The Social Self and Social Media (Lecture Notes)

A collection of practice questions (Question and Answer format) covering key concepts from the lecture on the social self, self-evaluation, social media psychology, and health psychology.

What is self-esteem?

A person’s global evaluation of themselves—the overall sense of self-worth—often measured via self-report and subject to response bias.

What is self-efficacy?

Belief in one’s ability to perform a specific task, which can influence effort and persistence independent of actual ability.

What is the key difference between self-esteem and self-efficacy?

Self-esteem is a global self-view, while self-efficacy is task-specific belief in ability to perform a task.

What are the two components of Hope Theory (Snyder)?

Pathway thinking (creating multiple routes to goals) and Agency thinking (motivational effort to pursue those routes).

What does pathway thinking involve?

Constructing multiple pathways to achieve goals; if one path is blocked, others can be pursued.

What does agency thinking involve?

The motivation or will to pursue the identified pathways toward goals.

What did longitudinal research find about Hope Theory and academic performance?

Year 7 Hope predicted Year 12 academic outcomes; self-esteem in Year 7 did not predict later outcomes.

What is self-affirmation theory?

When identity is threatened in one domain, people bolster self-worth by emphasizing other valued aspects of themselves.

What is self-comparison theory?

Evaluating one’s performance by comparing with relevant others to judge relative standing.

What is the marshmallow study and what does it show about self-control?

A delay-of-gratification task showing that ability to wait predicts better long-term outcomes (health, finances, lower criminality).

What is the looking-glass self?

The idea that our self-image comes from how others perceive and respond to us, shaping our self-concept.

What did Cooley’s littering experiment illustrate about labeling vs persuasion?

Labeling children as ‘neat and tidy’ was more effective than simply persuading them to be neat.

What is self-presentation or self-monitoring?

The tendency to monitor and adjust one’s behavior to influence others’ perceptions; high self-monitors adapt to create positive impressions.

What is the spotlight effect?

The tendency to overestimate how many people notice our appearance or actions; people think more notice than they actually do.

What are some early precursors to modern social media?

Bulletin boards, The Well (1985) as an early virtual community, and Koala Country (early Australian site); email as an early social medium.

What is The Well in the history of social networking?

A US-based online community launched in 1985, often regarded as one of the first virtual communities with topic-focused forums.

What are 'communicators' and 'broadcasters' in social media usage?

Communicators seek to maintain relationships and exchange information; broadcasters seek broad exposure and many online connections, often with less emphasis on depth.

How is narcissism related to social media use?

Higher narcissism is linked to more online friends and self-promotion, emphasizing quantity and image over deep relationships.

What Big Five traits are commonly related to social media use, and what happened with openness to experience?

Extroversion and neuroticism are often linked to higher use; openness to experience initially predicted use but later studies failed to replicate.

What did early data (2006) show about recruiters using social media in hiring?

About 77% of recruiters used search engines to screen candidates; roughly 26% reported finding online information that ruled out a candidate.

What is online stalking and how does it relate to behavior online?

Passive surveillance of others’ online content without active interaction; enables information gathering without direct contact.

How do adult attachment styles relate to online social behavior like stalking?

Secure and anxious-ambivalent attachments are linked to using online tools for connection; avoidant attachment shows weaker or unclear links.

What is the three-stage stress response (alarm, resistance, exhaustion) and why does chronic activation matter?

Alarm: recognition of threat; Resistance: sustained mobilization; Exhaustion: depletion and return toward baseline—chronic activation harms health.

What is hardiness in the context of stress?

A combination of commitment, challenge, and perceived control; hardy individuals show better health outcomes and lower sickness under stress.

What is optimistic explanatory style?

Optimists tend to attribute failures to external, unstable factors and successes to internal, stable factors, supporting a self-serving view.

What is self-report bias and why is it important in psychology?

A tendency for people to misreport or distort answers on questionnaires, affecting the accuracy of measures like self-esteem and self-concept.