Week 2 Psych.

The concept of “social me” refers to what? (According to William James')

The parts of self-knowledge that come from social relationships. It is the self-information we gain from how others recognize, react to us and interact with us.

If someone describes herself as a daughter, friend, student, and teammate, what part of the self is she emphasizing?

The social self/social me, because she is defining herself through relationships and social roles.

What is introspection

Looking inward to examine your own thoughts, feelings, motives, and behaviours. It can help self-knowledge, but it is not always perfectly accurate.

What is the narrated self?

The complex “story” people tell about who they are. It goes beyond simple introspection by creating a narrative identity

How may birth order shape the social self?

Older siblings may become more responsible & supportive of norms

Younger siblings may become more rebellious or open to experience

What is the looking-glass self + its three steps?

The idea that we form self-view based on how we believe others see and judge us. Other people’s reactions act like a mirror.

(1) We imagine how we appear to others, (2) imagine how they judge us, and (3) then feel emotions based on those imagined judgements.

If someone thinks their classmate saw them as smart after answering a question, and they feel more confident, what concept is this?

The looking-glass self or reflected self-appraisal, because their self-view is shaped by how they think others judged them.

What is reflected self-appraisal

Beliefs about what others think of us in social contexts. It is closely connected to the looking glass self.

What does situationism mean when applied to the self?

The self changes depending on the situation. Different contexts bring out different versions of who we are.

What is the working self-concept?

The subset of self-knowledge that is active in a particular context.

Ex. “student” in class, “daughter,” at home, or “employee" at work.

What is districtiveness + give example.

Distinctiveness: the idea that parts of the self that make us feel unique in a specific context become more salient or prioritized.

Ex. If a 30 year old undergraduate becomes especially aware of their age in a class of mostly 18- year olds (because the aspect of the self that makes someone stand out becomes more important to self-definition.)

Independent view of self vs. interdependent view of self?

Independent self: Separate, autonomous, defined by personal traits/preferences.

Interdependent self: connected to others, defined by relationships, duties, shared traits, and group memberships.

Which culture tend to emphasize independent (+ interdependent) views of the self?

Independent: Mostly North American and Western Europe cultures

Interdependent: Many East Asian, South Asian, Mediterranean, Latin American, and African cultures.

Someone says, “I am ambitious, creative, stubborn, and independent.” What self view does this reflect?

An Independent self-view, because the person is defining themselves through individual traits and preferences.

Someone says, “I am a daughter, a sister, part of my family, and a member of my community.” What self-view does this reflect?

An interdependent self-view, because the person is defining themselves through relationships, roles, and group memberships.

What did the “who are you?” cultural research show?

Most individualistic groups, like American undergraduates, gave more personal-characteristic responses.

More collectivistic groups, like Maasai and Samburu tribespeople, gave more role/group-membership responses.

In Heine’s culture study with facial expressions, how did Japanese participants differ from North American participants?

Japanese participants were more likely to consider the emotions of background people when judging the central person’s emotion, showing a more context-sensitive/interdependent style.

How does gender relate to self-construal, on average?

Men tend to show more independent self-views, while women tend to show more interdependent self-views and are more likely to describe themselves through relationships

What are two explanations for gender differences in the social self?

Socialization: boys and girls are taught different expectations

Evolution: independence may have historically helped males in competition/hunting, while interdependence may have helped females in caregiving/social bonds.

What caveat did the lecture give about gender and social-self research?

Much research has focused on cisgender and heterosexual people, so findings may be limited and should not be overgeneralised.

Relational vs. collective interdependent self-construal?

Relational interdependence: Self defined through close relationships

Collective interdependence: Self defined through larger group like culture, nation, religion, school, or team.

What is social comparison?

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Downward vs. upward social comparison?

Comparing ourselves to others to evaluate our abilities, opinions, traits, or internal states.

Downward comparison: Compare to someone doing worse, which can boost self-esteem.

