2.2 _ The Self in the Social World

Self-serving bias

The tendency to perceive oneself favorably

• when people take credit for their successes but blame outside factors for their failures.

Self-serving bias

People accept credit when told they have succeeded.

• Ability + Effort

• Bad luck/Impossibility

• ____ + _____ = Success

• ___________ = Failure

Self-serving attributions

A form of self-serving bias

• the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to other factor

Self-serving bias

also appears when people compare themselves with others

better than the average person

For on subjective, socially desirable, and common dimensions, most people see themselves as ___________

Optimism

______ predisposes a positive approach to life.

Unrealistic optimism

____ ______ increases our vulnerability.

• Believing ourselves immune to misfortune, we do not take sensible precautions.

Unrealistic optimism

When people believe they are less likely than others to experience bad things and more likely to experience good things, even if reality doesn’t support it.

Unrealistic optimism

Someone says: “I won’t get sick this year,” even if everyone around is catching the flu.

Defensive pessimism

the adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one’s anxiety to motivate effective action

• expecting that problems might happen, then using that worry to prepare and do better

Defensive pessimism

Exam: You think, “This test might be hard.” → you study extra → you perform well.

enough optimism, enough pessimism

Moral lesson:

Success in school and beyond requires __________ to sustain hope and _________ to motivate concern

False Consensus Effect

the tendency to overestimate the commonality of one’s opinion and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors

👉 “Everyone probably feels/does this too.”

But actually… not everyone does.

False Consensus Effect

• You skip studying → “It’s okay, everyone didn’t study anyway.”

• You cheat once → “Lots of students probably cheat too.”

False Uniqueness Effect

It is the tendency to underestimate the commonality of one’s abilities and one’s desirable or successful behaviors.

• when you think your good qualities or successes are rarer than they really are.

False Uniqueness Effect

You get high grades → “I’m probably one of the only students doing well.”

Self-serving attributions

I got the A in history because I studied hard.

I got the D in sociology because the exams were unfair.

Self-serving bias

I do more for my parents than my sister does.

Unrealistic optimism

Even though 50% of marriages fail, I know mine will be an enduring joy.

False consensus and uniqueness

I know most people agree with me that global warming threatens our future

Self-Presentation

The act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one’s ideal

👉 the way we act, talk, and show ourselves to others to create a good or desired impression

Self-Presentation

• Job interview: You dress neatly and speak politely → to look professional.

• First day of class: You act friendly → to make classmates like you.

• Self-Handicapping

• Impression Management

• Self Monitoring

Self-Presentation: (3)

Self-Handicapping

Protecting one’s self-image with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later failure

👉 “If I fail, it’s not my fault — it’s because of this excuse.”

Self-Handicapping

Not studying the night before an exam → “I failed because I didn’t study, not because I’m not smart.”

👉 making excuses or obstacles in advance to protect your self-esteem from failure

Impression Management

Self-presentation refers to our wanting to present a desired image

• both to an external audience (other people) and to an internal audience (ourselves)

👉 the process of controlling how others see us.

Self-Monitoring

Being attuned to the way one presents oneself in social situations and adjusting one’s performance to create the desired impression.

👉 “Let me adjust how I act so I fit the situation.”

• Truth of Self-Efficacy

• Truth of Self-Serving Bias

Twin Truths - There are two important psychological truths about the self:

• self-efficacy

• self-serving bias

Twin truths = Believe in yourself (______), but avoid unrealistic overconfidence (____________)

• think positively & try hard

• not to be so self confident

It is important to think __________, but not to be so ________ that your goals are illusory or you alienate others with your narcissism

Blaise Pascal

“ No single truth is ever sufficient, because the world is complex.

Any truth, separated from its complementary truth, is a half-truth. “

👉 No single idea explains everything — we must balance different truths to see the whole picture