The self refers to a conceptual system made up of one’s thoughts and attitudes about oneself.
An individual’s conceptions about the self can include thoughts about one’s own physical being, social roles and relationships, and “spiritual” or internal characteristics.
The Nature of the Social Self
The Principles of Psychology (1890)
William James coined the term “the social me” to refer to the parts of self-knowledge that are derived from social relationships.
Our sense of who we are is largely shaped by our interactions with others.
Introspection
The ancient Greek saying "know thyself" implies self-knowledge can be acquired through introspection.
People often create detailed stories about themselves, which James referred to as the narrated self.
The Accuracy of Self-Knowledge
The reliability of introspection as a method of assessment has been debated for decades.
Introspection can yield accurate self-knowledge, at least for certain aspects of the self; however, for some aspects, other people can be a better source of information.
Sometimes we lack self-insight because of strong motives; there are certain things many of us would rather not know about ourselves.
The Organization of Self-Knowledge
Self-schema
A cognitive structure, derived from past experience, that represents a person’s beliefs and feelings about the self in general and in specific situations.
Self-schemas serve as the basic units of organization for self-knowledge.
Origins of the Sense of Self
Family and Other Socialization Agents (1)
Socialization is the process through which children acquire the values, standards, skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are regarded as appropriate to their present and future roles in their particular culture.
Socialization agents include parents, siblings, teachers, peers, etc.
Can be direct (explicit instruction) or indirect (modeling).
Family and Other Socialization Agents (2)
“The looking-glass self” (Cooley, 1902)
Other people’s reactions to us (their approval or disapproval) can serve as a mirror.
Self-appraisal
How one sees themselves
Reflected self-appraisal
How one thinks others see the self
Situationism and the Social Self (1)
Aspects of the self may change depending on the situation.
The notion that the social self changes across different contexts is consistent with the principle of situationism.
Working self-concept
Subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context (usually the current situation).
Situationism and the Social Self (2)
Distinctiveness
May highlight aspects of the self that make us feel most unique in a given context.
Age may seem more important to self-definition if you are surrounded by much older people.
Situationism and the Social Self (3)
Social context
Sense of self may shift dramatically depending on with whom we are interacting.
We may feel different about the self when interacting with authority figures than when interacting with subordinates.
Sense of self is both malleable (changes) and stable (core elements that persist across contexts).
Culture and the Social Self (1)
Independent view of self
The self is seen as a distinct, autonomous entity, separate from others and defined by individual traits and preferences.
More prominent in North American and Western European cultures.
Interdependent view of self
The self is seen as connected to others and defined by social duties and shared traits and preferences.
More prominent in many East Asian, South Asian, Mediterranean, Latin American, and African cultures.
Culture and the Social Self (2)
Diagrams illustrating independent and interdependent views of the self.
Independent: Self is central, with weaker connections to others.
Interdependent: Self is connected to others.
Gender and the Social Self
Across cultures, men generally have more independent views of the self, and women have more interdependent views of the self.
Women are more likely than men to refer to relationships when describing the self.
Women are more attuned to external social cues, whereas men are more attuned to their internal responses.
Differences may be due to socialization and evolution.
Women are more attuned to external social cues, whereas men are more attuned to their internal responses.
Research limited by a binary focus on cisgender people.
Social Comparison
Social comparison theory
The hypothesis that people compare themselves to other people in order to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal states.
Downward social comparisons
May boost self-esteem by making us feel better about the self.
Upward social comparisons
May motivate self-improvement by making us feel worse about the self.
Group Memberships
Social identities
The parts of a person’s sense of self that are derived from group memberships.
People choose which social groups they see as part of their sense of self.
e.g., "I make crafts" vs. "I’m a 'crafter'."
Social identities can influence a person’s sense of self through self-stereotyping.
Characterizing the self in terms of the traits, norms, and values associated with an especially salient or meaningful social group.
Self Esteem
Self-Esteem (Trait and State)
Self-esteem
The overall positive or negative evaluation an individual has of him- or herself.
Trait self-esteem
A person’s enduring level of self-regard across time.
State self-esteem
The dynamic, changeable self-evaluations a person experiences as momentary feelings about the self.
Self-Esteem Scale
Self-esteem often evaluated using self-report measures.
Reflects how we feel about our attributes and qualities, our successes and failures, and our self in general.
