PSY 2110 Social Thinking and the Self Cartes | Quizlet

What is the spotlight effect?

Overestimating how much other people notice/remember us (feeling "on stage"). But according to research, people are not paying as much attention as we think they are.

This is linked to relatedness (self-determination theory)

Lawson (2010): What did students predict vs what actually happened about remembering a sweatshirt logo?

Predicted 40% would remember; actually only 10% remembered.

What is the illusion of transparency?

Overestimating how easily others can tell what we're feeling inside.

Ex. We think other people can tell when we feel nervous but they can't actually

Savitsky & Gilovich (2003): What happens when people learn about the illusion of transparency?

They feel less self-conscious and perform better (ex: public speaking).

What do spotlight effect + illusion of transparency demonstrate?

We often think others notice us more than they really do.

Name a few ways the social world affects how we see ourselves:

1. We notice ourselves more when others are around

2. We judge things based on what matters to us

3. We care what others think, and it affects how we act

3. Our friends and relationships help shape who we are

What does our sense of self allow us to do?

Remember past, assess present, project future → helps us behave adaptively.

The self is made of:

1. Self concept: How you describe yourself

2. Self esteem: How I feel about myself

3. Self Knowledge: What you know about your patterns and motives ( can you predict how you will react in certain situations?)

3. Social self: How do others see me, and how do my groups shape me? The part of "self" that comes from other people: feedback, relationships, group memberships, and how you think others perceive you.

What is a self-schema?

Beleifs you have about yourself that allows you to organize self relavant behaviour.

What your goals are, what is important to you, what you want to be, etc.

What is social comparison?

Comparing ourselves to others and noticing differences, which helps form our sense of self.

Ex. Comparing test scores. If I get a lower score than my friend, I might think I am dumber than I actually am.

Social comparison can create emotions like jealousy or envy, but they can also motivate people.

The more attainable someone else's success is, the more motivated we are when comparing ourselves to them and viceversa.

WHat are the fours types of schemas?

1. Self-schemas

- Beliefs/knowledge about yourself

- Example: “I’m shy,” “I’m a hardworking student,” “I’m athletic.”

2. Person schemas

- Beliefs about other people (their traits/personality)

- Example: “He’s confident,” “She’s judgmental,” “They’re friendly.”

3. Role schemas

- Expectations for how people behave in a specific role

- Example: how a “doctor,” “professor,” “parent,” or “leader” should act.

4. Event schemas (scripts)

- Expectations for how a typical event usually goes (step-by-step)

- Example: what happens at a restaurant, a job interview, or a first day of school.

When does a role model inspire vs demoralize us?

Inspires if success feels attainable; demoralizes if it feels unattainable.

What is HVSM (highly visual social media) and examples?

Platforms where users constantly view and post (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok).

What emotional cycle does HVSM create?

Switching between feelings of inadequacy (comparing) and gratification (positive feedback).

Why is HVSM especially impactful for adolescents?

It creates repeated emotional highs/lows during a sensitive developmental stage.

What is the Looking-Glass Self?

Our self-image is shaped by how we think others see us; we imagine their perception and adjust our self-view

How can positive vs negative judgments from others affect us?

Positive boosts confidence; negative lowers self-esteem.

What is individualism (self and culture)

Identity as unique individual

Self-concept stable

Self-esteem personal

Value independence/self-reliance

What is collectivism (self and culture)?

Identity shaped by relationships

Self-concept flexible (relationships change which means your self concept will change too)

Self-esteem relational - based on how you relate to others instead of just personal acheivement

Interdependent self

What is an interdependent self?

Many selves (self-with-parents, self-at-work, self-with-friends) embedded in social memberships.

It is a self-concept where identity is defined by one's relationships

What matters to the independant self vs an interdependant self?

ID: Me, personal acheivement and fullfillment, my rights and liberties

ITDP: We, group goals and solidarity, social responsibilities and relationships

What does the 1. independant self vs an interdependant self disprove of?

1. Conformity

2. Egotism

Descibe a collectivist culture:

Self-esteem is relational and malleable

Persist longer on tasks when failing (because people are depending on them)

Tend to make upward social comparisons (they will compare themselves to people more successful than them)

Balanced self-evaluations (they will be less critical of themselves because when one aspect of the self is not working out, they still have the other aspects of themselves.

Descibe an individualistic culture:

Self-esteem is less relational and more personal

Persist longer on tasks when succeeding

Tend to make downward social comparisons (compare yourself to someone less successful and say "at least I am not that guy")

Self-evaluations biased positively (can be overconfident)

Eastern vs Western attention patterns in underwater scene (aquarium study)?

Eastern (Asian) focus on the whole environment/relationships; Western (American) focus on the main fish.

This shows that cognitive styles are influenced by cultural frameworks. So, how we think is shaped by our culture.

Kim & Markus (1999): what did Americans vs Asians choose when picking pens? What happened when the study was repeated in 2024?

77% Americans vs 31% Asians chose the uncommon colour.

This study showed cultural differences in preference for uniqueness vs conformity.

In 2024, the gap closed. Americans did not become more collectivisti, but Asians because more individualistic.

