Ch.3 Self

The social self (William James)

The self is social through and through; we have as many social selves as groups whose opinions we care about

Three ways to know the self (lecture)

Introspection, self-perception, and social comparison

Self-other knowledge asymmetry

The self knows internal traits best; others know observable and highly valued traits better because our self-views are biased

Self-schema

A cognitive structure from past experience representing beliefs and feelings about the self; speeds processing and resists contradictory info

Schematic vs. aschematic

Schematic = a trait is central to your self-definition (extreme rating); aschematic = the trait isn't important to you

Introspection

Looking inward at one's own thoughts and feelings; something people don't do often

Self-awareness theory

Focusing on the self leads to comparison with internal standards; a negative gap leads to changing behavior, feeling bad, or avoiding self-awareness

Private vs. public self-consciousness

Private = tendency to introspect and ruminate about the self; public = attending to how others see you

Effects of state self-awareness

More inhibition, more honest behavior, more attitude-behavior consistency, and can perpetuate depression

Reason-generated attitude change

Analyzing why you feel something brings up easy-to-verbalize but inaccurate reasons, which can change the attitude

Better-than-average effect

Most people think they are above average on traits and abilities

Affective forecasting

Predicting how we'll feel about future events; we overestimate how strongly and how long outcomes will affect us

Self-perception theory

When internal cues are unclear, we infer our attitudes, motives, and emotions by observing our own behavior (Bem)

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic = doing something for personal satisfaction; extrinsic = doing it for a reward, demand, or obligation

Overjustification effect

Rewarding an activity people already enjoy makes them attribute it to the reward, lowering intrinsic interest

Facial feedback hypothesis

Facial expressions influence the emotions we feel

Looking-glass self

We come to know ourselves through others' reactions to us (Cooley)

Reflected self-appraisal

Our belief about what others think of us; often doesn't match how others actually see us

Working self-concept

The subset of self-knowledge brought to mind in a particular situation

Distinctiveness and the self

We define ourselves by what makes us unique in the current context

How the self is both malleable and stable

Core self-beliefs, a stable overall pool of self-knowledge, and stable patterns of change across situations

Independent self-construal

The self is autonomous and separate from others; focus on unique internal traits (individual, unique, influencing, free)

Interdependent self-construal

The self is connected to others and embedded in relationships and roles (relational, similar, adjusting, rooted, ranked)

Who tends to have independent selves? (lecture)

Westerners, men, White people, middle class, U.S. coasts, businesses, Global North

Who tends to have interdependent selves? (lecture)

Easterners, women, non-White people, working class, U.S. South and Midwest, nonprofits, Global South

The culture cycle

Ideas, institutions, everyday practices and artifacts, and individuals, each shaping and reproducing the others

Ideas (culture cycle)

Often invisible beliefs about how to be a good or right person; the most abstract level of culture

Institutions (culture cycle)

Legal, government, economic, educational, and religious bodies that set society's rules (e.g., college admission letters)

Everyday practices and artifacts (culture cycle)

Interactions and cultural products like songs, ads, and tools that make some ways of being easier (e.g., Sesame Street vs. Japanese songs)

Gender and self-construal

U.S. women tend to be more interdependent (relational), men more independent; men lean collective interdependent

Relational vs. collective interdependence

Relational = connected to close individuals (women more); collective = connected to groups and teams (men more)

Social identities

Parts of the self that come from group memberships (Tajfel & Turner)

Self-stereotyping

Defining yourself by a group's traits and norms when that identity is salient

Social comparison theory

We learn about our abilities and opinions by comparing with others, especially when uncertain and no objective standard exists (Festinger)

Comparison target for self-evaluation

Similar others, for an accurate assessment

Comparison target for self-improvement

Upward comparison, with people slightly better off

Comparison target for self-enhancement

Downward comparison, with people worse off

Which comparison motive wins?

No threat to self-esteem leads to self-evaluation; threat leads to self-enhancement

Three factors in comparison threat (Tesser)

Performance (they did better), closeness (how linked you are), and relevance (how important the domain is to you)

Basking in reflected glory

Feeling good about a close other's success on a task irrelevant to your self-concept

How to reduce self-esteem threat from comparison

Improve your performance, distance yourself from the other person, or decide the task isn't important

Self-esteem

The overall positive or negative evaluation people have of themselves

Trait vs. state self-esteem

Trait = enduring, stable self-regard; state = momentary, changeable feelings about the self

Contingencies of self-worth

Self-esteem rises and falls with success and failure in the domains you stake your worth on (Crocker)

Sociometer hypothesis

Self-esteem is an internal gauge of social acceptance that warns us of possible rejection (Leary)

Culture and self-esteem

Independent cultures report higher self-esteem; interdependent cultures focus more on self-improvement

Self-enhancement

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

Self-serving construals

Defining ambiguous traits in ways that favor ourselves; we judge others by their average and ourselves by our best

Self-affirmation theory

After a threat, affirming an unrelated valued part of the self restores overall self-worth and reduces defensiveness (Steele)

Double curse of incompetence

The skills you lack are the same ones needed to recognize that you lack them (Kruger & Dunning)

Positive illusions debate

Taylor & Brown: illusions improve well-being; critics: self-enhancers seem narcissistic and illusions aren't valued in East Asian cultures

Self-verification theory

People want others to see them as they see themselves, even negatively, for coherence and predictability (Swann)

Self-enhancement vs. self-verification

Enhancement drives emotional reactions to feedback; verification drives judgments of whether feedback is accurate

Self-regulation

How people start, change, and control behavior to reach goals, including resisting short-term temptations

