Social Thinking

Module 3: Self-Concept: Who Am I? | Module 4: Self-Serving Biases | Module 5: The Power of Thinking Positively | Module 6: The Fundamental Attribution Error | Module 7: The Power and Perils of Intuition | Module 8: Reasons for Unreason | Module 9: Behavior and Belief

What are the 2 parts in the process of sense of self?

• self-concept

• self-awareness

What is self-concept?

your concept of who you are; your response to the question, “who are you?”

What is self-awareness?

your ability to think about yourself; your ability to answer the question, “why did you just do that?”

When does our sense of self start developing?

around 18-24 months

What are self-schemas?

mental images of yourself that you use to compare yourself to other people

What is an example of how self-schemas work?

if you perceive yourself as athletic, you’re gonna compare yourself to others based on whether they are athletic or not, and you are more likely to want to be around more athletic people because you relate to them

When do we remember information better?

if it fits into our self-schema

When do self-schemas usually start developing?

in elementary school years

Why do males develop their self-schemas easier?

because they’re more simplistic

What is social comparison?

checking our ideas by comparing them to others’ ideas; the more important the individual, the more relevant the comparison

What is the spotlight effect?

when you believe that people are paying attention to you when they never were

What are illusions of transparency?

when people believe their concealed emotions leak out and other people can easily read their emotional states

What are possible selves?

what you dream of becoming one day; dreams are inspirational while fears are motivational

What are the 2 dominant categories that culture fits into?

• independent view of self (individualistic)

• interdependent view of self (collectivist)

What is the identity of those with an independent view of self?

it is defined by personal traits, characteristics, and goals

What matters to those with an independent view of self?

personal achievement, personal freedoms, making sure your own needs are met

What do those with an independent view of self disapprove of?

conformity

What is the motto of those with an independent view of self?

to thine own self be true; be honest to yourself because you have to look in the mirror at the end of the day

Where do those with an independent view of self tend to live?

the Western world (especially the U.S.)

What is the identity of those wth an interdependent sense of self?

social in nature; based upon connections with other people

ex: son/daughter, niece/nephew, sister/brother

What matters to those with an interdependent sense of self?

group goals, social achievements, group solidarity, group happiness

What do those with an interdependent sense of self disapprove of?

egotism; self-centeredness splinters a community

What are the mottos of those with an interdependent sense of self?

no man is an island, it takes a village

Where do those with an interdependent sense of self tend to live?

most places outside the Western world

What’s an easy way to tell whether someone has an independent or interdependent sense of self?

individualistic societies tend to view the elderly as nuisances, while collectivist societies view them as wise, important and useful

What are the characteristics of women’s relational interdependence in relationships?

• they view relationships as an avenue to talk about problems with others

• they put a priority on developing and maintaining relationships

• the greater the relationship, the greater of a sacrifice they are willing to make

• they are more focused on sharing and how other people view them

What are the characteristics of men’s collective interdependence in relationships?

• they like being part of groups (memberships)

• they think forming deeper bonds is insignificant

• don’t cry, don’t show weakness, be tough

What is self-knowledge?

introspection - examining your motives/thoughts; you have to be aware of them in the first place

What are the 2 ways that we use to try to explain behavior?

• self-perception theory

• motivation

What is self-perception theory?

concept that people about their own attitudes and character traits by observing their own behavior

What are the 2 types of motivation?

• intrinsic (internal)’

• extrinsic (external)

What is intrinsic (internal) motivation?

private; unless you tell people, no one is going to know your motivation level but you (unless you tell them); drives people to be better

What is extrinsic (external) motivation?

rewards and punishments; if the reward isn’t worth it; there’s no motivation to get it done

ex: college rewards you with a degree, which allows you to get a career and earn money

What are we almost always wrong about when it comes to feelings?

intensity (more intense than they actually are) and duration (will last longer than they actually do)

What is causal theory?

using incorrect information to predict our feelings

What is impact bias?

tendency to overestimate the lasting impact of an emotion-affecting event

What are self-serving attributions?

when you higlight your strenghts and minimize weaknesses

What is unrealistic optimism?

think everything will always work out your way

What is defensive pessimism?

preparing for the worst and hoping for the best

What is the false consensus effect?

when you believe that other people hold the same beliefs that you have

What is the false uniqueness effect?

when you believe that you alone are unique, and that others do not possess characteristics that make them unique as well

What is self-efficacy?

our ability to successfully complete a task

What is self-efficacy important for?

predicting behavior

What are people with high-efficacy more successful at?

things like losing weight and quitting smoking because they set realistic goals for themselves

What is locus of control?

our center of control

What are the 2 types of locus of control?

internal and external

What is an internal locus of control?

when you believe that you make your own destiny

What is an external locus of control?

when you believe you have no control over your life; everything that happens to you is because of luck, chance or fate

What is learned helplessness?

having no hope and learning to just give up because of repeated failures

Waht are the 3 levels to learned helplessness?

