L4 the social self

father of social psychology

Baumeister

what is the “the self” according to Baumeister

“the individual’s belief about himself/herself, including the person’s attributes and who and what the self is“

nature of Baumeister definition of “the self”

• quite a cognitive definition

• very individual, doesn’t consider social aspect

social self as part of individual self

we are defined through our interactions with others

analogy for our self-perception (social self)

looking glass self - we see ourselves as we think others see us

cultural focus on individual focus

western, individualistic cultures

collectivist cultures on self

group, how we are together

who proposed social identity theory

Tajfel and Turner (1979)

explain Social Identity theory

defines the self in terms of group memberships (social identity) and personal traits or relationships (personal identity)

what can social identity lead to

discrimination

2 cognitive theories of “the self”

• self knowledge

• self-discrepancy theory

what defines our self knowledge

self schema

define self-schema + 2 characteristics

the beliefs and ideas people hold about themselves

• multiple (present in certain situations)

• working self-concept (most accessible in the moment depends on context)

who proposed self-discrepancy theory

Higgins (1987)

3 parts of the self according to self discrepancy theory

• ideal self (like)

• actual self (are)

• ought self (should)

how the 3-selves impact our perceived self according to self-discrepancy theory

discrepancies between 3-selves can lead to discomfort → motivation to align our self-concept with out goals

2 behavioural theories of the self

• self perception theory

• social comparison theory

who proposed self perception theory

Bem (1967; 1972)

what does self-perception theory propose about how we know ourselves

we define ourselves based on our behaviours, assuming intrinsic motivation if external rewards are absent

extrinsic motivation

behaviour is driven by external rewards

intrinsic motivation

engage in behaviour because it is personally rewarding

explain over-justification effect

the more external motivation, the decrease in internal motivation

who proposed social comparison theory

Festinger (1954)

explain social comparison theory

we compare ourselves to others to gauge our own abilities and progress, often seeking similar others for validation

difference between upward and downward social comparison

upward is comparing to someone who appears to have things better which can lower self-esteem but also motivates

downward is comparing to someone who appears to have things worse which elevates self esteem

define self-esteem

confidence in one’s worth or abilities

judgments of the self and attitudes towards the self

what is self-esteem a major predictor of

well-being e.g. in clinical settings

4 types of self-esteem

• global

• domain specific

• trait

• state

define global self-esteem

overall aggregated opinion of oneself at any one time, on a scale between negative and positive

define domain specific self-esteem

relates to one’s self-esteem in regard of a particular area e.g. sport

can have multiple, good for self esteem

define trait self-esteem

an individual’s accumulated lifelong perception of social inclusion and exclusion

individual’s personality characteristics - traits interact with different factors to create many emotional states

define state self-esteem

a perception of changes in one’s level of social inclusion (situational)

momentary emotional reaction

levels of self concept confusion and self knowledge associated with high self esteem

• lower self concept confusion

• more self knowledge

types of orientation associated with high self esteem

self-enhancing and motivational orientation

social considerations for high self esteem

• low anxiety

• low sexual rejection and exclusion

what is high self esteem associated with

good index of social acceptance and belonging

explain self enhancement bias

greater self-reflection on positive than on negative aspects of self

explain self-serving bias

tendency to take credit for successes and deny blame for failures, helping to protect and enhance our self-image

what personality traits might be linked to self-enhancement bias

internal vs external locus of control

how does individual self esteem tend to vary (according to Baumeister)

between moderation and very high

narcissism in terms of self-esteem

inflated self-esteem that can be detrimental, involving high self-regard and often lacking empathy for others

4 ways we maintain our self image

• self-enhancement

• impression management

• self presentation

• self-monitoring