lecture 4- self, identity, and social self cont.

self-esteem

the global or overall evaluation that one has of oneself (positive or negative)

trait self-esteem

individual’s enduring and relatively stable sense of self-worth, or global self-evaluation (overall evaluation, more stable)

• most people have high self-esteem overall (trait)

state self-esteem

moment to moment evaluation of ourselves

• fluctuates over time

contingencies of self-worth

specific areas or domains where individuals base their self-esteem on external factors or outcomes

• sources of self-esteem, which differ from person to person and across time

  • approval, physical attractiveness, fitness, intelligence

sociometer theory (Leary)

self-esteem is an evolutionary metric for how we’re doing socially

• system monitors social inclusion, activates social pain if inclusion is low, and motivates restoration of inclusion

  • evidence → self-esteem particularly sensitive to rejection (social pain lights up same area of brain as physical pain)

problems with self-esteem

• hard to control

• not beneficial in all forms

• defending self-esteem can be detrimental

self-compassion

self-kindness, recognition of shared experience, and mindfulness

• consequence of self-esteem

self-enhancement

desire to maintain, increase, or protect one’s positive views

• motivated to maintain/increase self-esteem and view themselves positively

better-than-average effect (illusory superiority)

strategy of self-enhancement

• the tendency to perceive ourselves as better than the average person / tendency to overestimate own abilities and traits relative to others

  • why? → unskilled and unaware (in part)

  • exception → worse-than-average effect for difficult tasks

worse-than-average effect

when something is very difficult, we believe we are worse than average

self-affirmation theory

strategy of self-enhancement

• people can maintain an overall sense of self-worth following psychologically threatening info by affirming a valued aspect of themselves unrelated to the threat

  • when self-image challenged, ppl may engage in self-affirmation to boost sense of adequacy

    • minimize defensive/harmful behaviors

      • self-serving attributional bias

self-serving attribution bias

strategy of self-enhancement

• tendency to attribute responsibility to ourselves when we succeed, but fail to attribute to ourselves when we fail

  • attributing positive outcome to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors

cognitive dissonance

a state of tension that occurs whenever an individual holds two conditions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent

• dissonance effects are greatest when…

  • ppl feel personally responsible for actions, actions have serious consequences, action is irrevocable, and actions conflict w/ aspect of self-concept

self-evaluation maintenance model (SEM) (Tesser)

explains how individuals maintain/enhance their self-esteem through social comparison and reflection on the performance of others

• others’ successes can threaten our self-esteem (or not)

basking in reflected glory

associating w/ someone who is succeeding in a domain that doesn’t affect us

self-evaluation maintenance model (SEM) comparisons

• if someone doing better than us in our domain…

  • improve our performance, reduce closeness, reduce importance of domain

• comparisons hurt more when target is close to us or domain is relevant to us

Brehm, 1965

postdecision changes in the desirability of alternatives

• ppl more likely to increase desirability of what they chose and decrease desirability of what they didn’t choose

Lyubomirksy and Ross, 1999

comparison of happy and unhappy individuals

• happier ppl likely to increase desirability of chosen things -

• unhappy ppl likely to have stable opinions of items

  • more likely to go back and forth (did i choose the right choice)

positive illusions

• higher self-esteem = more positive illusions

  • lower cortisol levels, more happy

  • Taylor et al., (2003)

    • higher self-enhancement individuals were less stressed

is self-enhancement adaptive?

Robins and Beer (2001) → it depends

• self-enhancement good in short term, but potentially detrimental in long-term

self-verification

we strive for stable, subjectively accurate beliefs a/b the self b/c such self views give a sense of coherence

• individuals motivated to have others perceive them as they perceive themselves, even if that perception is negative

  • ex: attend to info consistent w/ our views, display identity cues, develop relationships w/ people that maintain your self-view

self-enhancement vs self-verification

self-enhancement → relevant to emotional responses to feedback a/b the self

self-verification → determines cognitive assessment of accuracy of the feedback

self-presentation

controlling, regulating, and monitoring the info we provide a/b ourselves to create a desired impression

• public self → person we want others to believe we are (overall image we present to others)

• face → public image of ourselves we want others to believe (prestige and social status associated w/ image)

multiple audience problem

arises when desired identity differs for two different audiences present at the same time

self-monitoring

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

high self-monitor

scrutinize situations, shift self-presentation to fit context, “actors”, and change behavior according to situation

low self-monitor

behave according to own traits and preferences and social context doesn’t influence behavior as much

self-handicapping

tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior in order to have an excuse ready

• create obstacles to own success to protect self-esteem by providing an excuse for failure if they don’t succeed

  • creating obstacles → individual can attribute failure to obstacle rather than own lack of ability

online presentation

ppl tend to present themselves fairly accurately online

self-regulation

refers to processes by which people initiate, alter, and control their behavior in pursuit of their goals

• ability to control your behavior, thoughts, and emotions to achieve long-term goals

  • thinking before acting & acting in ways that align w/ your values

self-discrepancy theory

people hold beliefs a/b what they are actually like, what they would ideally be like, and what they ought to be like

self-determination theory

people function best when needs for connectedness/relatedness (need to feel connected and belonging), autonomy (control over behavior, sense of choice), and competence (feeling capable) are met

flow

feeling of being completely absorbed in a challenging activity