Transcript The Self in a Social World

The Self in a Social World
Social Psychology
Dr. Leslie Case, BCBA
Nova Southeastern University
Ch. 2: The Self in a Social World
Self in relation to others
The Self in a Social World
• Spotlight effect: The belief that others are
paying more attention to one’s appearance
and behavior than they really are
• Experiment: University students were
asked to wear a Barry Manilow t-shirt in a
room with other people, and estimated how
many people noticed. Students estimated
50%---actually it was only 25%
Self in relation to others
The Self in a Social World
• Illusion of transparency: The illusion that
our concealed emotions leak out and can be
easily read by others
• If we are angry, happy, sad, we presume that
others realize we are feeling these things
The Self in a Social World
Interplay between sense of self and our
social worlds
• Social surroundings affect our self awareness
– We tend to focus on how we differ from others in a
group and how others react to that difference
• Self-interest colors social judgment
– We tend to blame ourselves when things go well, and
blame others when they go wrong
• Self-concern motivates social behavior
– Our actions are often strategic moves to make a good
impression
• Social relationships help define our self
– We have different selves with different individuals
Self-Concept: Who Am I?
The Self in a Social World
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Self-schemas
Schemas are mental templates by which we organize our world
Self-schemas are how we perceive ourselves Example:
Overweight, smart, athletic
Schemas affect how we process social information, how we
perceive, remember, and evaluate other people and ourselves
2. Self-reference effect
– When information is relevant to our self-concept, we process it
quickly and remember it well
– Example: After a conversation with someone, we best
remember the things they said about us
How the self develops
The Self in a Social World
• There are a number of influences:
– The roles we play- student, parent, salesperson
– The social identities we form- includes our race, gender, cliques
we join, and who we are not
– The comparisons we make with others- Example: we define if
we are rich by how wealthy others around us are
– Our successes and failures
– How other people judge us
– The surrounding culture- Example: Western culture tends to be
more individualistic, while Asian, African, and Hispanic cultures
tend to be more collectivist
What Affects Self-Concept?
The Self in a Social World
Self-Concept
The Self in a Social World
Self-Concept: Who Am I?
The Self in a Social World
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Self-knowledge
We tend to be wrong when there are subtle influences on
our own behavior, when we are:
1. Explaining our behavior
2. Predicting our behavior
3. Predicting our feelings
We are fairly unaware of much that goes on in our
minds. We are more aware of results than of the process
of thinking
Self-Analysis
The Self in a Social World
• Sometimes when we analyze our feelings, we become less
in tune with reality than if we simply reported our
emotions and made predictions based on that
• Example: An experiment asked participants about their
feelings towards their relationship. They found that
happiness with the relationship predicted whether couples
would still be together a few months later. However, if
participants were first asked to analyze their feelings, their
attitudes were not predictive of future relationship
longevity.
Self-Concept: Who Am I?
The Self in a Social World
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The mental processes that control our social behavior are
distinct from the mental processes we use to explain our
behavior.
Dual attitude system: Our automatic implicit attitudes
regarding something or someone often differ from our
consciously controlled, explicit attitudes
Explicit attitudes may change easily, but implicit
attitudes change more slowly
Implications of Faulty Self-Knowledge
The Self in a Social World
• Self-reports are untrustworthy
– The usefulness of self-understanding in the
scientific process is limited
• The sincerity with which people report and
interpret their experiences is no guarantee
of the validity of these reports
– Personal testimony, eye witness reports,
courtroom testimony all are suspect
Perceived Self-Control
The Self in a Social World
• Self-efficacy
• Locus of control
• Learned helplessness
versus selfdetermination
Perceived Self Control
The Self in a Social World
• Self-control or “willpower” has limits
• Effortful self control depletes our limited
willpower reserves
• Example: Those who force themselves to eat
radishes rather than chocolate give up more
quickly on other difficult tasks
• Self control operates similar to muscular
strength—both are weaker after exertion,
replenished with rest, and strengthened by
exercise
Self-Efficacy
The Self in a Social World
• Self-efficacy: A sense that one is competent and
effective, distinguished from self-esteem, one’s
sense of self-worth
• Leads us to set challenging goals and to persist in
the face of difficulties
• Grows with hard won achievements
• Children and adults with strong feelings of selfefficacy are more persistent, less anxious, and less
depressed, live healthier lives, and are more
academically successful
Locus of control
The Self in a Social World
• Locus of control: the extent to which people
perceive outcomes as internally controllable by
their own efforts and actions or as externally
controlled by chance or force
• Those with an internal locus of control believe
they control their own destiny
• Those with an external locus of control believe
that chance or outside forces determine their fate
Locus of Control
The Self in a Social World
Internal
• In the long run, people
get the respect they
deserve in this world
• What happens to me is
my own doing
• The average person
can have an influence
in government
decisions
External
• Unfortunately, people’s
worth passes unrecognized
no matter how hard they
try
• Sometimes I feel that I
don’t have enough control
over the direction my life
is taking
• This world is run by the
few people in power, and
there is not much the little
guy can do about it
Locus of Control
The Self in a Social World
• Those who have internal locus of control are more
likely to do well in school, successfully stop
smoking, wear seat belts, deal with marital
problems directly, make lots of money, delay
instant gratification to achieve long term goals,
and exhibit better mental health
• Those with internal locus of control see setbacks
as a fluke, or something that can be overcome with
hard work.
