week 5 the+self+in+social+cognitionkk

Self-concept activity

1. List your personality concepts, and rank them in terms of the centrality to your core self-concept. No names.

2. Pass them up

THE SONG THAT DOESN’T END

The Self in Social Cognition

PSY 561

Overview from text

1. Mental representations of the self1. Have to think about what the self would be

2. Self-regulation1. How we make the self do things – from being completely

automated (breathing, sleeping, etc.) to being a very controlled process (how long can you listen to Sherri Lewis)

3. Motivation and self-regulation1. In order to be a good student, you force yourself to do some

really obnoxious things (studying in the middle of the night, not going to a football game because of studying, etc.)

4. The self as a reference point1. Anything we do has to be filtered through ourselves

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Swann & bosson (2010)

1. Call to move to study self as a mental representation, the enduring self –

1. Want us to think of self as a mental representation, that continues from one situation to another situation

2. Presentation of Tripartite Motivational Approach – motivation needed for our self to do

1. Communion - we love to be with other people, to affiliate2. Agency – we love to be the people that make something

happen, esp. in Western culture3. Coherence – we want to be the same self from one situation to

another situation, and other people recognizing it as that same self.

4. Communion and Agency going in together to rid of self-enhancement

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Nature of the Social Self

The Principles of Psychology (1890) Individual self is beliefs about our unique personal traits, abilities,

preferences, tastes, talents, and so forth – self is who we believe we are

Relational self is beliefs about our identities in specific relationships – self is who we believe we are in relation to others (daughter, wife, sister, etc.)

Collective self is beliefs about our identities as members of social groups to which we belong – culture and self;

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Origins of Self-Knowledge Family influence and sibling dynamics Diversification

Siblings may take on different roles in the family to minimize conflicts – just because of how you’re raised, there are things early on your seen to be good at – or bad things (“he’s the one who farts a lot”)

Birth order may influence personality traits Older siblings are often more responsible and supportive of the status quo, younger siblings are often more rebellious and open to new experiences

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Family and Other Socialization Agents

Symbolic interactionism – not the idea of the enduring self Cooley’s (1902) Looking-Glass Self - Who you are is who you want to

present to other people. Symbolic rep. are very much dependent on what other people see …..(?

Reflected self-appraisals: beliefs about what others think of our social selves

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Situationism and the Self

Aspects of the self may change depending on the situation – being at a bball game vs studying vs. in a religious service. Who we are and how we present ourself differs across situations

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Distinctiveness May highlight aspects of the self that make us feel most unique in a given

context – vividness, salience. ; being the only pregnant person in a room; only white person in a group (Argentina) For instance, age may seem more important to self-definition if you are surrounded by

much older people

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Working self-concept Subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context – if

you go to a meeting and realize you’re the one who always takes notes. A particular context brings on different roles. You may carry enduring self with you, but you behave in very different ways

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Relational self-beliefs Beliefs about our identities in specific relationships

For instance, who you are as a son/daughter feels different than who you are as a boyfriend/girlfriend

You may have specific beliefs that play out differently in different relationships Become apparent within a change in social context

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Collective self-beliefs Beliefs about our identity as members of important social categories –

i.e. Could have person who is Chi Omega president Examples could be identity based on citizenship, ethnicity, gender, profession, and so

on Argentina vs. US – collective self-beliefs and outgroups - me

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Social context Sense of self may shift dramatically depending on with whom we are

interacting For instance, may feel different about the self when interacting with

authority figures than when interacting with subordinates You act very differently with your significant other than you do with your

grandma

Culture and the Social Self Independent view of self Self seen as a distinct, autonomous entity, separate from others

and defined by individual traits and preferences Independent views of self more prominent in North American and

Western European cultures (Distinction made primarily between East and West Haven’t really talked about ethnic and racial groups within the U.S.)

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Culture and the Social Self Interdependent view of self Self seen as connected to others, defined by social duties and shared

traits and preferences Not autonomous self; rather, intertwined in complex social tapestry –

need to know what others are doing Shared by social duties, shared traits

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Gender and the Social Self Across cultures, men generally have more independent and women have more interdependent views of self Women likely to refer to relationships when describing self –

mother, wife, etc. Women more attuned to external social cues whereas as men more

attuned to their internal responses

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Boys vs. Girls

The most interesting man in the world commercial: Man is by himselfwww.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc0WjTT0Ps

A commercial for the Sex and the City 2 movie: women are relationalhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiLiu_GCYH8

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Gender and the Social Self Differences may be due to socialization Cultural stereotypes, parental feedback, educational treatment

