CH2: The Self in a Social World

The belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior
than they really are.

The illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others.

What we know and believe about ourselves

how our sense of self drives our attitudes and actions

brain part that underlies our constant sense of being oneself

a neuron path located in the cleft between your brain hemispheres just behind your eyes that seemingly helps stitch together your sense of self. It becomes more active when you think about yourself.

Beliefs about self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information. These are mental templates by which we organize our worlds.

The self that we dream of or dread.

Evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others.

a German word for the pleasure felt over someone else’s .misfortune

when people compare themselves to people who are better than they are

when people compare themselves to those who are less proficient than they are

Sociologist Charles H. Cooley (1902) described our use of how we think others perceive us as a mirror for perceiving ourselves

The concept of giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Construing one’s identity as an autonomous self. One’s identity—as a unique
individual with particular abilities, traits, values, and dreams—remains fairly constant.

Giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly.

In his book The Geography of Thought (2003) this social psychologist contends that collectivism also results in different ways of thinking

This does not have one self but many selves: self-with-parents, self-at-work, self-with-friends. This is embedded in social memberships.

This acknowledges relationships with others and the goal of which is to enhance one’s individual self and make independent choices.

The tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task.

overestimating the enduring impact of emotion-causing events

Differing implicit (automatic) and explicit (consciously controlled) attitudes toward the same object. Verbalized explicit attitudes may change with education and persuasion; implicit attitudes change slowly, with practice that forms new habits.

A person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth

This theory argues that humans must find ways to manage their overwhelming fear of death. It Proposes that people exhibit self-protective emotional and cognitive responses (including adhering more strongly to their cultural worldviews and prejudices) when confronted with reminders of their mortality.

Research in which the same people are studied over an extended period of time.

A sense that one is competent and effective, distinguished from self-esteem, which is one’s sense of self-worth.

a tendency to perceive oneself favorably

A form of self-serving bias; the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to other factors.

On subjective, socially desirable, and common dimensions, most people see themselves as better than the average person.

This increases our vulnerability. Believing ourselves immune to misfortune, we do not take sensible precautions.

The adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one’s anxiety to motivate effective action; can sometimes save us from the perils of unrealistic optimism.

The tendency to overestimate the commonality of one’s opinions and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors.

The tendency to underestimate the commonality of one’s abilities and one’s desirable or successful behaviors.

Protecting one’s self-image with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later failure

The act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one’s ideals.

Being attuned to the way one presents oneself in social situations and adjusting one’s performance to create the desired impression.

This is like a muscle: It can get tired when you use it too much. Willpower requires energy. But it can get stronger if it’s used more. Improving this in one area leas to improvements in others.