Self-discrepancy theory

We compare our actual self with our ideal self and ought self; gaps produce specific emotions (Higgins)

Actual-ideal discrepancy

Gap between who you are and who you hope to be; produces dejection emotions (disappointment, shame); promotion focus

Actual-ought discrepancy

Gap between who you are and who you should be; produces agitation emotions (guilt, anxiety); prevention focus

Promotion vs. prevention focus

Promotion = attaining positive outcomes (approach); prevention = avoiding negative outcomes (avoidance)

Hot vs. cool construals

Thinking of a temptation in cool, unappealing terms (cotton ball) instead of hot, appealing terms helps self-control

High-level vs. low-level construals

High = abstract big picture (forest); low = concrete details (trees); high-level construals help self-control

Implementation intention

An if-then plan linking a cue to a goal behavior, which then runs automatically

Self-presentation

Presenting the person we want others to believe we are (impression management)

Goffman's dramaturgic perspective

Social life is a performance in which we maintain face, the public image we want others to accept

Face

The public image of ourselves that we want others to believe

Self-monitoring

Adjusting behavior to fit the situation; high self-monitors act like chameleons, low self-monitors follow their own traits

Self-handicapping

Engaging in self-defeating behavior to have an excuse ready if you fail

Online self-presentation

People present their personality fairly accurately online, but less accurately for physical attributes

Misprediction of satisfaction in housing lotteries study

Dunn, Wilson, & Gilbert (2003): students predicted big happiness gaps by dorm, but actual happiness was similar; affective forecasting errors

Children's intrinsic interests with extrinsic reward study

Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett (1973): kids promised a reward for drawing later drew half as much; overjustification effect

Effects of friendship and task relevance on word guessing game

Tesser & Smith (1980): on a relevant task people gave friends harder clues; self-evaluation maintenance

Self-Esteem and Exposure to North American Culture study

Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama (1999): self-esteem rose with more exposure to North American culture; culture shapes self-esteem

Self-descriptions among Kenyans with varying levels of Western-culture exposure study

Ma & Schoeneman (1997): herders described themselves by roles, students by traits, workers in between; Westernization leads to independence

Attributions among Americans vs. Indians study

J. G. Miller (1984): American adults gave dispositional explanations, Indian adults situational, children similar; culture shapes attributions

Olympic Medalists' smiles study

Medvec, Madey, & Gilovich (1995): bronze medalists looked happier than silver; upward vs. downward comparison

Effects of socioeconomic class membership on matching cars study

Stephens, Markus, & Townsend (2007): middle class annoyed, working class flattered by a matching car; class as culture

Effects of culture on pen preferences study

Kim & Markus (1999): Americans picked the unique pen, East Asians the common one; uniqueness vs. fitting in

Effects of cultural values on preferences in abstract visual images

Kim & Markus (1999): Americans preferred standout figures, East Asians harmonious ones; culture and aesthetic preference

Accuracy of self predictions study

Vazire & Mehl (2008): close others predicted behavior as accurately as the self; limits of self-knowledge

Accuracy of others in anticipating your behavior study

Vazire & Carlson (2011): self better for internal traits, others for observable and valued traits; self-other asymmetry

Self-schemas impacting interpretations and judgments study

Markus (1977): schematic people judged faster, recalled more, and rejected contrary feedback; self-schemas

Salience of traits when describing oneself study

McGuire & Padawer-Singer (1976): kids mentioned traits that made them distinctive in class; working self-concept

Western vs. Eastern difference in attention to the social context study

Cohen & Gunz (2002): Canadians recalled memories first-person, Asians as observers; independent vs. interdependent

Cartoon emotion study

Masuda et al. (2008): Japanese used surrounding faces to judge a boy's emotion; interdependent attention to context

Who am I and impacts of Westernization study

Ma & Schoeneman (1997): more Western exposure led to trait-based self-descriptions; culture is more than country

Neural activation in self-construal study

Zhu et al. (2007): Chinese participants' mPFC activated for self and mother; interdependent self in the brain

Gender impacting self-construals study

Cross & Madson (1997): women more interdependent, men more independent; gender shapes self-construal

Choice of comparison study

Blanton et al. (1999): students compared upward, which predicted better grades; upward comparison for improvement

Facebook impacting well-being study

Verduyn et al. (2015): passive Facebook use lowered mood through envy; upward comparison on social media

Grad school rejection self-esteem study

Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen (2002): bigger self-esteem swings when worth was tied to academics; contingencies of self-worth

Culture impact on self-esteem study

Heine & Lehman (2003): self-esteem rose with acculturation to Canada; culture shapes self-esteem

Positive illusions impacting stress response study

S. E. Taylor et al. (2003): high self-enhancers had lower cortisol under stress; positive illusions

Self-enhancing beliefs impact on self-esteem study

Robins & Beer (2001): self-enhancers' benefits declined over four years; short-term gain, long-term cost

Intimate bonds study

Swann, De La Ronde, & Hixon (1994): partners who matched each other's self-views were more committed, even if negative; self-verification

Self-enhancement vs. self-verification motives study

Kwang & Swann (2010): positive feedback felt good, but matching feedback seemed accurate; both motives coexist

Marshmallow paradigm study

Mischel, Ebbesen, & Zeiss (1972): cool construals and distraction helped kids wait; self-regulation via construal

Implementation intention study

Gollwitzer & Oettingen (2016): if-then plans increased goal completion; automatic self-control

Facebook Online vs. offline presentation study

Back et al. (2010): profiles reflected actual, not ideal, personality; accurate online self-presentation

Self-expression via Twitter tweets study

Orehek & Human (2017): tweets revealed tweeters' traits; accurate online self-presentation