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Gender and the Social Self Evolution may contribute to gender differences Independent views of self may advantage males in acts like

physical competition and hunting Interdependent views of self may advantage females in acts related

to maintaining social bonds and care giving

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Social Comparison

Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) –Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) –( ( relational self, which can change based on relational self, which can change based on social self, and over time become part of the social self, and over time become part of the enduring self)enduring self)

A way for people to learn about who they areA way for people to learn about who they are Largely defined by how we compare to othersLargely defined by how we compare to others The hypothesis that we evaluate ourselves through comparisons

to others Downward social comparisons may boost self-esteem by making

us feel better about the self – comparing myself to someone in a worse situation

Upward social comparisons may motivate self-improvement Originally, these made us feel worse about ourselves i.e. study – superstars can make you feel better about yourselves If the person is so far away from you, they can inspire But, if someone is close to you, feels more like direct competition

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Narratives about the Social Self Self as a narrative You have created throughout your life a narrative of who you are Construct a story about the self to make sense of who we are and

how we’ve changed over time Individualists may recall life events from their own perspective Collectivists may recall life events from others’ perspective

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Organization of Self-Knowledge Knowledge about the self helps organize how we behave in different situations and with different people, because of schema/cog. Representations we have.

(Moving into the enduring self, as mental representations)

Social self-beliefs Beliefs about the roles and duties we assume in different groups

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Organization of Self-Knowledge

Self-schema Knowledge about the self Conclusions about our behaviors and preferences and about how we are

viewed by others We seek out as close relational partners, people who see us as we see ourself

Organization of Self-Knowledge Self-reference effect

We like anything that reminds us of ourselves

If it’s something that’s meaningful to me, I’m more likely to remember it. Better memory for information related to the self

For instance, better memory for a list of adjectives if considering whether the adjectives apply to the self

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Organization of Self-Knowledge Self-complexity (Linville, 1985)

(Self differs from situation to situation, but the enduring part goes with us) The tendency to define the self in terms of multiple domains that

are relatively distinct from one another in content (me as a sister, student, guitar player, etc.) Hi self-complexity: define self in multiple domains – I am hi complexity. Lo self-complexity: define self in relatively few domains

What happens if the only thing defining you is how you perform academically? It’s bad – what if you fail at that thing? TRY TO BE MORE COMPLEX, esp. in our professional lives

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Self-esteem

Self-esteem The positive or negative overall evaluation that each person has of

himself or herself – different ways to measure this. Different dimentions:

State vs. trait – state = fleeting sense of self, in a current moment (i.e. higher in the AM) Trait – more enduring sense of self-esteem

Stable vs. unstable Stable – stays the same over time Unstable – you can jockey around

If you have trait and stable self-esteem – you’re pretty good If you have hi but unstable self-esteem – if something challenges your Self esteem, you’ll dip, self-worth can be so intrinsincally challenged

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

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Self-esteem

Contingencies of self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001) An account of self-esteem that maintains that self-esteem is contingent on

successes and failures in domains on which a person has based his or her self-worth

Contingent self-esteem can be moved around by certain things (God’s love, academic performance, interpersonal connectedness, etc.)

You can make children have affection from their parents contingent upon a certain type of performance (i.e. academic ) - bad

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Social Acceptance and Self-Esteem

Sociometer hypothesis (Leary et al., 1995) A hypothesis that maintains 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

We have an innate need to belong to other people, to a group When we perceive exclusion, it throws us into non-homeostasis, we get upset, and do things to try to

increase inclusion

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Culture and Self-Esteem

Members of individualistic 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 For instance, many Asian languages have no equivalent word for the idea of

self-esteem

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Members of collectivistic 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

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Contact with other cultures can influence views of the self For instance, Asians with greater contact with Western cultures report higher

levels of self-esteem than those with less contact

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Dangers of High Self-Esteem

People with high self-esteem may be more sensitive to threats, insults, and challenges If high self-esteem is unwarranted (I think I’m a good person but have no

evidence of this), these may make the person feel insecure Those people may react more aggressively when self-esteem is threatened Narcissism

In Social Psych – not personality disordered But people who elevate different scales related to narcissism

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Dangers of High Self-Esteem

Inflated self-esteem can be counterproductive Many psychopaths, murderers, rapists, and violent gang members have very

high self-esteem High self-esteem may allow individuals to be satisfied with the self despite

poor life outcomes Maybe this is a buffer? Lower on the economy, higher self-esteem, better health outcomes?

