Self & identity

5 - 8

‘I’ is

stream of consciousness

‘Me’ is

object of perception

The self arises out of

human interaction

What does symbolic interactionalism state

that individuals determine how they act based on their perception of themselves or others

• people experience things and then try to interpret them and assign them meaning and then we react to this meaning

What is the looking glass self

there is often a big difference between the actual self and the self we construct based on what we think others see of us

Where is self-knowledge stored

in many ‘self-schemas’

We use different aspects of our selves so if one self-schema fails, we may use

another to bolster self-esteem

Self-discrepancy theory

• actual self

• ideal self - what we strive for

• ought self - what we strive to avoid not reaching

  • how we think we should be - trying not to fail our ought self

We use self-regulation to reduce the

discrepancy between our ‘Actual self’ and the ‘Ideal self’/’Ought self’

What is a positive for being surrounded by similar people

comparison with similar others validates our opinions as we are not challenged

What is a negative for being surrounded by similar people

comparison with similar others not suitable for performance measures

Give an example of upward comparison and downward comparison

• In competitions usually those who win silver are upset with the results as they see that they could have won gold and might have been close to it. Whereas those who won Bronze recognise that they might have not been able to win it so they are more happy with their results.

  • Silver > gold = upward comparison

  • Bronze > no medal = downward comparison

What is the self-categorisation theory

how individuals identify with groups and how this group identification shapes their behaviour, perceptions, and attitudes

• group comparisons so that you choose membership of a group that suits you at that time to maintain self-esteem

  • e.g. not a bad salary for a 21 year old but pretty poor for a graduate

What is ‘basking in reflected glory’ (BIRG)

• association with winning sport teams

  • people who associate with the winning team in a chosen sport can boost lowered self esteem

Describe self-presentation and impression management

• people use strategies to get others to see them in a positive light

• motivates can be either strategic or expressive

• related to high vs. low self-monitoring behaviour

What are the five motives (Jones & Pittman, 1982) - strategic self-presentation

• self-promotion

• ingratiation

  • when we try to get others to like us with flattery, praise, and to be likeable

• intimidation

• exemplification

  • using examples to explain, convince, or amuse

• supplication

  • a person who acts weak and dependent on others to relieve compassion and assistance from others

they are responsive to contexts

Describe the characteristics of those who are an expressive self-presentation

• need for others to accept own impression of self for validation

• demonstrate self-concept through actions

• practical example: delinquent behaviour carried out in public

they are less influenced by changing contexts

Describe the study by Snyder (1984), behavioural expectations influence actual behaviour

• Observer believes the actor is an extrovert

• Perception and interpretation of actor’s behaviour are selectively biased so that the actor’s behaviour is seen to confirm expectations

• The actor is treated as an extrovert

• The actor’s behaviour is constrained such that they can’t help but behave in ways other than extrovert

• Actor’s behaviour becomes more extrovert

• Actor perceives self as an extrovert

Four tactics to win friends (Jones, 1990) - strategic self-presentation

1. be similar but credible

2. be selectively modest

3. use the strategy sparingly

4. discuss winning connections