our environment is flexible and responsive to our efforts to change things.

Entity Theory of the World

Holds that our environment is fixed, and making changes is beyond our control.

Primary Control

Refers to efforts aimed at changing the environment to fit one's needs and desires, emphasizing the individual's ability to exert influence over their circumstances.

Secondary Control

Refers to adjusting one's thoughts and feelings to align with the environment, rather than attempting to change the environment itself.

Learned Helplessness

A condition in which a person feels powerless and unable to control or avoid unpleasant events, leading to stress and even depression.