Understanding Self-Concept

• The concept of self will be explored:
• the definition of self-concept
• whether people have multiple selves or just one
• if a true self exists

Review of William James' Self-Concept

• William James conceptualized of the self as the "I" and the "Me"
• "I" refers to the self-as-subject, which thinks, experiences, perceives, and decides
• "Me" refers to the self-as-object, which includes descriptions of oneself, such as material possessions, social roles, and personal inner qualities

Exercise: Describing Yourself

• To explore the self-concept, describe yourself by finishing the phrase "I am..." five times

Self-Concept Defined

• Self-concept is the cognitive representation of knowledge and beliefs about ourselves
• This includes personality traits, abilities, social roles, values, goals and desires, and physical characteristics
• It encompasses everything a person claims as "me" or "mine"
• Self-concept is important because it shapes how we think about the world, feel, and behave

Self-Concept as an Associative Network

• Knowledge is organized as a metaphorical network of cognitive concepts interconnected by links
• Some concepts in the network are more central than others
• The strength of links between concepts varies

Unitary vs. Multiple Selves

• Self-concept implies a unitary, fixed, and integrated idea about the self
• However, people have many ideas about themselves, which can sometimes contradict each other

Working Self-Concept

• The working self-concept is the subset of self-knowledge that is the current focus of awareness
• Whereas self-concept is the entirety of our self-knowledge
• The working self-concept is created moment-to-moment

Contents of the Working Self-Concept

• Situational activation: Different situations activate different pieces of self-knowledge, creating different working self-concepts
• Self-concept is organized in an associative network
• Spreading activation: Activation of a specific self-aspect leads to the activation of other linked self-aspects
• Strongly linked self-aspects are activated more quickly

Factors Determining Accessibility of Self-Knowledge

• Distinctiveness to the situation
• Relevance to the situation/activity
• Frequency of activation (recency effect)

Distinctiveness Theory

• People are more aware of their unique, distinctive characteristics compared to those shared with others
• Distinctive features are more valuable in distinguishing oneself from others
• A study showed that students with distinctive features mentioned them more often than those with typical features
• Situational context influences what comes to mind when describing the self

Implications of the Malleable Self-Concept

• The self-concept is malleable and highly dependent on context
• People have different versions of themselves
• Non-central self-aspects can enter the working self-concept
• Contradictory self-aspects can simultaneously exist, but are usually not activated in the same situation
• Working self-concept influences behavior, explaining why we behave differently in different situations

Study on Working Self-Concept and Behavior

• A study aimed to determine if the working self-concept influences behavior
• Method: Study presented as aiming to validate new questionnaire to “reveal elements of personality"
• Working self-concept was experimentally manipulated:
• Extroversion: "what would you do if you wanted to liven things up at a party?"
• Introversion: "what things do you dislike about loud parties?”
• Results: Those in the extroverted condition described themselves as more extroverted
• They also acted more extroverted in a subsequent situation, speaking longer and sitting closer to a confederate
• Participants were rated by confederates and judges as more extroverted

Summary of the Self-Concept and Malleability

• The self-concept is organized as an associative network and is highly malleable
• Only a small subset of the self-concept is accessible at any given moment, known as the working self-concept
• Working self-concept is made up of situationally activated and frequently activated self-knowledge

The Question of a True Self

• Investigating whether a true self exists

Elements Common to Theories About the True Self

• Natural endowment: already born with a true self, often in the form of potential
• Feels authentic: Actions align with internal states (feelings, needs, desires) subjectively experienced as one's own
• People naturally want to be true to themselves: Living in accordance with true self leads to a satisfying and fulfilling life
• Competes with external influences: It’s difficult to be in tune with true self and to follow it

Study on Belief in a True Self

• A study investigated whether people believe in a true self and use it to guide decisions
• Method: 60 online community participants were asked to reflect on occasions when they made important decisions and rate decision-making strategies, including:
• True-self-as-guide: "following who you really are"
• Ideal self: "consider who you really want to be"
• Past self: "consider what you've done in the past"
• Future self: "consider who you want to become in the future"
• Actual self: "use everyday behavior as a guide”
• Ought self: "follow who you think you ought to be”
• Information from others: "follow friends' advice"
• Rational processing: “making a pros and cons list"
• Intuition: "follow your gut"
• Religious: “use religious beliefs as a guide"
• Supernatural: “let fate decide"
• People believe that following one's true self is an important strategy for making satisfying decisions

Further Study on Accessing the True Self

• Participants were randomly assigned to describe their true or actual self and rate how easy it was
• True self: "who you really are"
• Actual self: "who you are in everyday life”
• Participants rated satisfaction with recent big life decisions
• Subjective ease was related to decision satisfaction in the true self condition, but not in the actual self condition
• Difficulties accessing the true self related to less satisfaction with decisions

Implication of True Self

• The idea of a true self resonates with people
• People are more satisfied with their decisions when these are in accord with their true self

Problems with the Idea of a Natural Endowment

• Natural endowment of a true self is not a provable idea
• It's unclear how to assess a baby's potential
• Suggests that babies are born with specific motivations for adult life, which seems unlikely

Problem: Self-Beliefs Can Be Inaccurate

• The idea of a true self requires that people have accurate self-knowledge
• Lots of research suggests that self-concepts are full of inaccuracies and distortions, such as the better-than-average effect
• Suggests that no self-concept is fully "true"

Problem: True Self As What Is "Good"

• True self may be about social desirability rather than unique characteristics
• In daily diary study, people report feeling most authentic when accepting external influence when making personal decisions

Study on Authenticity and the Big Five

• A study examined when people feel most authentic
• Method: 97 participants in a lab study rated themselves on "Trait" Big Five, what are they generally like?
• Participants completed their State Big Five, how extroverted, agreeable, open to new experience, conscientious, and emotionally stable are you right now?
• They also completed their State authenticity, how authentic do you feel right now?
• Results: Authenticity was positively associated with acting extroverted, agreeable, conscientious, and emotionally stable, regardless of the Big Five personality traits
• People felt more authentic when behaving in socially desirable ways, rather than in ways consistent with their personality

True Self as Desired Reputation

• The true self is more of a guide than a reality
• Desired reputation is what is valued by society (ideals) plus what distinctive role one's own abilities and traits are best suited to (actual self) People feel most authentic when actions are consistent with perceived or projected desired reputation This is slightly different depending the reputation to different people

True Self Summary

• The self-concept is organized as an associative network of various self-aspects and is highly malleable
• Only a small subset of our self-concept is accessible at any given moment, referred to as the working self-concept
• The working self-concept is composed of situationally activated self-knowledge and frequently activated self-knowledge
• The idea of a true self resonates with people, but has several conceptual issues that make it unworkable
• The "true self" reflects a desired reputation, and people feel most authentic when behaving in line with it