Week 2 Ch 2: Communication and Identity

personality

characteristic ways that you think and behave across a variety of situations

reflected appraisal

a person’s self-concept matches the way the person believes others regard them; one of the main influences on the development of self-concept

significant other

a person whose opinion is important enough to affect one’s self-concept strongly

social comparison

evaluation of oneself in terms of or by comparison to others; 2 types - superior/inferior, same as/different from

superior/inferior

depends on those against whom we measure ourselves

same as/different from

influenced by our reference group comparators

reference groups

groups against which we compare ourselves, thereby influence our self-concept and self-esteem

obsolete information

we cling to past failures even though they don’t predict failure in the future; our past successes don’t guarantee success

distorted feedback

can create a self-image that is worse or better than the facts warrant; it can be overly positive or overly negative

perfection

does not exist; expected to achieve it will result in poor self-concept

social expectations

we tend to focus on our short comings, rather than accomplishments

cognitive conservatism

the tendency to seek and attend to information that conforms to an existing self concept; tendency to cling to and outdated self perception, even when a new image is more favourable

self fullfilling prophecy

a prediction or expectation of an event that makes the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise be the case

self imposed prophecies

occur when our own expectations influence our behaviour

other imposed prophecies

occur when our actions are influenced by the expectations of others

identity management

the communication strategies people use to influence how other view them; how you act at home is different from work

perceived self

the person you believe yourself to be in moments of honest self examination

presenting self

the image a person presents to others

identity management and honesty

some individuals misrepresent themselves; we all have different selves; competent communicators choose the self, best for the situation