PSYC 305 Lecture 7, Chapter 12 + 14

schemas

cognitive structures that help us interpret new/ambiguous information

• affects how we select, interpret, organize, and evaluate experiences

• fills in missing details

• we tend to interpret info according to our own pre-existing beliefs

self-schema

helps us organize our own personal experiences and beliefs

• involves information that is relevant to the self

• combine and interact to form our self-concept

internal vs external explanatory style

how much control do you feel you have over your life

stable vs unstable explanatory style

how temporary or consistent is the event over time

global vs specific explanatory style

is this pervasive or does it apply to this event only?

depressive explanatory style

internal, stable, and global

narcissistic explanatory style

external, unstable and specific

mastery orientation

individuals want to develop competence and improve skills/abilities

• for one’s own benefit

performance orientation

individuals want to demonstrate their competence to others and avoid revealing incompetence

aspiration index - two dimensions

1. intrinsic vs extrinsic

2. physical self vs transcendence

intrinsic goals

driven by needs, are inherently satisfying

• eg: community

extrinsic goals

driven by reward/praise, looking for a means to an end

• eg: popularity

physical self goals

self-enhancement

• eg: physical safety

self-transcendence

to enhance others

• eg: spirituality

the “I”

• self-awareness

  • "I” as the agent observing

  • has the capacity for self-awareness and introspection

the “Me”

• self-concept

  • the self as the object being observed

  • able to be described

self-concept

the descriptive component of the self

• knowledge and beliefs about oneself as a physical, social psychological, moral being

possible selves

ideas we have about who we might become

ideal self

what we want to become

ought self

what we believe others want us to be

undesired selves

what we want to avoid being

the looking glass self

the idea that our self is socially constructed

• our sense of self is built on seeing ourselves from the eyes of others, through a “looking glass”

self-narratives

our self-concept is formed by integrating life experiences and self-defining memories into an internalized, evolving story of the self

• provides us with a sense of unity and purpose

social identity

the social component of the self

• we show others, create impressions

continuity - social identity

people can count on you to be the same person tomorrow as you were today

contrast - social identity

your social identity differentiates you from others, making you unique in the eyes of others

self-concept differentiation

the tendency to see oneself as having different traits across different social roles

multiple selves

the idea that we all have 2 selves: self-concept and social identity

self-complexity

reflects the num

self-esteem

the evaluative component of the self

• positive or negative views as a physical, psychological, social, moral, being

relationship between peoples’ accomplishments and self-esteem

• none - most of us have a self-serving bias

• but, some people do have an undeservedly high self-esteem

in the short term, positive illusions are associated with…

• positive emotions

• well-being

• high self-esteem

• better performance on experimental tasks

in the long-term, positive illusions are associated with…

• declining self-esteem over time

• disengagement from school, increased likelihood of dropping out

• being liked less by peers

• higher aggression and narcissism

existentialist - 2 questions

1. why am I here?

2. what should I be doing?

• not answering = leads to existential anxiety/angst

angst

not being able to answer why i am here/what should i be doing

• because the world has no overarching purpose

bad faith

when you quit worrying about the meaning of life and avoid dealing with angst

• instead, do what you’re told by society

authenticity

living according to your “true self” - honest, insightful, moral

• awareness of strengths/limitations

• unbiased view of self

• behaving according to your values

• being truthful in close relationships

benefits of authenticity

• high expression of big 5 (socially desirable)

• high honesty-humility

• health and well-being

• lower stress

• more positive emotion

• self-actualization

authenticity in asian cultures

based on feeling like one’s true self within, not across social roles

personalizing cognition

processing info by relating it to a similar invent in your own life

objectifying cognition

processing info by relating it to objective factsc

information processing

transforming sensory input into mental representations, manipulating them

perception

first level of cognition, the info that our sense organs take in

interpretation

second level of cognition, making sense of various events in the world

conscious goals

third level of cognition, a person’s awareness of what they desire/believe is valuable and worth pursuing

field-dependent people

participant relies on the visual field to adjust the RFT rod

field independent

use own sensations to adjust the RFT rod

field-independent people are good at…

• selective attention while blocking out unimportant info

• analyzing complex situations

• second languages

field-dependent people are better at…

• strong social skills

• more attentive to social context

• gravitate toward others

reducer/augmenter theory

the dimension where people differ in reaction to sensory stimulation - some reduce, some augment

constructs

concepts/provable hypotheses that summarize a set of observations and convey the meaning of them

personal constructs

beliefs that summarize a set of observations/version of reality, unique to an individual, where they use to interpret/predict events

cognitive schema

a mental concept to help a person process incoming info, organize it, and interpret daily experiences

postmodernism

the idea that reality constructed, and every person have a unique view of reality

locus of control

how a person perceives their responsibility for the events in their life

generalized expectancies

a person’s broad, learned beliefs about how much control they have over getting thieir desired outcome

external locus of control

generalized expectancies that events are outside of one’s control

internal locus of control

generalized expectancy that events are within one’s control

specific expectancies

your locus of control in a specific area of life, eg: health

learned helplessness

when subjected to unpleasant circumstances, we become passive and accept their situation

• don’t try to relieve the situation if they already tried

personal project

relevant actions to achieve the goal a person has selected

self-efficacy - Bandura

the belief that you can behave in a way to achieve your desired outcome

• confidence in your ability to perform it

promotion focus

focus on advancement, growth, accomplishments

prevention focus

focus on protection, safety, prevention of negative outcomes

achievement view of intelligence

how much knowledge someone has required relative to others in their age cohort

aptitude view of intelligence

ability to become educated, aptitude to learn

general intelligence

view intelligence as a single broad “g” factor

multiple intelligences

Gardner - intelligence has several forms, eg: inter/intrapersonal, kinesthetic, musical

cultural context of intelligence

the definition of intelligent behaviour varies across different cultures

inspection time

the time it takes a person to differ between two stimuli (small differences)

self-concept

your understanding of yourself and your qualities

self-esteem

evaluation of self-concept along a good/bad dimension

• both cognitive and affective, how you think AND feel about yourself