Social Psych 9/17/25

Self-Concept and Self-Schema: Lecture Notes

• Context: Opening questions about how we feel we know someone else (barometer of closeness). Real-world application: people open up with bad news or insecurities; social familiarity reduces distance.
  • Personal examples: sharing music, mutual connections, or topics beyond the initial link can indicate deeper connection.
  • Lead into core topic: self-concept and how we understand who we are.

The Self-Concept: core ideas

• Definition: The self-concept is a knowledge representation of the self; a long, integrative definition where we hold an image of who we are.
  • It includes multiple dimensions, not just one thing.
• Components consistently mentioned (major and minor):
  • Physical appearance and presentation (e.g., clothing, hairstyle, jewelry, body attributes).
  • Example: a coffee cup becoming part of one’s self-concept; teaching context where a teacher’s red cup became iconic and recognizable to students.
  • Appearance can influence social identity (e.g., a sweater or vest can alter how one is perceived).
  • Beliefs (including religious beliefs).
  • Personality traits (e.g., gregariousness, sense of humor).
  • Abilities (e.g., athletic prowess, musical or academic talents).
  • Values (about honesty, truth-telling, standing up for what one believes).
  • Note: values can shift over time and across experiences; normal and human to deviate from earlier stances.
  • A humorous remark about values: sometimes joking that humans only have a few core values (money, food, sex) because they relate to survival and reproduction.
  • Goals (e.g., career aims, personal aspirations; alignment with others who share similar goals).
  • Roles (e.g., which social roles you inhabit: quiet friend, motherly figure, etc.).
• Self-concept is the culmination of many experiences and traits; it helps determine how we act and interact with others.

Self-Schema: the organization layer

• Self-schema = organization of the self-concept; it structures information about who you are.
• Analogy: schema as scaffolding for building a mental structure; organizes self-knowledge into clusters.
• Clustering example: how one views themselves as a teacher (identity cluster) with subcomponents like beliefs about therapy, communication style, physical appearance used to manage classroom dynamics.
• Identity presentation and adjustment:
  • People may present themselves in predictable ways (e.g., wearing certain outfits) to influence social perception and reduce cognitive load about self-presentation.
  • Balancing appearance for social goals (e.g., appearing disarming to kids while maintaining authority).
• Relationship between self-concept and self-schema: changes in appearance and behavior can shift the self-schema, which in turn modifies the broader self-concept.
• Practical example: “the suit makes the manager” — dressing can influence perceived competence and behavior.

Brain basis: where the self lives in the brain

• Neuroanatomy connection:
  • The frontal lobe / frontal cortex is central to organizing information and houses executive function (the brain’s command center).
  • This region is also involved in self-related processing: imagining or thinking about oneself engages the same area that plans and organizes.
• Implication: When we think about who we are, we engage executive function processes; self-knowledge interacts with cognitive control networks.
• Quick takeaway: self-knowledge and self-regulation share neural resources, making introspection and planning part of the same cognitive system.

Self-relevance and memory: the self-reference effect

• Study overview (Rogers, Kueber, and Kirker): how self-relevant information affects attention and memory.
  • Experimental manipulation: adjective task with cards varied in structure (capitalization), phonemics (rhymes), and semantic clustering (beach-related vs. self-related words).
  • Findings:
  • Self-related adjectives dramatically improve memory performance compared to non-self-related adjectives.
  • Self-reference amplifies encoding and recall.
• Practical implication for learning in college:
  • Make new material relevant to who you are or who you want to become (e.g., future career, identity goals) to enhance retention and later recall.
  • The more you can tie information to your self-concept, the better you remember it and the easier it is to retrieve later.

20 Statements Test and culture in self-identification

• 20 Statements Test: a questionnaire with 20 prompts beginning with I am ____.
  • Purpose: reveal how people articulate their self-concept across different domains.
• Response categories commonly observed:
  • Physical characteristics (e.g., tall, thin, strong).
  • Personality traits (e.g., confident, shy, angry, nice).
  • Social identity (e.g., son, daughter, friend, coworker).
• Cultural differences in self-identification:
  • Collectivist cultures (e.g., many Asian cultures) tend to frame I statements around social networks (I am Jack's friend; I am Janet's son).
  • Individualistic cultures (often associated with Western contexts) tend to identify with more standalone descriptors (I am a teacher; I am a runner).
• Bicultural and priming influences:
  • When primed with symbols, bicultural individuals may shift toward the corresponding cultural framework:
  • American symbols (e.g., flag) tend to nudge toward individualistic phrasing.
  • Chinese/collectivist cues (e.g., dragon, red envelope) tend to nudge toward collectivist phrasing.
  • Concept of priming: environmental cues can temporarily shift self-perception along cultural dimensions.