1. stable attribution

2. internal attribution

3. global attribution

What is stable attribution?

belief that an event is caused by factors that will not change over time as opposed to factors that are external to you

ex: a child in elementary school repeatedly fails a math test and believes that they’re not good

What is internal attribution?

belief that the event is caused by you rather than external factors

ex: “I’m not good at math” turns into“I’m not smart”

What is global attribution?

belief that an event is caused by factors that apply to a large number of situations rather than something that should be applied specifically

ex: “I’m not smart” turns into “I’m bad at everything”

What did Seligman propose to treat learned helplessness?

positive psychology

What is positive psychology?

intervening early on in the case of learned helplessness

What is self-determination?

your ability to grind it out when other people quit; grit

What did Angela Duckworth (Seligman’s colleague) believe about grit/self-determination?

that it was a skill set that could be taught

What is paralysis by analysis?

when you have too many choices and you get overwhelmed, so you look for someone else to make them for you

• you don’t want to be wrong

• you’re afraid how people will judge you

What is correspondence bias?

when we watch other people’s behavior and say it corresponds with their internal disposition without considering social constraints

What is perceptual salience?

the concept that your literal point of view affects how you interpret a situation

What is perceptual awareness?

the concept that we are only aware of what we perceive

What is situational awareness?

concept that knowing your environment and understanding that it affects your perception

What are intuitive judgments?

gut feelings that you have about something without any explanation or justification

How are intuitive judgments pre-conscious?

we’re unsure where they come from

What is the nature of intuitive judgments?

right brain and holistic

What are the easiest ways to explain where intuition comes from?

1. life experience – the more you have, the higher your level of intuition

2. ability of the brain to analyze the situation (body language)

What is the purpose of intuition?

to protect you from emotional and physical harm, since the fear it gives you can keep you safe

What will happen if you only base your decisions on intuition?

you will be prone to making mistakes

Why do women use intuition more than men?

they’re better at picking up on subtle changes and differences in body language and expressions

What happens if you rely too much on intuition?

you are prone to overconfidence

What is overconfidence with competence?

when overconfidence helps to push your behavior to new limits

What is overconfidence with incompetence?

when overconfidence makes you think you can do something you don’t have the abilities to pull off

How can you prevent overconfidence?

by planning ahead and working on time management

How does intuition impact our ability to construct our memories?

we might remember events as not being as bad as they really were or reconstruct our attitudes by taking things that were okay and making them seem better in retrospect

What do perceptions and interpretations make up?

how you view the world

What is illusion of control?

the concept that we believe we are more in control of events than we actually are

What are chance events?

events that you have the ability to change or alter

What do you have to do when you look at control?

the big picture, including both the good AND bad

What is an example of looking at the big picture when it comes to control?

if a student that usually gets As on psychology tests walks in one day and gets an F, it doesn’t mean that they’re suddenly bad at psychology, it’s just a one-off and the exception to the rule, and they will likely go back to getting As on future tests

Why are we better at judging our friends’ behaviors than our own?

we see our own behaviors through rose-colored glasses and see our friends’ from an outside perspective

What type of person does self-fulfilling prophecy work well for?

those who put themselves in situations where they know they will be successful; they’re optimistic but also realistic and offer within their boundaries

What type of person does self-fulfilling prophecy work poorly for?

those who put themselves in situations where they’re doomed to fail

What is counterfactual thinking?

mentally changing aspects of a past event to make them more enjoyable

How is counterfactual thinking beneficial?

it allows you to set yourself up to be able to make better decisions in the future

What is thought suppression?

attempting to avoid thinking about unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and events

What are the 2 components of thought suppression?

monitoring and operating

What is monitoring in thought suppression?

the ability to understand that that negative event/memory will come back to the surface

What is operating in thought suppression?

actively engaging in other activities to make the thought of that memory go away

What is an attitude?

a favorable or unfavorable evaluation toward someone or something

What are the 3 components necessary for an attitude to be present?

ABC - Affect, Behavior, Cognitive

What is the Affect component of an attitude?

the emotional reaction

What is the Behavior component of an attitude?

the outward observable reactions

What is the Cognitive component of an attitude?

the thoughts and beliefs

When do attitudes start developing?

in adolescence

Why do females get in trouble for attitudes more than males?

males are more scared of perceived consequences

What are Affectively based attitudes driven by?

value and impulse

When do Affectively based attitudes occur?

when you like or dislike something without knowing why

What do you tend to not examine in an Affectively based attitude?

facts

Where are Affectively based attitudes believed to come from?

sensory reactions, especially aesthetics

What are Behavioral attitudes driven by?

outward behavior