The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a Social Context

Flashcards covering the origins of the self, self-concept, cultural and gender differences, introspection, and self-evaluation theories based on Chapter 5 lecture notes.

Self-concept

Our knowledge about who we are.

Self-awareness

The ability to see yourself clearly and objectively through reflection and introspection.

Rouge test

A test for self-recognition where a dab of rouge is applied to an infant’s nose and they are placed in front of a mirror to see if they recognize the reflection as themselves.

Self-Recognition Development

Studies suggest that in human infants, the ability to recognize oneself develops at about $2$ years of age.

Self-schema

An organized body of knowledge about the self, such as attitudes, preferences, and traits, that influences what people notice, think about, and remember about themselves.

Self-Concept Clarity

The extent to which knowledge about the self is stable, clear, and consistently defined.

Independent view of self-concept

A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions, and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people; common in Western cultures.

Interdependent view of self-concept

A way of defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people and recognizing that one’s behaviour is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others; common in Eastern cultures.

Cisgendered

Designating a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds to his or her sex at birth.

Relational interdependence

Defining oneself in terms of relationships with others, a tendency more common in (cis)women in individualist cultures.

Collective interdependence

Interdependence in relation to social groups such as sports teams, a tendency more common in (cis)men in individualistic cultures.

Introspection

The process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives.

Self-awareness theory

The theory that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behaviour to their internal standards and values.

Outside perspective of the self

Viewing oneself through other people, a perspective more likely held by people from East Asian cultures.

Insider perspective of the self

Focusing on private experiences without considering how others see them, a perspective more likely held by people from Western cultures.

Telling more than we know

Nisbett & Wilson’s term for the tendency for people to explain more about their feelings and behaviour than they actually know.

Causal Theories

Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviours that are often learned from one’s culture.

Intrinsic Motivation

The desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it or find it interesting.

Extrinsic Motivation

The desire to engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures.

Overjustification effect

The case whereby people view their behaviour as caused by extrinsic reasons, making them lose interest in an activity they initially enjoyed.

Task-contingent rewards

Rewards given for simply performing a task.

Performance-contingent rewards

Rewards given for performing well on a task, which are less likely to decrease intrinsic interest.

Looking-Glass Self

The concept that we see ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their views into our self-concept.

Social comparison theory

Proposed by Festinger ($1954$), the theory that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people.

Executive function of the self

Self-control, which serves to regulate our behaviour, choices, and plans.

Downward social comparison

The process of comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are in a particular trait or ability as a self-protective, self-enhancing strategy.

Upward social comparison

The process of comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are in a particular trait or ability, which can be threatening to self-esteem.

Expectation gap

The gap between our expectations and reality, argued by Nat to be a key reason for unhappiness.

Self-Enhancement

An unrealistically positive view of oneself, largely a phenomenon of individualist cultures.

Self-Verification Theory

Suggests that people have a need to seek confirmation of their self-concept, whether that self-concept is positive or negative.

Self-discrepancy theory

The theory that people are motivated to maintain consistency among their beliefs and perceptions and become distressed by discrepancies between the "actual self" and an "ideal" or "ought" self.

Actual-Ideal discrepancies

Discrepancies that lead to depression-related emotions.

Actual-Ought discrepancies

Discrepancies that lead to anxiety-related emotions.

Carl Rogers (1959) Self-Concept Components

The three components are self-image (the view you have of yourself), self-esteem (the value you place on yourself), and ideal-self (what you wish you were really like).