PSYC 100 Winter W24

Relationships and Self-Identity

Reflexive

The idea that the self reflects back upon itself; that the I (the knower, the subject) encounters the Me (the known, the object). Reflexivity is a fundamentally property of human selfhood

Ways in which the I may encounter the Me

Social Actor, Motivated Agent, Autobiographical Author

Social Actor

Main currency is traits and roles, sense of self as social actor begins to emerge around the age of 18 months

Self as Social Actor

The sense of the self as an embodied actor whose social performances may be construed in terms of more or less consistent self-ascribed traits and social roles

Social Reputation

The traits and social roles that others attribute to an actor. Actors also have their own conceptions of what they imagine their respective social reputations indeed are in the eyes of others

The Motivated Agent

To be is to act with direction and purposes, to move forward into the future in pursuit of self-chosen and valued goals

Age 5-to-7 Shift

Cognitive and social changes that occur in the early elementary school years that result in the child's developing a more purposeful, planful, and goal-directional approach to life, setting the stage for the emergence of the self as a motivated agent

Self-Esteem

The extent to which a person feels that he or she is worthy + good; the success or failure that the motivated agent experiences in pursuit of valued goals is a strong determinant of self-esteem

Identity

Developmental task for late adolescence and young adulthood

Formation entails commitments to new social roles and reevaluation of old traits

Self as Motivated Agent

The sense of self as an intentional force that strives to achieve goals, plans, values, projects, and the like

Temporal Continuity

Reflexive understanding of how I have come to be the person I am becoming

Narrative Identity

An internalized and evolving story of the self designed to provide life with some measure of temporal unity and purpose

Autobiographical Reasoning

The ability, typically developed in adolescence, to derive substantive conclusions about the self from analysing one's own personal experiences

Self as Autobiographical Author

The sense of the self as a storyteller who reconstructs the past and imagines the future in order to articulate an integrative narrative that provides life with some measure of temporal continuity and purpose

Life stories reflect the culture wherein they are situated as much as they reflect the authorial efforts of the autobiographical I

Redemptive Narratives

Life stories that affirm the transformation from suffering to an enhanced status or state. In American culture, redemptive life stories are highly prized as models for the good self, as in classic narratives of atonement, upward mobility, liberation, and recovery

Objective Social Variables

Targets of research interest that are factual and not subject to personal opinions or feelings

Social Integration

Size of your social network, or number of social roles

Subjective Social Variables

Targets of research interest that are not necessarily factual but are related to personal opinions or feelings

Social Support

The perception or actuality that we have a social network that can help us in times of need + provide us with a variety of useful resources

Health

According to the WHO, it is a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Ostracism

Being excluded and ignored by others

Shunning

The act of avoiding or ignoring a person, and withholding all social interaction for a period of time. Shunning generally occurs as a punishment and is temporary

Confidante

A trusted person with whom secrets and vulnerabilities can be shared

Formal Relationships

Those bound by the rules of politeness, generally less relaxed because they require a bit more work, demanding that we exert more self-control

Informal Relationships

Friends, lovers, siblings, or others with whom you can relax

Can express our true feelings, use the language that comes most naturally to us, generally be more authentic

Machiavellianism

Being cunning, strategic, or exploitative in one's relationships; named after Machiavelli, who outlined this way of relating in his book, The Prince

Ethnographic Studies

Research that emphasizes field data + that examines questions that attempt to understand culture from its own context and point of view

Cultural Psychology

An approach to researching culture that emphasizes the use of interviews and observation as a means of understanding culture from its own point of view; likely to use interviews as a primary research methodology

Open-Ended Questions

 Research questions that ask participants to answer in their own words

Cultural Similarities

An approach to understanding culture primarily by paying attention to common features that are the same as or similar to those of other cultures

Cultural Differences

An approach to understanding culture by paying attention to unique + distinctive features that set them apart from other cultures

Standard Scale

Research method in which all participants use a common scale - typically a Likert scale to respond to questions

Ethnocentric Bias

Being unduly guided by the beliefs of the culture you've grown up in, especially when this results in a misunderstanding or disparagement of unfamiliar cultures

Features of Culture that are central to understanding the uniqueness + diversity of the human mind

Versatility, Sharing, Accumulation, Patterns

Situational Identity

Being guided by different cultural influences in different situations, such as home versus workplace, or formal versus informal roles

Cultural Intelligence

 The ability and willingness to apply cultural awareness to practical uses

Progressive Cultivation - Culture

Refers to a relatively small subset of activities that are intentional and aimed at "being refined" (art, music, etc.)