Self-Enhancement

Positive illusions and mental health Most assume that proper mental health is marked by realistic views

of the world Research suggests that most well-adjusted people may have

slightly unrealistic views about themselves - slightly rosy outlook of what will happen in general, and of who you are as a person

Can elevate positive mood and reduce negative mood over time Foster social bonds by making people more outgoing Promotes goals…..

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Self-Enhancement

Benefits of positive illusions Elevate positive mood and reduce negative mood Foster social bonds by making people more outgoing Promote pursuit of and persistence at goals

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Cultural and Positive Illusions Positive illusions about the self are more common in individualistic cultures Members of collectivistic cultures are less likely to report enhanced

feelings of control, less likely to rate themselves as better than average, and less likely to be unrealistically optimistic

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Cultural and Positive Illusions Individualistic cultures place greater value on positive views of the self than collectivistic cultures Positive illusions promote feelings that the self is unique,

independent, and good

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Motives Driving Self-Evaluation

Better-than-average effect Most Westerners tend to have a positive view of the self Tend to rate the self as better than average on most traits Weight abilities we excel at as more valuable, not just ourselves, but the

world in general

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Motives Driving Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) Model (Tesser, 1988) A model that maintains that people are

motivated to view themselves in a favorable light and that they do so through two processes: reflection and social comparison

Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing): areas not very relevant to self-definition – if there’s a Duke/UNC game, and if UNC beats Duke, more people will be wearing Carolina blue after than the day before. IF we lose, there will be CORFing (Cutting off reflective failure)

Downward comparisons: areas relevant to self-definition – we make downward comparisons in areas that are important to me.

Motives Driving Self-Evaluation Self-verification theory Motivated to have views of the self that are accurate, consistent,

and coherent (coherence) Desire accurate views of abilities to ensure more success and less

failure in social interactions

Self-verification vs. self-enhancement In most past studies, self-verification is figuring out who you are,

chinks and all, vs. self-enhancement, trying to make self look better. Self-enhancement has traditionally looked better, but self-verification may be more important. To figure out real self rather than just inflating it

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Self-Regulation Self-regulation Processes that people use to initiate, alter, and control their behavior in the

pursuit of goals, including the ability to resist short-term awards that thwart the attainment of long-term goals – not going out with crush on the weekend because of studying

Possible selves Hypothetical selves that a person aspires to be in the future, or feared selves

(who we don’t want to become)

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Self-Regulation

Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) Behavior is motivated by cultural and personal moral standards - Individuals want to resolve discrepancies of who they are with who they want

to be or ought to be

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Self-Regulation Types of selfActual self: the person we believe ourselves to be Ideal self: the person we wish we could beOught self: the person we feel we should be

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Self-Regulation

Promotion focus Focus on positive outcomes and moving toward becoming our ideal self

Prevention focus Focus on negative outcomes and attempt to avoid not living up to our ought self, avoiding feared self (40 year old in parents’ basement)

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Ego Depletion

Regulating behavior requires mental energy, but mental resources are limited – why multitasking doesn’t work

Ego depletion State where previous acts of self-control drain ability to control future behavior For instance, participants who controlled behavior by eating healthy radishes instead of delicious cookies gave up faster when they had to solve a puzzle later

You’ve inhibited eating cookies - ….you can use up your ability to regulate

Automatic Self-Control Strategies Automatic self-control strategies Influence behavior as well as thoughts, leading people to approach

goals and to avoid temptations At this level academically – very early on we set into place

strategies that allow us to filter out all the other fun things that could be going on, and focus on the work that needs to be getting done.

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Automatic Self-Control Strategies

The self-monitoring scale

http://www.cabrillo.edu/~jtice/Psychology%2033/Assignments/Journal%20Assignment%20Spring%202010/Self%20Monitoring%20Scale.PDF

https://personality-testing.info/tests/SM.php

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Self-Presentation

Self-presentation Presenting the person that we would like others to believe we are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFj3OXVL_wQ

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Self-Presentation

Impression management Attempts to control how other people will view us

For instance, by managing how you dress, behave in public, whom you associate with, what you reveal about yourself to others

When interacting with others, we present a public face that we want others to believe

Self-Presentation

Self-monitoring The tendency to monitor and scrutinize one’s behaviors when in a

public situation High self-monitors try to fit their behavior to the situation, but low

self-monitors are more likely to behave according to their internal preferences

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Self-Handicapping

Self-handicapping Tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior to prevent others

from assuming a poor performance was due to a lack of ability

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week 5 the+self+in+social+cognitionkk

Education