Self-complexity, intersectionality, and self-clarity

• Self-complexity:
  • Idea: multiple and varied facets of identity (intersectional identities) contribute to greater overall self-organization.
  • Intersections: e.g., a young Black woman from Toronto who is a gym instructor has multiple identity facets (age, race, gender, location, occupation).
  • Higher self-complexity is associated with better psychological outcomes: lower stress and illness, higher self-esteem, greater resilience and tolerance for frustration.
• Intersectionality:
  • You are not just one category (e.g., woman, Black, Canadian); you exist as multiple overlapping identities (e.g., young Black woman from Toronto who is a gym instructor).
  • More facets mean more nuanced self-concept and less fragility under identity threat.
• Self-clarity:
  • Definition: being really sure of who you are and what you stand for; stable sense of self across time and situations.
  • High self-clarity is positively related to self-esteem and relationship satisfaction because you can articulate preferences and boundaries clearly.
  • People with high self-clarity communicate about themselves effectively, reducing conflict in relationships.
• Self-awareness:
  • Distinct but related concept: awareness of who you are; simple in definition but challenging in practice.
  • Methods to cultivate:
  • Introspection
  • Meditation focused on self
  • Social exposure that highlights self-knowledge (e.g., awareness of body language in public speaking)
• Contrast: lower self-clarity can lead to more reactive behavior, difficulty identifying triggers, and more anger/passage from peer influence.

Applications to learning and everyday life

• How this helps in college:
  • Tie course content to your self-concept and future aspirations to improve retention and recall (Rogers et al. memory study; self-relevance principle).
  • Build a self-schema that supports studying, collaboration, and resilience under stress.
• Teaching strategy example:
  • Use the Marcel Proust Questionnaire style activity (the 35-question introspection exercise) to build self-awareness and social connection among classmates.
  • Activity format: students answer on their own for about ten minutes, then optionally discuss with a partner; no obligation to share publicly.
  • Author notes: the questionnaire used here is attributed to a 35-question format inspired by the Marcel Proust questionnaire (referred to here as a self-reflection tool).

Marcel Proust Questionnaire (self-reflection activity)

• Structure: a 35-item questionnaire designed to provoke introspection about one’s preferences, values, and identity.
• Purpose in class: to promote self-understanding, encourage social sharing, and illustrate how self-knowledge can influence relationships.
• Practical approach: spend ~ten minutes answering; then discuss with a neighbor or pick one question to explore with someone else.
• Privacy note: sharing is optional; goal is social engagement and self-awareness, not mandatory disclosure.

Summary takeaways

• Self-concept is a multi-dimensional, dynamic representation of who you are, incorporating physical traits, beliefs, abilities, values, goals, and roles.
• Self-schema is the organized structure that manages these components into clusters; changes in appearance or behavior can modify the schema and, over time, the self-concept.
• The frontal cortex is closely tied to self-related processing and executive function; thinking about the self engages the brain’s planning and organization systems.
• Self-relevance enhances memory encoding and recall; linking new information to your self-identity can improve learning outcomes.
• Cultural context and priming can shift self-perception between collectivist and individualist orientations, especially for bicultural individuals.
• Self-complexity and intersectionality contribute to resilience and well-being; higher self-clarity and self-awareness predict better relationship satisfaction and lower reactivity to stress.
• Practical exercises (like the 35-question questionnaire) can foster self-knowledge and social connection, with the option to keep responses private or share selectively.

Quick reference formulas and numbers

• Self-concept as a set of domains: the organization can be represented as a union of domains, e.g.,
  • SC = igcup{i=1}^{n} Di
  • Where each $D_i$ is a domain (physical, beliefs, abilities, values, goals, roles).
• 35-question introspection activity: N_{questions} = 35
• 20-statements test: N_{statements} = 20

Key terms to remember

• Self-concept, Self-schema, Self-identity, Schema scaffolding, Forebrain/frontal cortex, Executive function, Self-reference effect, Collectivism, Individualism, Bicultural priming, Self-Complexity, Intersectionality, Self-clarity, Self-awareness, Marcel Proust Questionnaire, I statements