Ways of Life - Culture

Refers to a distinct patterns of beliefs and behaviours widely shared among members of a culture

Shared Learning - Culture

Enculturation and the way people learn about and share cultural knowledge

Enculturation

The uniquely human form of learning that is taught by one generation to another

Cultural Scripts

Learned guides for how to behave appropriately in a given social situation. These reflect cultural norms and widely accepted

Individualism

Belief system that exalts freedom, independence, and individual choice as high values

Collectivism

Belief system that emphasizes the duties + obligations that each person has towards others

Vertical Societies

People can differ in status, with some people being more highly respected or having more privileges

Horizontal Societies

People are relatively equal in status and privileges

Self-Construal

The extent to which the self is defined as independent or as relating to others

Independent Self

The tendency to define the self in terms of stable traits that guide behaviour

Interdependent Self

The tendency to define the self in terms of social contexts that guide behaviour - more likely to describe themselves in terms of their relations to others

Observational Learning

Learning by observing the behaviour of others

Rituals

Rites or actions performed in a systematic opt prescribed way often for an intended purpose

Value-Free Research

Research that is not influenced by the researchers' own values, morality or opinions

Cultural Relativism

The idea that cultural norms and values of a society can only be understood on their own terms or in their own context

Sex

The biological category of male or female, as defined by physical differences in genetic composition and in reproductive anatomy and function

Gender

The cultural, social, and psychology meanings that are associated with masculinity and femininity

Gender Roles

 The behaviours, attitudes, and personality traits that are designated as either masculine or feminine in a given culture

Gender Stereotypes

The beliefs and expectations people hold about the typical characteristics, preferences, and behaviours of men and women

Gender Identity

A person’s psychological sense of being male or female

Sexual Orientation

The direction of their emotional and erotic attraction towards members of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both sexes

Binary

The notion that a person is either male or female

Cisgender

People who identify with the gender that matches their biological sex

Transgender

Person who identifies with a gender that does not match their biological sex

Genderqueer or Gender Nonbinary

Umbrella terms used to describe a wide range of individuals who do not identify with and/or conform to the gender binary

Genderfluid

Identify as male, female, both, or neither at different times and in different circumstances

Agender

Individuals who may have no gender or describe themselves as having a neutral gender

Bigender

Individuals identify as two genders

Gender Constancy

The awareness that gender is constant and does not change simply by changing external attributes; develops between 3 and 6 years of age

Developmental Intergroup Theory

Postulates that adults' heavy focus on gender leads children to pay attention to gender as a key source of information about themselves and others, to seek out any possible gender differences, and to form rigid stereotypes based on gender that are subsequently difficult to change

Gender Schema Theory (GST)

Argues that children are active learners who essentially socialize themselves

Children actively organize others' behaviour, activities, and attributes into gender categories (schemas)

Social Learning Theory

Theory that people can learn new responses and behaviours by observing the behaviour of others

Gender roles learned through reinforcement, punishment, modeling

Argues children learn many of their gender roles by modelling the behaviour of adults and older children

Gender Discrimination

Differential treatment on the basis of gender

Sexual Harassment

When gender discrimination is based on unwanted treatment related to sexual behaviours of appearance

Ambivalent Sexism

Recognizes the complex nature of gender attitudes, in which women are often associated with positive and negative qualities

Hostile Sexism

The negative attitudes of women as inferior and incompetent relative to men

Benevolent Sexism

Refers to the perception that women need to be protected, supported, and adored by men