AP Psychology - Unit 4.6c Exploring the Self

Self

• assumed to be the center of personality

• the organizer of people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions

Possible Selves

• includes visions of the self an individuals dreams of becoming and the self they fear of becoming

• motivate a person to plan specific goals that direct their energy effectively and efficiently

Spotlight Effect

• overestimating how many people notice and evaluate our appearance, performance, and blunders

Self-Esteem

an individual’s feelings of high or low self-worth

includes how a person sees their;

• abilities

• accomplishments

• values

grows from venturesome experiences and achievements

often increases dramatically from adolescence to middle adulthood

Self-Efficacy

• an individual’s sense of competence and effectiveness

Dunning-Kruger Effect

refers to the ignorance of one’s own incompetence

• “it takes competence to recognize competence”

Self-Serving Bias

a readiness for individuals to perceive themselves favorably

• people often accept responsibility for good deeds than for bad

• most see themselves as better than average

this bias often underlies conflicts

Group-Serving Bias

• people tend to see their own groups as superior

Narcissism

refers to excessive self-love and self-absorption

tend to;

• be unforgiving

• engage in sexually forceful behaviors

• be charismatic

• crave status

• become defensive when criticized

Defensive Self-Esteem

• focuses on sustaining itself, which makes failure and criticism feel threatening

• fragile

Secure Self-Esteem

• less fragile

• less contingent on external evaluations