Upward comparison: Compare to someone doing better, which may feel bad but motivate improvement

What is self esteem?

The overall positive or negative evaluation a person has of themselves.

Why should we be careful when saying low self-esteem causes depression or poor coping?

Because the links are correlational, not necessarily causal. Depression may lower self-esteem, low self-esteem may contribute to depression, or another factors may affect both.

Trait self-esteem vs. state self-esteem?

Trait self-esteem is stable self-regard across time

State self-esteem is temporary and changes depending on the situation

What are contingencies of self-worth? +example

The idea that self-esteem depends on success or failure in domains that matter to a person. A bad grade hurts more if school is central to your self worth.

ex. Someone feels crushed by a bad exam mark because academics are central to who they are

What is the sociometer hypothesis?

The idea that self-esteem acts like an internal meter of social acceptance. It rises when we feel included and valued, and drops when we feel rejected.

How does culture affect self esteem?

Independent cultures emphasise feeling good about the individual self. Interdependent cultures place more emphasis on self-improvement and contributing to collective goals.

Why does higher reported self-esteem in Western cultures not mean non-Western cultures are less happy?

Because cultures define self-worth differently. Western measures of self-esteem focus on the individual self, while interdependent cultures may value improvement and collective contribution more.

Self enhancement vs. self-verification?

Self enhancement: wanting to see yourself positively

Self verification: wanting stable, consistent self-beliefs, even if those beliefs are negative.

What is the better-than-average effect?

The tendency for most people to believe they are above average on many traits or abilities, like driving, intelligence, morality, or psychology skills.

What is self-affirmation theory? + example

The idea that people protect self-worth after a threat by affirming another valued part of themselves unrelated to the threat.

Ex. If someone plays badly in a sports game but feels better after reminding themselves they are a good student.

Positive illusions vs. depressive realism?

Positive Illusions:

Depressive realism: Mildly depressed people may sometimes have a more accurate view of reality because they lack positivity bias.

What is self regulation?

The process of initiating, changing, and controlling behaviour to pursue goals, including resisting short-term rewards that block long-term goals.

Actual self vs. ideal self vs. ought self?

Actual self: who you believe you are

Ideal self: who you want to be

Ought self: who you feel you should be because of obligations or expectations.

Actual-ideal discrepancy vs. actual-ought discrepency?

Actual-ideal discrepency: gap between who you are and who you want to be; causes dejection emotions like sadness/dissapointment

Acutal-ought discrepency: gap between who you are and who you should be; causes agitation emotions like anxiety/guilt.

Promotion focus vs. prevention focus

Promotion focus: based on ideal self; pursuing positive outcomes and growth

Prevention focus: based on ought self; avoiding negative outcomes, mistakes, or obligations left unmet.

What is an implementation intention and why are they useful?

Implementation intentions are a specific if-then plan for goal-directed behaviour. These are useful because they turn vague goals into specific action plans, making it easier to act when the situation arises.

ex. “If I get home from class early, then I will review my notes for 30 minutes”

What are automatic self-control strategies?

Self control strategies that become automatic after practice.

Ex. after repeatedly avoiding the candy shelf, you automatically walk past it.

What does “saving face” mean?

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Self presentation vs. impression management vs. face?

Protecting your public image after embarrassment, failure, or social threat

Self presentation: showing the version of yourself you want others to believe.

Impression management: trying to control how others view you

Face: the public image you want to protect.

What is self-handicapping + how can it protect the public self?

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High self-monitor vs. low-self monitor

Self handicapping: creating/pointing to obstacles so you have an excuse if you fail. Ex. not studying so a bad grade can be blamed on lack of preparation rather than ability. This gives an excuse for failure and can make success seem more impressive.

High self monitor: adjusts behaviour to fit the situation

Low self-monitor: behaves more according to internal preferences, even when the situation changes.

Do people present themselves authentically online?

Often partly. People may present personality or occupation fairly accurately, but may be less accurate about physical attributes because appearance strongly affects attraction and judgement.