Contingencies of Self-Worth
Contingencies of self-worth
A perspective maintaining that self-esteem is contingent on successes and failures in domains on which a person has based his or her self-worth.
Social Acceptance and Self-Esteem
Sociometer hypothesis
The assertion that self-esteem is an internal, subjective index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favorably by others.
Culture and Self-Esteem (1)
Members of independent cultures tend to report higher levels of self-esteem than members of collectivistic cultures.
Feeling good about the self as an individual is more valued in Western cultures than in Eastern cultures.
e.g., Many Asian languages have no equivalent word for the concept of self-esteem.
Members of interdependent cultures place more value on self-improvement.
Less emphasis on feeling good about the self and more emphasis on feeling good about one’s contribution to collective goals.
Culture and Self-Esteem (2)
Contact with other cultures can influence views of the self.
Asians with greater contact with Western cultures report higher levels of self-esteem than those with less contact.
Motives Driving Self-Evaluation
Self-Enhancement (1)
People are motivated to view themselves positively.
This motive is known as self-enhancement
The desire to maintain, increase, or protect one’s positive self-views.
Self-Enhancement (2)
Better-than-average effect
The finding that most people think they are above average on various personality trait and ability dimensions.
Most Westerners tend to have a positive view of the self.
We tend to rate the self as better than average on most traits.
We weight abilities we excel at as more valuable.
Self-Enhancement (3)
Self-affirmation theory
The idea that people can maintain an overall sense of self-worth following psychologically threatening information by affirming a valued aspect of themselves unrelated to the threat.
Positive illusions and mental health
Most people assume that proper mental health is marked by realistic views of the world.
However, research suggests that most well-adjusted people tend to have slightly unrealistic views about themselves.
Self-Verification
The “truth” (our version of the truth) is also an important motive for self-evaluation.
Self-verification theory
The theory that people strive for stable, subjectively accurate beliefs about the self because such self-views give a sense of coherence.
We selectively attend to, and recall, information that is consistent with (and therefore verifies) our self-views.
Self-Regulation: Motivating and Controlling Behavior
Self-Regulation: Motivating and Controlling Behavior
Self-regulation
Processes by which people initiate, alter, and control their behavior in the pursuit of goals, including the ability to resist short-term rewards that thwart the attainment of long-term goals.
Self-Discrepancy Theory (1)
Types of self
actual self: the self that people believe they are
ideal self: the self that embodies an individual’s wishes and aspirations
ought self: the self that is concerned with the duties, obligations, and external demands an individual feels compelled to honor
Self-Discrepancy Theory (2)
Self-discrepancy theory
A theory that behavior is motivated by standards reflecting ideal and ought selves.
Falling short of these standards produces specific emotions: dejection-related emotions for actual-ideal discrepancies, and agitation-related emotions for actual-ought discrepancies.
Self-Discrepancy Theory (3)
Promotion focus
Self-regulation of behavior with respect to standards of the ideal self; a focus on attaining positive outcomes and approach-related behaviors.
Prevention focus
Self-regulation of behavior with respect to ought self-standards; a focus on avoiding negative outcomes and avoidance-related behaviors.
Automatic Self-Control Strategies
Automatic self-control strategies
Many such strategies can be deployed automatically, operating without our even realizing it.
These strategies influence behavior as well as thoughts, leading people to approach goals and avoid temptations.
Self-Presentation
Self-Presentation
Self-presentation
Presenting the person that we would like others to believe we are.
Impression management
Attempts to control how other people will view us.
Face
The public image of ourselves that we want others to believe.
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring
The tendency to monitor one’s behavior to fit the current situation.
High self-monitors try to fit their behavior to the situation; low self-monitors are more likely to behave according to their internal preferences.
Self-Handicapping
Self-handicapping
The tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior in order to have an excuse ready, should one perform poorly or fail.
Self-handicapping may be a strategy for protecting the public self.
Self-handicapping provides an excuse for poor performance and emphasizes good performance.
Presenting the Self Online
Do people tend to present themselves authentically online, posting accurate information about who they are, what they have accomplished, and the nature of their beliefs?
We may present our personality and other attributes (such as our occupation) fairly accurately online but may be less likely to do so for our physical attributes, perhaps because of the vital role that physical appearance plays in attraction.