Social Psychology: Self-Esteem, Self-Awareness, and Attribution Theory

Self-Esteem

• Definition: Overall evaluation of oneself.
  • An affective perspective: Feeling good or bad about oneself; an emotional "gut" feeling.
  • Not necessarily conscious.
  • Key theme: Important domains have a greater impact than unimportant ones.
  • Self-schemas: Example – Tennis.
• Self-esteem is affected by different events, and individuals engage in behaviors to enhance and stabilize it.

Self-Discrepancy Theory

• Feelings about the self are affected by how we see possible, hypothetical selves.
• How close our actual self comes to positive hypothetical selves.
  • Ought Self: Who you are supposed to be (duties, responsibilities, obligations).
  • Ideal Self: Who you would like to be (hopes, wishes, dreams).

Self-Awareness

• Discrepancies can lead us to think about them, especially when we fail (or feel we could fail) at something.
• Situations that create heightened self-awareness (Wicklund & colleagues):
  • Talking about ourselves.
  • Standing before an audience or in front of a camera.
  • Watching ourselves on videotape.
  • Anytime we become concerned about how others might see or think about us, such as on social media.

The Self-Awareness "Trap"

• Comparing the current self to high personal standards or desirable hypothetical selves.
• The more examination, the more discrepancy we might see (e.g., staring too long in the mirror).
• Chronically heightened focus on self → negatively impacts self-esteem.
  • Heightened focus on or absorption with self can lead to bad mood, depression, and even substance abuse (a pathway to be less focused on the self).

Escaping the Self-Awareness "Trap"

• Two Strategies (Wicklund & colleagues):
  • 1. "Shape Up" – Fix It:
    • Behave in ways that help reduce self-discrepancies.
    • Example: Halloween Trick-or-Treaters Study
      • Placed candy bowl with instruction to take ONE piece.
      • Manipulation: No mirror vs. Mirror.
      • Results:
        • No mirror: 34% of children took more than one piece.
        • Mirror present: only 12% of children took more than one piece.
      • Mask vs. no mask (conceptual replication – test same idea, use different method to manipulate).
  • 2. "Ship Out" – Escape It:
    • Withdrawing from self-awareness.
    • Escapist behaviors (e.g., drug use, alcohol abuse).
    • Example: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
      • Jobu falling into a nihilistic withdrawal because she was chronically aware of all of her hypothetical selves.
      • Actual self and ideal selves could never match ought self due to mother’s expectation.

Self-Regulation

• Always behaving in line with our standards is difficult.
  • Desire being a healthy person, but tough to run that extra km!
  • Desire being a kind person, but tough to smile politely at people we really don’t like
  • Desire being a productive person, but tough to work when Netflix exists
• Self-Regulation: Motivated, effortful behavior enacted to achieve one’s goals.
  • Often requires "Self-control": Resisting short-term temptations in lieu of broader long-term goals
  • E.g., Resisting eating 3 McSpicys to serve health goals.
• Self-regulation as a limited resource:
  • Exertion → depletion of energy → Need to replenish.
  • Seminal Paper: Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister (1998)
    • Ego Depletion: Engaging in self-regulation → less effort/motivation in subsequent task.
    • Self-regulation is difficult and can be even more difficult when we’re depleted (tired/exerted resources previously).

Positively Distorted Perceptions

• Develop and maintain positively distorted perceptions of the current self.
• Bringing the current self closer to desirable selves.
  • Self-enhancement mechanisms.
    • Behaving and thinking in ways that minimize costs to self-esteem and maximize gains to self-esteem (