• As a result, they keep working towards their goals
and are more likely to achieve them
The Self in a Social World
Learned Helplessness verse SelfDetermination
• Learned Helplessness: When animals and
people experience uncontrollable bad
events, they learn to feel helpless and
resigned
• Example: Dogs that cannot escape shocks
while confined will learn a sense of
helplessness. Later, they cower passively in
other situations when they could escape
• Example: Fish experiment
Learned Helplessness
The Self in a Social World
Learned Helplessness
The Self in a Social World
• How might the concept of learned
helplessness explain the behavior of
domestic violence victims? Lower rates of
achievement in minority groups? Less
women striving for promotions?
Freedom and self-determination
The Self in a Social World
• People who are able to make their own
choices tend to have better mental health, be
more productive, be healthier, and have
more pro-social behavior
• Those unable to make choices
(institutionalized, hospitalized, in jail) tend
to have worse outcomes than those who
have some level of control over their
choices
Freedom and self-determination
The Self in a Social World
• However, there can be too much of a good
thing. When choosing from too many
choices, there can be information overload,
and people tend to be less happy with their
final choice.
• Example: After choosing between 30 kinds
of jams or chocolates, people were less
satisfied with their choice than those who
only chose from 6.
Freedom and self-determination
The Self in a Social World
• People express greater satisfaction with
irrevocable choices than with reversible
choices
– “All purchases final” sale
– Marriage before divorce became commonplace
Self-Esteem
The Self in a Social World
• Self-esteem: A person’s overall selfevaluation or sense of self-worth
• High self-esteem fosters initiative,
resilience, and pleasant feelings
• Low self-esteem predicts increased risk of
depression, drug abuse, and some forms of
delinquency. More vulnerable to anxiety,
loneliness, and eating disorders.
Self-Esteem
The Self in a Social World
• Many programs have been put into place in
elementary schools, counselors offices, and on
children’s television to increase self-esteem
• They attempt to artificially pump self-esteem,
such as by having children chant things like “I’m
great because I’m me”
• For the most part, these programs are
ineffective…many psychologists go so far as to
call them hogwash…and don’t lead to happier,
healthier children
The Dark Side of Self-Esteem
The Self in a Social World
• Individuals who conduct anti-social acts (drug
dealers, gang leaders, terrorist, leaders of hatebased organizations, dictators) often have very
high self-esteem
• Those with high self-esteem often react by putting
others down or becoming violent when that selfesteem is threatened
• People with high self esteem are sometimes
obnoxious, tend to interrupt, to talk at people
rather than with them
Self-Esteem
The Self in a Social World
• Some researchers believe the key to positive
benefits from self esteem lie in having a “secure
self-esteem”, rooted in feeling good about who
one is, one’s talents and values, rather than based
on grades, looks, friends, money, etc.
• Other researches believe the key is in “genuine
self-esteem”, those who feel secure self-worth
without seeking to be the center of attention or
being angered by criticism
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• Self-serving bias: the tendency to perceive
oneself favorably
• People generally attribute success to their
ability and effort, but attribute failure to
external factors such as bad luck or the
problem being “impossible” to solve
• Situations that involve both skill and chance
(job interviews) are especially susceptible to
the self-serving bias
Self-Serving Bias in Action
The Self in a Social World
• Students who do well on a test tend to credit
their hard work and studying, while those
who do poorly are more likely to criticize
the exam
• This comes across even in the language we
use: “I earned an A” verses “The professor
gave me a C.”
Self-Serving Bias in Action
The Self in a Social World
• Couples in marriages overestimate the amount of
work they do towards household chores, leading
both people to feel they are doing more than their
fair share
• Managers often blame poor performance on
worker’s lack of ability or effort, while workers
generally blame something external- inadequate
supplies, excessive workload, ambiguous
assignments, etc.
