2. Self in a Social World_2021

IntroductionTitle: The Self in a Social WorldPresenter: Karel K. Himawan, Ph.D.Contact: karel.karsten@uph.edu

Outline

  • Spotlight & Illusions

  • Self Concept: Who Am I

  • Self-Esteem

  • Perceived Self-Control

  • Self-Serving Bias

  • Self-Presentation

Spotlight and Illusions

  • Concern with impression management: belief that others pay more attention than they actually do.

  • Spotlight Effect: Belief that people pay more attention to one's appearance and behavior.

  • Experiment by Gilovich, Medvec, & Savitsky (2000) illustrates this phenomenon.

Illusion of Transparency

  • Tendency to believe our emotions are more apparent than they are.

  • Illusion of Transparency: Concealed emotions are assumed to leak out and be easily read by others.

  • Research by Savitsky & Gilovich (2003) highlights feelings of nervousness and anxiety in social situations.

Self Concept

  • Self-Concept: Answers to “Who am I?”

  • Self-Schema: Beliefs about oneself that organize and influence self-relevant information processing.

  • Self-Reference Effect: Better processing and recall of information related to oneself.

  • Possible Selves: Future self-images that reflect aspirations or goals.

Factors Influencing Self Concept

  • Roles: E.g., student, teacher.

  • Social identity: Includes race, religion, gender, and socio-economic status (SES).

  • Influencers: Social comparison, success/failure, judgment from others.

  • Looking-Glass Self: How we perceive ourselves based on how others perceive us (Cooley, 1902).

  • George Herbert Mead’s concept: Imagining how others see us shapes our identity.

  • Influence of culture on self-perception.

Self & Culture

  • Individualism (Independent Self): Prioritizing personal over group goals; defining identity by personal attributes.

    • Examples: "I am honest," "I am tall."

  • Collectivism (Interdependent Self): Prioritizing group goals; identity defined by group membership.

    • Examples: "I am a student," "I am Christian."

Self & Culture (continued)

  • University context: Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH).

Social Psychology of Self-Concept

  • Importance of identity in self-concept.

  • Distinction between Independent and Interdependent self-concepts.

  • Independent Self: Defined by personal traits, individual rights, and achievements.

  • Interdependent Self: Defined by social ties and responsibilities to groups.

Views of Self

  • Comparison of independent and interdependent views of self through familial and social relationships.

Cultural Influence on Language

  • Analysis of pronoun usage in American literature (2000s vs. 1960s-1970s).

  • Rise in individualism reflected in language.

Self-Knowledge

  • Self-Knowledge: Understanding oneself to explain and predict behavior.

  • Connection of self-esteem to self-concept and evaluation.

Insight into Self-Knowledge

  • Quote by C.S. Lewis on self-awareness.

  • Self-knowledge aids in behavior prediction, though may not always be accurate.

Predicting Behavior - Planning Fallacy

  • Studies on affective forecasting showing difficulty in predicting emotional outcomes.

  • Examples: Sexual behavior influenced by exposure to stimuli; impulsive food purchases when hungry.

Planning Fallacy (continued)

  • Tendency to underestimate the completion time of tasks.

  • Examples demonstrating task completion expectations versus reality.

Emotional Predictive Bias

  • Impact Bias: Overestimating the lasting effects of emotional events.

  • Immune Neglect: Tendency to overlook resilience following negative experiences, affecting emotional recovery.

Social Behavior Explanations

  • Cognitive dissonance between conscious reasoning and unconscious attitudes.

  • Dual Attitude System: Differing implicit and explicit attitudes; how they are influenced by context and culture.

Introduction to Self-Esteem

  • Quote emphasizing self-awareness and its challenges.

What is Self-Esteem?

  • Self-Esteem: Overall evaluation of self-worth.

  • Questions on whether self-esteem equals the sum of all self-schemas and possible selves.

Threats to Self-Esteem

  • Effects of ability discrepancies among individuals on relationships.

  • Responses to self-esteem threats:

    • High self-esteem: compensatory and resilient responses.

    • Low self-esteem: self-blame or giving up.

The Dark Side of Self-Esteem

  • Low self-esteem linked with:

    • Depression, drug abuse, and delinquency.

  • High self-esteem issues include arrogance and aggression.

Narcissism and Self-Esteem

  • Discussion on how narcissism and self-esteem can correlate with aggressive behaviors.

The Nature of Self-Esteem

  • Baumeister's conclusion advocating for self-control over self-esteem due to reliability.

  • Distinction between explicit and implicit self-esteem, with implications for self-acceptance.

Explicit vs. Implicit Self-Esteem

  • Discussion on the workings and expressions of explicit vs. implicit self-esteem in personal behavior and social contexts.

Perceived Self-Control

  • Self-Efficacy: Sense of competence and effectiveness.

Locus of Control

  • The perception of control over outcomes; can be internal or external.

Characteristics of High Internal LOC

  • Traits associated with a high internal locus of control:

    • Success in school and personal matters, ability to delay gratification.

Learned Helplessness and Excess Choice

  • Concepts explaining lack of control over negative experiences and the paradox of choice creating dissatisfaction.

Self-Serving Bias

  • Self-Serving Bias: How individuals perceive themselves favorably.

  • Tendency to attribute successes to oneself and failures to external factors.

Subjective vs. Observable Behaviors

  • Differences in self-assessment based on subjective traits versus observable behavior.

Types of Biases

  • Defensive Pessimism: Using anticipated problems as motivation.

  • False Consensus Effect: Overestimating commonality in opinions.

  • False Uniqueness Effect: Underestimating common success or abilities.

Bright and Dark Sides of Self-Serving Bias

  • Positive outcomes: enhance well-being and buffer stress.

  • Negative outcomes: can lead to unhappiness and group biases.

Self-Presentation

  • Explaining deceptive modesty and its purpose in social interactions.

  • Self-Monitoring: Awareness of impression management in social contexts.

Summary of Self in the Social World

  • Overview of self-concept themes: identity, self-knowledge, self-esteem, and social roles.

Questions

  • Benjamin Franklin quote illustrating the complexity of self-knowledge.

Group Activities

  • Discussion prompts for group activities based on assigned articles.