the self concept &The organization of the self-concept (2+3)

self-concept

a cognitive representation of the entirity of our knowledge/beliefs about ourselves (everything a person claims as “me”)

our self-concept includes our

personality traits, abilities, social roles, values, goals + desires, physical characteristics

the self-concept is important bc

it shapes how we think abt the world, feel & behave

associative network

knowledge organized as a network of concepts interconnected by links

the self-concept functions as an

associative network of everything that makes you “you”

unitary self-concept

implies a unitary, fixed, integrated idea abt the self, but usually not true (sometimes self-concepts contradict)

working self-concept

the subset of self-knowkedge that is the current focus of awareness (in the moment)

the contents of the working self-concept are determined by:

1. situational activation

2. spreading activation

situational activation

situaitons activate diff self-knowledge + creates diff working self-concepts

spreading activation

when a specific self-aspect is activated, other related ones are too (strongly linked ones activated more quickly)

access to self-knowledge is determined by

1. distinctive to situation

2. relevance to the situation/activity

3. frequency of activation (important self-aspects/often)

situational activation (recency effect)

distinctiveness + relevance to the situation

distinctiveness theory

a person’s unique/distinctive characteristics are more salient to them than cahracteristics they have in common w others bc its more valuable

implications of working self-concept

• malleable + highly dependent on context (diff versions of self)

• non-central self-aspects can be in the WSC

• allows for contradictory self-aspects to simultaneously exist

• WSC influences how we behave

elements common to theories abt the true self

1. natural endowement

2. feels authentic

3. ppl naturally want to be their true self

4. competes w external influences

maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an ex of

natural endowment (we are all born with potential)

natural endowment

we are born w a true self

true self feels authentic

actions consistent to internal states (feelings, needs, desires) that are subjectively experienced as their own

ppl naturally want to be true to themselves

leads to a satisfied life

true self competes w external influences

why it’s hard to be true to yourself

the true self is less a reality and more of

a guide + most important for making satisying decisions

to make an important life decision ppl thought that aligning to their true self was most important but in reality it was equal to rational reasoning + future self

shows that ppl believe in a true self

study to describe your true or actual self + rate difficulty

when ppl are less in touch w their true self, they are less satisfied with life choices

problems w the idea of a true self

1. natural endowment (not a provable idea that we are destined for one life path)

2. self-concept is inaccurate

3. true self = what is “good” (more abt social desirability - we feel most authentic when )

4. authenticity + the Big 5 (authenitic when act in desirable ways + others are “true selves” when behaving morally)

authenticity + the Big 5 study when do ppl feel most authentic

1st rated themselves on trait “big 5”

self-reported on:

• “state” big 5: how they rate themselves on 5 traits in that moment

• “state authenticity” how authentic they feel in that moment

authenticity + big 5 results

ppl felt most authentic when they behaved extroverted, agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable

not how that person initially rated their personality

we act as our true self more when we act in our

desired reputation

desired reputation

we feel our most true self when what is valued by society (ideals) + what distinctive role one’s own abilities and traits are best suited to (actual self)

ex of acting in desired reuputation

society values being socially skillled —> one person wants to be funny another wants to be kind

ppl’s self-concepts can vary in

1. # of self-aspects

2. how much the self-aspects are connected/distinct

self-complexity

the structure + organization of your self-concept not the contents (by how many self-aspects you have and how different they are from each other)

high self-complexity

many aspects that are distinct from each other

low self-complexity

few aspects that are not that are highly overlapped each other

implications of self-complexity

1. affective spillover

2. affective extremity for low self-complexity

3. high self-complexity as a stress buffer

affective spillover

the emotions we associate w one self-aspect, spill over to similar self-aspects

affect extremity on low self-complexity

more extreme emotional reactions + impact on self-esteem bc fewer self-aspects to define self and they are more connected

affect extremity on high self-complexity

more emotional stability in face of negative events and generally over time bc less spillover (not significant diff from facing failure or success)

self-complexity as a stress buffer

experiencing less variation/extreme emotions from having high self-complexity was a stress buffer (diff ways of thinking abt themselves were less depressed, less phsyical illness)

mixed evidence of stress buffering

1. diff in well-being measure

2. the # of self-aspects matters more than how diff they are

3. if the integration of self-aspects is coherent

self-concept clarity (SCC)

the extent to which the contents of self-concept are clearly defined, consistent w each other, stable

low SCC

can feel very depressed and spending time alone, but can also feel extroverted and happy —> in diff contexts see urself how your self-aspects fit together

can have low self-complexity + high Self-Concept Clarity

bc less self-aspects so you have clarity on who you are

high self-complexity is best with

high self-concept clarity

self-complexity vs self-concept clarity

SCC is unrelated to self-complecity

(bc you could have high c

high SCC in times of acute/intense stress

helps facilitate more adaptive responses (use your clear sense of who you are as a grounding force in a time of uncertainty)

age influence on SCC

SCC gets clearer with age until 60, it starts to dip down bc big social role shifts

factors that influence SCC

age, changes to social roles (academic/job/relationships/hobbies)

study on SCC + positivity

SCC is stable if their Self-concept has changed AND they are positive abt the change