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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:
situational activation
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
distinctive to situation
relevance to the situation/activity
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
natural endowement
feels authentic
ppl naturally want to be their true self
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
natural endowment (not a provable idea that we are destined for one life path)
self-concept is inaccurate
true self = what is “good” (more abt social desirability - we feel most authentic when )
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
# of self-aspects
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
affective spillover
affective extremity for low self-complexity
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
diff in well-being measure
the # of self-aspects matters more than how diff they are
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
Note 
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