section 2

Self-Concept

• the content of the self, more objective

• the overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes

Self-Awareness

the idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values

Sense of Self

tested with the “red dot” self, develops around 18 months in humans

Self-Esteem

• overall positive or negative evaluation about the self

• trait: enduring level of self-esteem

• state: malleable feelings about the self

Impression Management

Presenting ourselves to others as we want to be seen

Self-Monitoring

The tendency to change behavior based on self-presentation concerns.

Self-Schemas

• system of ideas about who we are in various settings

• can affect our behaviors

• does not lead to confusion about who we are

Social Comparison theory

the idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people

Introspection

the process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives

Terror Management Theory

Ultimate self-threat is knowledge of mortality.

Attitudes

Sources/types include cognitions, affect, and behavior.

Mental Acrobatics

Cognitive dissonance, reducing dissonance, classic dissonance scenarios.

Changing Attitude

Methods include cognitive dissonance, fear arousing communications, Yale Attitude Change Approach.

Elaboration

Paying attention to arguments leads to expanding on persuasive messages.

Attitude Change Length

The duration of attitude change varies based on the route used in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM).

Central Route

In ELM, the central route leads to long-lasting attitude change.

Peripheral Route

In ELM, the peripheral route results in short-term attitude change.

Subliminal Advertising

Advertising below the threshold of awareness, believed to influence attitudes but not behavior.

Affective Attitudes

TV ads often target affective attitudes, which are easier to manipulate.

Subliminal Perception

Occurs below the threshold of awareness, can briefly change behavior or attitudes in controlled conditions.

Explicit Attitudes

attitudes that we consciously endorse and can easily report

Implicit Attitudes

attitudes that exist outside of conscious awareness

Attitude-Behavior Gap

Discrepancy between attitudes and behaviors, influenced by attitude accessibility and specificity.

ingratiation (impression management)

using flattery or praise to be likeable

intimidation (impression management)

using fear to gain power by convincing others wit your own accomplishments

self-promotion (impression management)

attempting to impress others with your own accomplishments

supplication (impression management)

advertising your own weaknesses or dependence on others to gain help or sympathy

high self-monitors

have a repertoire of selves, “social chameleon”

low self-monitors

express same self in all situations “character actors”

self-perception theory

when attitudes or feelings are uncertain, can infer by looking at behavior and the situation

2 motivivations for engaging in behaviors

• intrinsic motivation: desire to do a behavior because we like it, find it interesting

• extrinsic motivation: desire to do a behavior because of external rewards or pressures

Schachter’s Two-Factor theory of emotion

1. experience physiological arousal

2. look for a reason for arousal

3. arousal + reason = emotion labels

self-esteem maintenance

when self is threatened, we can deal directly with the threat or affirm the self in an unrelated domain to feel good

self-affirmation theory - EXAMPLE

the concept that people are motivated to maintain views of themselves as well adapted, moral, competent, stable, and able to control important outcomes

cognitive dissonance

the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradicts each other

balance theory

• assumes that we are motivated to reduce inconsistencies in our thoughts

• how to regain balance?

  • keeping balance in relationships

independent view of self

a way of defining oneself in terms of one’s own eternal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people

interdependent view of self

a way of defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people, recognizing that one’s behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others

casual theories

theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviors; often we learn such theories from our own culture

reasons generated attitude change

attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one’s attitudes; people assume that their attitudes match the reasons that are plausible and easy to verbalize

overjustification effect

the tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons

task-contingent rewards

rewards that are given for performing a task, regardless of how well the task is done

performance contingent rewards

rewards that are based on how well we perform a task

fixed mindset

the idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change

growth mindset

the idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow

misatribution of arousal

the process whereby people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do

upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

social turning

the process whereby people adopt another person’s attitudes

affective forecasts

people’s prediction about how they will feel in response to a future emotional event

self-handicapping

the strategy whereby people create obstacles and excuses for themselves so that if they do poorly on a task, they can avoid blaming themselves

narcissism

the combination of excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others

impact bias

the tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of one’s emotional reactions to future negative events

post decision dissoannce

dissonance aroused after making a decision, typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternatives

lowballing

a salesperson persuades a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low cost, subsequently claims it was an error, and then raises the price

justification of effort

the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain

external justification

a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (rewards)

internal justification

the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself

counter attitudinal advocacy

stating an opinion or attitude that runs counter to one’s private belief or attitude

insufficient punishment

the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object

self-persuasion

a long-lasting form of change that results from attempts at self-justification

hypocrisy induction

the arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statements that run counter to their behaviors and them reminding them of the inconsistency between what they advocated and their behaviors

• purpose is to lead individuals to more responsible behavior

cognitive based attitude

an attitude based primarily on people’s beliefs about the properties of an attitude object

affectively based attitude

an attitude based more on people’s feelings and values than on their beliefs about the nature of an atttiude object

operant conditioning

behaviors we freely choose to perform become more or less frequent, depending on whether they are followed by a reward or punishment

behaviorally based attitude

an attitude based on observations of how one behaves toward an object

attitude accessibility

the strength of the association between an attitude object and a person’s evaluation of that object, measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object

theory of planned behavior

the idea that people’s intentions are the best predictors of their deliberate behaviors, which are determined by their attitudes toward specific behaviors, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control

persuasive communication

a message advocating a particular side of an issue

yale attitude appraoch (cognitive attitudes)

the study of the conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages, focusing on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication, and the nature of the audience

• who says what to whom

elaboration likelihood model:  two routes to change attitudes

• peripheral route - good for affective attitudes 

  • people who do not have ability or motivation to pay attention do not elaborate 

  • pay more attention to peripheral cues 

• central route - good for cognitive attitudes

  • need ability and motivation to listen carefully

  • paying attention to arguments leads to elaborating on the persuasive messages 

• length of attitude change varies

  • LONG lasting change if…

    • central route of ELM was used 

  • SHORT term change if…

    • peripheral route of ELM was used

central route to persuasion

the case in which people have both the ability and the motivation to elaborate on a persuasive communication, listening carefully to and thinking about the arguments presented

peripheral route to persuasion

the case in which people do not elaborate on the arguments in a persuasive communication but are instead swayed by more superficial cues

fear-arousing communication

persuassive message that attempts to change people’s attitudes by arousing their fears

heuristic-systematic model of persuasion

an explanation of the two says in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: either systematically processing the merits of the arguments or using mental shortcuts or heuristics

gender roles

societal beliefs - such as those conveyed by media and other sources-regarding how men and women are expected to behave

attitude inoculation

making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against

reactance theory

the idea that when people feel their freedom to perform a certain behavior is threatened, an unpleasant state of resistance is aroused, which they can reduce by performing the prohibited behavior