Social Psychology Notes: The Self and Self-Esteem (Lecture Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the lecture notes on the self and self-esteem in social psychology.

Self-concept

The sum total of a person’s thoughts and feelings about themselves; who you think you are; changes over time and across situations.

I vs Me (William James)

The I is the knower/actor; the Me is the known self; I acts and evaluates, while Me is what is known about the self.

Self-concept development

As people develop, self-concept becomes more abstract and complex; mid-adolescence shows conflicting attributes, late adolescence involves integration.

Aspects of the self

Conscious experience, personal memories, physical body, job, family, bills, and other components that constitute the self.

Self-concept across contexts

Self-concept changes by situation (e.g., class vs. party) with different parts of the self becoming active.

Sampling bias

A non-representative sample (e.g., psychology 101 students) that may limit generalizability to a broader population.

Population vs. Sample

Population is the entire group of interest; a sample is a subset used to study that population.

Mundane Realism

Experiments that resemble real-world tasks or events in appearance and context.

Experimental Realism

The extent to which an experiment engages participants and produces meaningful, real behavioral responses.

Empirical questions

Questions that can be tested and answered through observation or experiment.

The I (knower, evaluator, agent)

The ‘I’ is the knowing self, the evaluator, and the agent that performs actions.

Self-Esteem

An evaluation of the self; influenced by important domains; often measured by scales and can be high or low.

Sociometer Hypothesis

Self-esteem functions as a gauge of social inclusion—monitoring belonging and signaling exclusion or inclusion.

Need to Belong (Fundamental need)

The basic human motive to form and maintain meaningful social connections.

Warning Mechanism (Self-Esteem)

Self-esteem acts as a non-conscious monitor that signals social inclusion status and motivates actions.

Monitoring (Self-Esteem)

Non-conscious process that tracks social inclusion to cue conscious awareness.

Informing (Self-Esteem)

Process of bringing social inclusion status into conscious awareness.

Motivating (Self-Esteem)

Process of driving actions to maintain or restore belonging and self-worth.

Level (Trait Self-Esteem)

The baseline, average level of an individual’s self-esteem across time.

Stability (State Self-Esteem)

Fluctuations of self-esteem around the baseline; higher variability indicates greater instability.

State vs. Trait Self-Esteem

Trait SE is the typical, long-term level; State SE is momentary and can change with circumstances.

High Self-Esteem (HSE)

Higher baseline self-esteem; associated with confidence, risk-taking, and sometimes defensiveness or aggression.

Low Self-Esteem (LSE)

Lower baseline self-esteem; more vulnerable to negative feedback and social threats.

Dark Side of High SE

High SE can be linked to defensiveness and aggression when ego-threats occur; not universally beneficial.

Exclusion effect on SE

Exclusion lowers self-esteem especially when it’s driven by others’ preferences rather than random chance.

Social-Liking Correlates

People tend to be more attracted to or value others who appear competent or successful.

Midterm failure and the sociometer extension

Failing a midterm can lower SE by signaling incompetence, affecting perceived social bonds.