Social Psych Notes: Chapter 3 (Social Self)

The social self terms, definitions, and short answer questions!

Affective forecasting

The process of predicting how one would feel in response to future emotional events.

Bask in reflected glory

To associate with others who are successful and distance ourselves from those who fail or are low status.

Dialecticism

An Eastern system of thought that accepts the coexistence of contradictory characteristics within a single person.

Downward social comparisons

Comparing ourselves to those who are worse off to feel better about our own situations (opposite of upward social comparison).

Facial feedback hypothesis

The hypothesis that changes in facial expression can lead to corresponding changes in emotion.

Implicit egotism

The tendency to have a (nonconscious) preference for things that we have associated with ourselves, such as numbers, letters, or names.

Overjustification effect

The tendency for rewards or extrinsic factors to diminish our intrinsic motivation for activities, often depending on how the external reward is perceived or framed.

Private self-consciousness

A personality characteristic of individuals who are introspective and often attend to their own inner states.

Public self-consciousness

A personality characteristic of individuals who focus on themselves as social objects, as seen by others.

Self-awareness theory

The theory that self-focused attention leads us to notice self-discrepancies, which lowers self-esteem and leads us to either "shape up" or "ship out."

Self-concept

The sum total of an individual's beliefs about their own personal attributes.

Self-esteem

The evaluative component of the self, also known as how you feel about yourself, which may vary but stays mainly stable when compared to others.

Self-handicapping

The tendency to self-sabotage our future performance to give an excuse for failure, generating external excuses to protect our self-esteem.

Self-monitoring

An individual difference that refers to our tendency to change behavior in response to self-presentation concerns of the situation.

Self-perception theory

The theory that we infer our attitudes and feelings from observing our own behaviors.

Self-presentation

Strategies that we use to shape what others think of us.

Self-regulation

The process by which people control their thoughts, feelings, or behavior in order to achieve a personal or social goal.

Self-schema

Beliefs about oneself that guide the processing of relevant information.

Social comparison theory

The theory that we evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them to the abilities and beliefs of others, more likely to compare ourselves to others when unsure or lacking an objective measure.

Sociometer theory

The theory that self-esteem is a gauge that monitors our social interactions and sends us signals as to whether our behavior is acceptable to others.

Terror management theory

The theory that humans cope with the fear of their own death by constructing worldviews that help preserve their self-esteem.

Two-factor theory of emotion

The theory that the experience of emotion is based on two factors:physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Reminiscence bump

Older people tend to remember more memories from their childhood and adolescence.

Two-factor theory of emotion

The experience of emotion is based on two factors:physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Two main types of self-presentation

Strategic self-presentation and self-verification.

Three selves in Self-Discrepancy Theory

Actual self, ought self, and ideal self. Self-esteem is lowered when the actual self falls short of the ought and ideal selves. Self-esteem increases the more these selves align.

Three psychological needs for a determined self

Autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Individualistic versus Collectivistic Cultures

Collectivism emphasizes the importance of the community, while individualism focuses on the rights and concerns of each person.

High Self-Monitors versus Low Self-Monitors

High self-monitors find it easier to modify their behavior based on the situation compared to low self-monitors. High self-monitors are more likely to change their beliefs and opinions depending on who they are talking to, while low self-monitors tend to be consistent throughout all situations.