Social Psychology and the Nature of Self

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental definitions, theories, and historical milestones of social psychology and the concept of 'the self' as detailed in the lecture transcript.

Social Psychology (Baron)

A scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour and thought in social situations.

Social Psychology (Allport)

The study of human behaviour in its social context, involving scientific investigation of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Social Psychology (Myers)

A scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another in order to view and understand ourselves.

The Looking Glass Self

A concept by Charles Harton Cooley suggesting that people shape their self-concepts based on their understanding of how others perceive them.

Self-Schema

A mental concept that informs a person about what to expect from a variety of experiences and situations, referring to expectations about how we should act.

Self-Efficacy

One's belief in his/her own ability to succeed in specific situations or tasks.

Personality

A term derived from the Greek word "persona" (mask) referring to individual uniqueness and distinctive characteristics, often seen as a combination of behaviour and mental structure.

Dynamic Self

The concept that self and personality are not static because humans constantly learn new things across different situations, altering outlooks and responses.

Consistent Self

The observation that certain human behaviours, such as modes of dealing with frustration or long-term goals, are less susceptible to change over time.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to perceive oneself favourably by taking personal credit for success while blaming outside sources for failures.

Self-Knowledge

The information that individuals draw upon when finding an answer to the question "What am I like?", involving an understanding of one's own nature, abilities, and limitations.

Impression Management

A conscious or unconscious effort towards influencing the perceptions, decisions, and opinions of other people in social interaction.

Self-Enhancement

Efforts to boost one's appeal to others as a technique of impression management.

Other Enhancement

Efforts to induce positive moods or reactions in others as a technique of impression management.

Self-Promotion

Presenting ourselves to others as having positive attributes, such as mentioning intelligence 'credentials'.

Self-Verification Perspective

The process of leading others to agree with our own view of ourselves, as people prefer to be with those who verify their held self-views.

Ingratiation

The tactic of making others like us by conveying that we like them, such as through praising or giving small gifts.

Self-Deprecating

Putting ourselves down or implying we are not as good as someone else to lower the audience's expectations of our abilities.

Self-Esteem

The degree to which we perceive ourselves positively or negatively, representing our overall attitude towards ourselves.

Rosenberg Scale

A ten-item scale developed in $1965$ used as a common method for measuring self-esteem.

First Impression Statistics

Data showing that first impressions are determined by the way you dress/act ($55\%$), quality of voice/confidence ($38\%$), and words chosen ($7\%$).

Introspection

The method of privately thinking about who we are to learn about the self by consulting thoughts, feelings, motives, and desires.

Observer's Standpoint

Taking a third-person perspective on one's own past to potentially gain greater insight into behaviour without being swayed by personal intentions.

Cognitive Processes

A variable in social behaviour involving social cognition, where we think about what others are like and why they do what they do.

Evolutionary Psychology

A perspective suggesting that species possess evolved psychological mechanisms that helped deal with survival problems throughout biological evolution.

Norman Triplett

The American psychologist credited with conducting the first empirical social psychological study in $1895$ regarding bicycle race speeds.

Triplett's Bicycle Study Result

A rider's maximum speed was about $20\%$ faster when paced by other cyclists than when raced alone.

Social Identity Theory

A theory by Tajfel and Turner ($1979$) stating that a person has several selves corresponding to widening circles of group membership.

Social Categorisation

The process of categorising people (including ourselves) into groups like 'student' or 'bus driver' to understand the social environment.

Social Identification

The process of adopting the identity of the group one has categorised themselves as belonging to, which affects self-esteem.

Social Comparison

The process of comparing one's own group with other groups to maintain self-esteem, which can lead to competition and prejudice.

Intragroup Comparison

Judgment resulting from comparisons between individuals within the same group, relating to personal identity.

Intergroup Comparison

Judgment resulting from comparisons between one group and another group, relating to social identity.

Accuracy (Scientific Value)

A commitment to gather and evaluate information in as careful, precise, and error-free a manner as possible.

Objectivity (Scientific Value)

A commitment to obtaining and evaluating information in a manner that is as free from bias as humanly possible.

Scepticism (Scientific Value)

A commitment to accepting findings as accurate only to the extent they have been verified repeatedly.

Open-Mindedness (Scientific Value)

A commitment to changing one's view if existing evidence suggests those views are inaccurate.

Self-Concept (Allport)

A dynamic organisation inside of a person, creating the person's characteristic patterns of behaviour, thought, and feelings.