PSYC 320 Chapter 3 - The Social Self

self-schema

our understanding of the framework of who we are that is built from experiences

ie. i am a future fbi employee who loves pizza

influences behavior: if we see ourselves as shy, we will interact less at a party

older siblings

caretakers, achievers, more traditional, and more responsible

younger siblings

rebels, creatives, unique

diversification

families thrive when siblings develop unique roles, reducing competition and conflict and allows everyone to feel valued for their role

social context

the people youre with and the roles you occupy can change your behavior and feelings

ie. more formal and responsible around your boss

independent view

prioritizes personal identity over group affiliation

US, Canada, and Western Europe

interdependent view

prioritizes connections with others and the group’s identity over their own identity

East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Latin America

relational interdependent

focuses on the self connecting to other individuals

collective interdependent

focuses on the self in relation to social groups

women

interdependent, focus on connections and relationships with others, more attuned to social cues

men

independent, emphasizing personal achievement and autonomy, less attuned to social cues

how gender differences are reinforced

play styles as children, socialization, societal roles, and caregivers guiding girls towards collaborative and empathetic activities and boys towards competitive and individualistic activities

social comparison theory

people compare themselves to other to better understand their own opinions, abilities, and emotional states

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to those who are worse off to make ourselves feel better

upward social comparison`

comparing ourselves to those who are better off to either motivate or discourage ourselves

self-esteem

a person’s overall sense of worth or value

trait self-esteem

long-term, stable sense of self-worth that endures across time and situations

eg. Sam is very confident in their behaviors and abilities

state self-esteem

temporary, changeable self-evaluations influenced by the situation

eg. Ross is feeling good about himself after acing an exam but then is insecure after a social misstep

actual self

who you think you are right now

ideal self

who you wish you could be

ought self

who you feel you should be based on responsibilities or others’ expectations

self-discrepancy theory

negative emotions arise when ought self conflicts with actual self

self-presentation

the big picture way of controlling how others see us

impression management

the specific strategies we use in the big picture to control how others see us

face

the public image of ourselves and what we want others to believe

eg. Maddie is always the funny one in the group, so even when she’s having a bad day, she maintains that face of being quirky

self-monitoring

the tendency to monitor one’s behavior to fit the current situation

high - often adjusts behavior for the situation

low - more consistent in their behavior, regardless of the situation

self-handicapping

engaging in self-defeating behaviors to have an excuse ready if one performs poorly or fails

eg. Ava procrastinates for her big exam so if she fails she can blame it on her lack of preparation and not herself

reflected self-appraisal

our beliefs about what others think about us

working self-concept

the immediate memory of our self-concept that is usually relevant to the situation we are in

self-stereotyping

characterizing yourself in terms of the traits and norms associated with a meaningful social group (ie. albanian > mean)

contingencies of self-worth

people’s self-esteem is contingent on their successes and failures in domains that are most important to their self-worth

self-enhancement

the desire to maintain, increase, or protect positive views of the self

better than average effect

people think they are above average on certain personality traits or abilities

self-verification theory

we strive for others to view us the way we view ourselves