What is the planning fallacy?

It is a cognitive bias.

Underestimating how long a task will take.

What are the three cognitive biases related to predicting feelings?

Affective forecasting, Impact bias, Immune neglect

What is affective forecasting?

When we try to predict our future feelings. We are not good at this.

What is impact bias?

Overestimating how long/strong emotional events will affect us.

Ex. We think we will be crushed if we break up with our SO, but when it actually happened, we did not feel that bad.

What is immune neglect?

Underestimating the speed and the strength of the "psychological immune system" or resilience.

We can actually bounce back emotionally pretty quickly.

What is the dual attitude system?

We have both implicit and explicit attitudes.

What are implicit attitudes?

Automatic attitudes that change slowly with habit/practice.

It is harder to change this.

What are explicit attitudes?

Conscious attitudes that may change via education/persuasion.

Easier to change this.

What's a practical implication of the dual attitude system?

Self-reports can be untrustworthy; sincerity doesn't guarantee validity.

Ex. The things we say we believe might not always be what we actually believe. We have learned reactions that can take a long time for us to unpack.

Define self-esteem.

Overall self-evaluation/sense of self-worth.

How positively or negatively you view yourself.

It makes us sensitive to challenges., whcih seeks to protect ourselves, seek validtion or take steps to defend our self worth.

We can look to other to protect our self esteem.

How is self-esteem like a fuel gauge?

Alerts us to threats and makes us sensitive to challenges → helps protect self-worth.

What is one route to self-esteem?

Compassion

Low self-esteem is associated with what negative outcomes?

More anxiety, loneliness, eating disorders.

Low self-esteem is often higher in which groups?

Gang leaders, terrorists, imprisoned violent offenders.

What did Bushman et al. (2009) find about aggression?

High narcissism + high self-esteem → more aggression.

What is narcissism (vs self-esteem)?

"I am the best" (not just "I am good").

Who is most likely to retaliate when criticized?

People high in both narcissism and self-esteem.

Does narcissism alone always cause aggression?

No—aggression is more likely when combined with high self-esteem.

What trend is mentioned about narcissism?

It has increased over recent decades.

Define self-efficacy.

Belief in your own competence.

Do you believe in your abiities to do something?

Self-efficacy vs self-esteem (key difference)?

Efficacy = "I can do it"; esteem = "I am good/worthy."

What is grandiose narcisism vs. vulnerable narcisism?

Grandiose: Extraversion, dominance, attention seeing behaviours. They have a sense of entitlement. People who's parents put them on a pedastal have a higher chance of developing this.

Vulnerable: They can be quiet, but the resentful and aggressive if someone does better than them. If parents are too strict with their child, their child will have a higher chance of getting it.

What is attribution theory?

How people interpret the causes of their own and others' behaviors (internal or external)

Internal vs external attributions?

Causes explained by traits/dispositions (internal) or situations/environment (external).

What is the fundamental attribution error (FAE)?

When judging others' actions, we tend to give too much causal weight to their character and not enough to the circumstances in which they acted.

What is the actor-observer bias?

Actors explain their behaviour situationally; observers explain others' behaviour dispositionally.

What is self-serving bias?

Explaining success/failure to protect self-esteem.

Success → internal causes (ability, effort).

Failure → external causes (luck, unfairness).

What is the false consensus effect?

Overestimating how common your opinions and undesirable behaviours are.

What is the false uniqueness effect?

Underestimating how common your abilities and desirable behaviours are.

How do false consensus & false uniqueness relate to self-serving bias?

They're both forms of self-serving bias that protect self-esteem.

What is the better-than-average effect?

Most people think they're better than average on many traits (ethics, competence, intelligence, etc.).

Why do subjective traits trigger stronger self-serving bias than objective traits?

They're harder to measure → easier to inflate self-assessment.

What is unrealistic optimism and how does it relate to self-esteem?

Expecting good outcomes while overlooking risks/challenges.

It protects/enhances self-esteem and reduces anxiety about failure.

Unrealistic vs illusory optimism

Unrealistic optimism = “too positive” bias

Illusory optimism = “delusional-level” optimism that can backfire

Ex. I’m probably less likely than other students to get sick this semester. vs. I won’t get sick at all, so I don’t need to wash my hands or be careful.

What is defensive pessimism?

Expecting negative outcomes to prepare and plan, reducing surprises.

What is temporal comparison?

What pattern do students and parents show in temporal comparison?

Comparing your current self to your past self to evaluate progress. It can create inflated progress.

They believe they've improved over time (academics, emotions, social life). They will rate their younger selves lower to show that they have improved over time.

What is self-handicapping? What are the short term and the long term effects?

Creating excuses in advance to protect self-image if failure happens.

Ex. Partying before an exam so failing can be blamed on partying, not ability.

Short-term protects esteem; long-term leads to poorer performance/harm.

What is self-presentation?

Wanting to present a desired image to the world.

What is self-monitoring?

Adjusting behaviour/presentation in social situations to create the desired impression.

How does self-efficacy help during failure?

Helps persistence and reduces self-doubt. Positive thinking can be helpful but overconfidence can be risky.