Social Lectures 3-4 the Social Self

self concept

A person’s beliefs about their roles, traits, abilities, experiences.

Self-Concept Clarity

We prefer when our self-concept feels clearly defined, internally consistent, and consistent across time.

A person’s overall pool of self-knowledge remains relatively stable over time, providing a sense of self-continuity even as different pieces of self-knowledge come to the forefront of different contexts.

◦ Shifts across contexts are likely to conform to a predictable, stable pattern

Self-Verification

We strive for stable, subjectively accurate beliefs about the self because such self-views give a sense of coherence

Self complexity

Our self-concept has many facets.

◦ Easier to cope with threats to any particular aspect

situationism

Aspects of the self may change depending on the situation

◦ This notion that the social self changes across different contexts is consistent with the principle of situationism

Working self-concept in regards to situationism

subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context

• It shifts based on your surroundings, roles, and who you're with.

• It helps answer questions like:

  • ex: At work, your "professional self" is active; at home, your "sibling self" might be.

more specific than situationism

Distinctiveness

We highlight what makes us unique in a given situation.

We’re more likely to mention aspects of our self-concept that make us different from those around us

Continuity

The sense that you are the same person over time, despite situational or momentary changes.

Core aspects whenever you think about the self.

◦ E.g., shy at work, outgoing with friends… but always a good listener!

you still feel like you

Social self is defined by 2 aspects

1) It is malleable, shifting from one context to another

2) At the same time, a person’s social self has core components that persist across context

can come from:

• socializing agents= parents, siblings, teachers, peers etc. (Modeling appropriate behavior of others)

• looking glass self= Peoples’ reactions to us serve as a mirror of sorts (Reflected Self-Appraisal)

Origins of Self-Knowledge: direct feedback

The information received from others about our traits and abilities.

Festinger (1954): Theory of social comparison

People want to know where they stand

• Prefer objective standards of comparison

No objective standard available, use a social standard

• Typically compare ourselves to similar others

Social Comparison

Upward social comparison: Comparing to better.

• Motivating IF you assimilate (feel similar)

Downward social comparison: Comparing to worse.

• Boosts self-esteem IF you contrast (feel separate)

Judgement

We are better judges of our internal traits.

Other people have better information for judging our external traits

influence of culture of sense of self

◦Interdependent self-concept: Defined primarily in relation to other people

• Prevalent in many Asian, Eastern European, African, and Latin American cultures.

• Encourages an outward focus on the social situation

◦Independent self-concept: Defined primarily by unique characteristics, abilities, thoughts, and feeling

• Common in Western cultures (e.g., the U.S., Australia, New Zealand).

• Views the self as an autonomous, unique individual—separate and distinct from others.

• Emphasizes personal goals, internal thoughts, and individual rights over group membership.

• People with an independent self-construal see themselves as self-reliant and prioritize personal achievement.

Judgement: Influence of Gender

• Women: Focus on relationships & social cues → Others judge external traits better.

• Men: Focus on internal states → Self judges internal traits better.

• Social roles shape these differences.

Social role theory: Gender differences in self-concepts arise from historical and cultural pressures, less from biological ones

self- esteem definition

The global or overall evaluation that one has of oneself (positive or negative)

self esteem

Trait vs. state self-esteem:

• Most people have high self-esteem overall (TRAIT)

• Self-esteem also fluctuates over time (STATE)

Contingencies of self-worth: Sources of self esteem, which differ from person to person and across time.

• Approval, physical attractiveness, fitness, intelligence…

Sociometer theory (Leary)

Self-esteem is an evolutionary metric for how we’re doing socially.

• System monitors social inclusion, activates social pain if inclusion is low, motivates restoration of inclusion

• Evidence: Self-esteem is particularly sensitive to rejection.

Self-compassion:

Self-kindness, recognition of shared experience, and mindfulness

Self Enhancement

The desire to maintain, increase, or protect one’s positive views.

Better-than-average effect (Self-Enhancement Strategies)

The tendency to perceive ourselves as better than the average person.

• Why? “Unskilled and unaware”

• Exception: (in part) Worse-than-average effect for difficult tasks.

Self-affirmation theory (Self-Enhancement Strategies)

People cope with threats to self-worth by affirming core values in another domain.

Minimize defensive/harmful behaviors

• Self-attributional bias: Tend to attribute successes to internal causes (skill, effort) and failures to external causes (luck, difficulty).
  Example: "I aced the exam because I studied hard" vs. "I failed because the test was unfair."

Self-evaluation maintenance model (SEM)

explains how others’ successes can affect our self-esteem, depending on how close we are to the person and how relevant the domain is to our own identity.

• Basking in reflected glory: Associating with someone who is succeeding in a domain that doesn’t affect us

• abby lee miller

SEM: Comparison

What if someone is doing better than us in our domain?

• Improve our performance

• Reduce closeness

• Reduce the importance of the domain

Comparisons hurt more when the comparison target is close to us or when a domain is relevant ◦ Should I sabotage my bestie?

• Should I improve myself?

• Should I say goodbye to my bestie?

• Do I really care about the domain they beat me in?

Positive Illusions study example

Taylor et al., (2003)

• Findings: Participants high in self-enhancement showed better psychological well-being (e.g., lower anxiety), stronger social relationships, and healthier biological responses (e.g., lower cortisol) compared to low self-enhancers.

• Takeaway: Mild positive illusions, like self-enhancement, can promote both mental and physical health, suggesting that a slightly distorted, positive self-view may be psychologically adaptive.

Self-Enhancement vs. Self-Verification

Self-enhancement seems to be most relevant to our emotional responses to feedback about the self, whereas self-verification determines our more cognitive assessment of the accuracy of the feedback.

Self-presentation

impression management: Controlling, regulating, and monitoring the information we provide about ourselves to create a desired impression

1. Public self: The version of ourselves we want others to see—how we want to be perceived in social settings.

2. Face: The public image or identity we try to project to others; it’s the version of ourselves we actively maintain during interactions.

Multiple audience problem

Arises when desired identity differs for two audiences present at the same time

Self-monitoring

The tendency to monitor one’s behavior to fit the demands of the current situation

High vs Low Self-monitors

High

• Scrutinize situations

• Shift self-presentation to fit the context

• “Actors”

• Change behavior according the the situation

Low

Behave according to their own traits and preferences

Social context doesn’t influence behavior as much

Origins of self knowledge: reflected appraisals

Our perception of how others perceive and evaluate us.

• Highly subjective, subject to error

• Particularly important in adolescence

Origins of self knowledge: social comparison

The act of comparing our traits and abilities with the traits and abilities of others

• Self-perception: Learning about ourselves by “observing” our own behavior

• Facial feedback hypothesis: Facial expressions influence internal states through self-perception.

Overjustification effect: External rewards for behavior can undermine sense of internal commitment.

Seeing others get rewarded for the same behavior—or not—can influence how you interpret your own motivation.

• Example: If you're praised for drawing but notice others aren’t, you might feel proud—or, conversely, start questioning if you’re doing it for yourself or just for praise (social comparison affects motivation).

Origins of self knowledge: self narratives

We continually “write” our own story or narrative

A major source of self-understanding? Well, its ourselves!

• Introspection : When people focus their attention on themselves in a deliberate attempt to enhance self-understanding.