SOCPSY W4: Self Presentation

Self presentation

Process through which we try to control impressions people form of us 

5 cases we self-present:

1. We perceive we are in the public eye

2. Our ability to reach goals can be influenced by others

3. Those goals are important to us

4. We think observers have undesirable impressions of us

5. We are high in self-monitoring

Public self-consciousness

The extent to which people believe that others are paying attention to them

• Contributes to the spotlight effect 

Spotlight effect 

We perceive our own personal actions to be more noticeable to others than they really are 

Self-monitoring 

Tendency to be chronically concerned with one’s public image and adjust one’s actions to fit current situation

High self-monitors:

• Behave inconsistently across situations

• Are good at assessing what others want and tailor their behaviour to satisfy those demands

Low self-monitors

• Don’t change much across situations

• Look inside themselves to dictate their behaviour

The nature of self-presentation

Social anxiety: fear of self-representational failure

3 goals of self-presentation: 

1. Appear likeable

2. Appear competent

3. Convey status and power

Appearing likeable: gender variances

Women are more agreeable than men; polite, kind, cooperative and modest (eg. smile more, give compliments more)

Why women are more agreeable than men?

1. Socialisation

• Women may get more social rewards for being agreeable

• Girls become more nonverbally agreeable as they grow up and learn about social expectations

2. Biology/physiology 

• Women have lower levels of hormones (testosterone) that may incline men to be more disagreeable and confrontational 

Appearing likeable: Ingratiation

Attempting to get others to like us; kissing ass

Expressing liking for others

Through verbal flattery, or non-verbal behaviours eg. smiling, mimicking their behaviour

Opinion conformity 

Agreeing with others to create similarity (and people like those who are similar to them)

Making ourselves physically attractive (3 benefits)

• Seen as more honest

• More likely to be hired for managerial positions and elected to public office

• Shorter sentences for felonies 

Projecting modesty (no definition)

Cultural differences in modesty

Asian Americans most likely to display modesty, followed by European Americans, then African Americans

• African Americans tolerate more open bragging, but only if its justified

Appearing competent: self-promotion

An attempt to get others to see us as competent

Staging performances

Seeking opportunities to demonstrate our competence in public (because our successes are sometimes overlooked)

Conversely, people who are incompetent at something will avoid public staging

Claiming competence

People let others know about their abilities indirectly rather than directly tell them about it because:

• Interferes with modesty projection

• People who are truly competent don’t need to claim it 

Cases of appropriate claims of competence:

• When they are invited (eg. at job interviews when you need to put yourself in a good light)

• When they are second-hand; said by others (eg. when your friend compliment you, or showing others your letter of recommendation)

Using the trappings of competence

People surrounding themselves with the props and habits of competence

(eg. delaying a phone call so that it seems like we’re booked and busy, or wearing clothes commonly worn by competent people)

Making excuses or claiming obstacles

Self-handicapping before a potentially poor performance or blaming external factors after a poor performance (AND making it publicly known)

Self-handicapping

Withdrawing effort or creating actual obstacles hindering one’s future successes

(eg. drinking alcohol the night before an important exam)

5 Ways people self-handicap:

1. Not practising or preparing

2. Consuming alcohol

3. Taking condition-impairing drugs

4. Choosing unattainable goals

5. Giving competitors a performance advantage

Competence motivation

The desire to perform effectively

Shyness

The tendency to feel tense, worried, or awkward in novel social situations and with unfamiliar people

// Shy people have lower competence motivation

Conveying status: gender differences

Men focus on displaying status and power more than women

• Socialisation

  • Men are socialised to present themselves as dominant, and learn than women prefer dating dominant men

• Biology/evolution

  • Men are more aggressive due to higher levels of testosterone

  • Females in many animal species choose to mate with provider males 

Self-presentational dilemma

Faced by aspiring women, as women who display their status and power are frequently disliked by both men and women

Displaying the artefacts of status and power

Powerful people eg. doctors, CEOs, as well as those who are PRETENDING to be important, have items indicating status: certifications, material possessions, posture

Conspicuous consumption (3 categories)

• Spending lavishly on houses, automobiles, and jewelry

• Giving away and wasting money

• Being generally wasteful, to the extent of damaging the environment

- ANY kind of spending that is intentionally made to be publicly known

Personal associations

• Basking in reflected glory - broadcasting associations with successful, high-status people

• Cutting off reflected failure - distancing ourselves from unsucessful, low-status people

Non-verbal dominance

Using body language, speech, and behaviours

Common behaviours of high-status people

• Maintain eye contact when speaking

• Pay less attention when listening 

• Interrupt others

• Place themselves in prominent positions

• Touch and enter others’ personal space