• Adults see themselves as supporting their aging
parents more so than their siblings
Self-Serving Bias in Social Comparisons
The Self in a Social World
• For most subjective and socially desirable
dimensions, most people see themselves as better
than the average person
• Most see themselves as more ethical, friendlier,
intelligent, less prejudiced, more competent at
their job, more disciplined, and more insightful
than others
• Communities see themselves as more caring, a
better community than others
• 66% see themselves as young for their age
Self-Serving Bias in Social Comparisons
The Self in a Social World
• In a survey of high school students, 60%
rated themselves as being in the top 10% in
“ability to get along with others”, and 25%
saw themselves in the top 1%
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• By using subjective qualities in defining
success, we have leeway to construct our
own definition
• Example: If you are assessing your athletic
abilities, you might call to mind how good
you are at basketball, even though you stink
at tennis, football, hockey, and baseball.
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• People support their self-images by
assigning importance to things they are
good at
• Example: If you are good at computers,
you place a high value on being a computerliterate person. If you are bad at computers,
you dismiss it as a field for geeks.
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• Often results in unrealistic optimism
• Students perceive themselves as more likely than
their classmates to get a good job, a good salary,
and own a home, and less likely to develop
drinking problems, have a heart attack, or be fired
• Sexually active young women who inconsistently
use contraceptives perceive themselves as less
likely than others to become pregnant
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• Unrealistic optimism increases our vulnerability.
• We don’t believe bad things will happen to us, so
we don’t take precautions or prepare ourselves.
• Example: Overconfident students tend not to
prepare enough for exams, and as a result, perform
poorly
• Some level of self-doubt is beneficial, as it
prompts us to prepare adequately
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• False Consensus Effect: The tendency to
overestimate the commonality of one’s opinions
and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behaviors
• When we behave badly or fail in a task, we
reassure ourselves by thinking such lapses are
common
• Example: Thinking that EVERYONE speeds, lies,
cheats on taxes, doesn’t get along with their
mother-in-law
• Leads people to overestimate the actual percentage
of people who do those behaviors
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• False Uniqueness Effect: The tendency to
underestimate the commonality of one’s abilities
and one’s desirable or successful behaviors
• We serve our self-image by seeing our talents and
moral behavior as relatively unusual
• Leads us to underestimate how many other people
exhibit these talents or moral behaviors
Why are we so self-serving?
The Self in a Social World
• Perhaps it is easier to remember the positive
things we’ve done, and we tend to forget the
times we have been absentminded or not
done our fair share
• Perhaps we are motivated to increase our
self-esteem
Self-Serving Bias
The Self in a Social World
• Reflections on selfefficacy and selfserving bias
– The self-serving bias
as adaptive
– The self-serving bias
as maladaptive
© Larry Dale Gordon/ Image Bank
Self-Presentation
The Self in a Social World
• False modesty
• Self-handicapping
• Impression
management
© David H. Wells/ The Image Works
False Modesty
The Self in a Social World
• People sometimes present themselves more
self-disparagingly than they feel; or present
their opponents as highly worthy
• Tends to elicit “strokes” from others
• Makes wins look bigger, and losses more
understandable
• Tends only to occur when statements are
made publicly, doesn’t occur when
statements are anonymous or private
Self-Handicapping
The Self in a Social World
• Self-handicapping: protecting one’s self image
with behaviors that create a handy excuse for later
failure
• Example: I didn’t get rejected for the job because
I’m unqualified, it was because I stayed up too late
partying the night before the interview
• It is more self-deflating to try hard and fail than to
procrastinate and have a handy excuse
Impression Management
The Self in a Social World
• Self presentation: the act of expressing
oneself and behaving in ways designed to
create a favorable impression or an
impression that corresponds to one’s ideals
• Trying to look good for our internal
audience (ourselves) as well as our external
audience (others)
• Often occurs without us being aware of it or
making any conscious effort
The Self in a Social World
More on Self-PresentationCultural
Influences
Impression Management
The Self in a Social World
• Self monitoring: Being attuned to the way one
presents oneself in social situations and adjusting
one’s performance to create the desired impression
• Conscious self-presentation, becomes a way of life
for some
• Those high in self monitoring may be described as
social chameleons; also adapt to new jobs, roles,
and relationships
• Those low in self monitoring tend to care little
about what others think, and present their opinions
irregardless of the attitudes of their anticipated
audience