Social Self (Lecture 7&8)

Descriptions that refer to physical qualities not implying social interaction, such as "I am female" or "I have brown eyes."

Descriptions that refer to relationships, group memberships, and social roles, such as "I am a brother" or "I am a teacher."

Descriptions that refer to psychological traits and states, such as "I am shy" or "I like good plays."

Descriptions that are so comprehensive or vague they don't distinguish one person from another, such as "I am me" or "I am a human being."

The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes.

Mental structures that people use to organize their knowledge about themselves and that influence what they notice, think about, and remember about themselves.

When people have fewer self-schemas or more narrowly defined self-concepts, which are more likely to be negatively affected by failure.

When people have more self-schemas or a broader self-concept, which helps them cope better with negative events and is less likely to lead to depression.

The idea that having a highly complex self-concept provides a buffer, protecting individuals from negative outcomes like depression during tough events.

The idea that people have a unified self-concept but can also have multiple "working" self-concepts, depending on the context and what is salient at the time.

Self-conceptions that describe what one could be or wants to be, such as the ideal self or ought self.

Who we want to be, determined by our hopes, wishes, and dreams.

Who we think we should be, determined by a sense of duty, responsibility, or obligation.

The theory that comparing our actual self against our ideal and ought selves can lead to different emotional consequences, such as disappointment or guilt.

Roles we play, social identities we form, successes and failures, how others judge us, and the culture that surrounds us.

The idea that we view ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their perceptions into our self-concept.

Self-esteem is influenced by experiences of success and failure and reflects how competent or good we believe we are in certain areas.

Cognitive tendencies to view traits as either changeable (growth mindset) or fixed (fixed mindset), which influences motivation and persistence.

The belief that traits and abilities can be developed with effort and practice, which leads to higher achievement and persistence.

The belief that traits and abilities are static and unchangeable, often leading to less persistence and lower achievement.

The behavior of creating obstacles or excuses for oneself before a performance, so that failure can be attributed to the obstacle rather than a lack of ability.

The belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, which can lead to victim-blaming.

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to internal factors (such as personality or effort) and negative outcomes to external factors (such as circumstances or luck).

Social identities are group memberships (such as race, gender, nationality) that influence our self-concept and how we view ourselves in relation to others.

Western cultures emphasize an independent view of self, focusing on personal attributes, while Eastern cultures emphasize an interdependent view, defining self through relationships with others.

A person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth, the affective component of the self-concept.

A self-evaluation that tends to involve mixed negative and positive feelings, often predicting depression, drug abuse, and delinquency.

A self-evaluation where individuals feel good about themselves, often predicting initiative, resilience, and improved mood.

When high self-esteem, combined with social rejection, leads to aggression, such as in the case of bullies.

A person’s enduring level of self-worth over time, relatively stable even across years.

Dynamic, changing evaluations that a person momentarily feels about themselves.

The process by which the self helps guide choices about what to do in the present and future, requiring motivation and ability.

The belief that willpower can either be finite or unlimited, with the belief in its unlimited nature improving persistence and performance.

When individuals structure their environments to remove temptations, leading to less in-the-moment self-regulation.

The process by which people look inward to examine their thoughts, feelings, and motives, though it is often not fully accurate.

When people rely on introspection but are unaware of the hidden reasons behind their feelings and behavior, often "telling more than they know."

The theory that when people focus on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to internal standards.

The theory that when attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our own behavior.

When a large reward decreases a person’s intrinsic motivation to perform a behavior or participate in an activity.

The theory that emotional experience results from physiological arousal and seeking an explanation for that arousal.

The phenomenon where people misattribute physiological arousal, such as fear, to other emotions, like attraction, based on the situation.

The process of evaluating our abilities and opinions in comparison to others, often to gain accurate self-knowledge or self-esteem.

The tendency to compare ourselves to others who are similar to us, ideally someone slightly better in ability.

Comparing oneself to others who are better off, often for guidance or inspiration, but it may decrease self-esteem.

Comparing oneself to others who are worse off, often to boost self-esteem without gaining guidance.

The process by which we view ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their judgments into our self-concept.

The process of adopting another person’s attitudes or beliefs to get along with them, often motivated by the desire to align with close others.

The attempt to influence how others perceive us and to control their impressions of us.

Using flattery or praise to make ourselves likeable to another person, often as a strategy in impression management.