PSYC-2700 Lecture 3: The Self - Self-Knowledge and Behavior PDF

PSYC-2700 THE SELF Lecture 3 Winter 2025 TODAY’S AGENDA Self-Knowledge  Self-Schemas  Self-Concept Clarity Knowing Ourselves  Where does self-knowledge come from Self-Control Self-Esteem (Self-evaluation) Wrap-Up TODAY’S LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of class today, you should...

PSYC-2700 THE SELF Lecture 3 Winter 2025 TODAY’S AGENDA Self-Knowledge  Self-Schemas  Self-Concept Clarity Knowing Ourselves  Where does self-knowledge come from Self-Control Self-Esteem (Self-evaluation) Wrap-Up TODAY’S LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of class today, you should be able to:  Outline the nature of the self and discuss the functions of self-control  Explain four ways in which people gain self-knowledge  Discuss the “Self-Esteem Movement” and the differences between high self-esteem and narcissism  Understand how people self-evaluate, and articulate the feedback about the self that people prefer from others SELF-KNOWLEDGE SELF-AWARENESS “Rouge Test”  Humans (18-24 months)  Apes  Dolphins  Asian elephants  Magpies SELF-SCHEMAS Self- Schema Self-schemas (self-concepts) are organized bodies of knowledge about the self, including attitudes, likes/dislikes, and personality traits, which influence:  What we notice  What we think about  What we remember SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY We have high self-concept clarity if our self-schemas are:  Held with certainty  Perceived to be consistent and stable Low self-concept clarity (also called self-concept confusion) is essentially not having firm knowledge of who we are  low self-esteem, depression prone, more neurotic, less aware of their own internal states; chronic self-analysis / rumination SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY Self-concept clarity can be influenced by situational factors “There are many aspects of the self that may change when a relationship ends, ranging from a post-breakup haircut, to alterations in social activities, to modifications in personal values.” Slotter et al. (2010). Who Am I Without You? The Influence of Romantic Breakup on the Self-Concept. PSPB CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN SELF-KNOWLEDGE In individualist cultures (e.g., Canada), people tend to have an independent view of the self  The self is defined in terms of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behavior  Independence and uniqueness are valued CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN SELF-KNOWLEDGE In collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan), people tend to have an interdependent view of the self  The self is defined in terms of one’s relationships to others  The self is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others and interdependence is valued  Less consistent / stable  Lower self-concept clarity but linkage to self-esteem is weaker. KNOWING OURSELVES HOW DO WE GAIN SELF- KNOWLEDGE? At least four primary ways:  Introspection  Observing our own behavior  Social interaction  Comparing ourselves with others INTROSPECTION Introspection involves looking inward and examining the “inside information” that only you have about yourself People do not rely on introspection as often as you might think  Helps to have a trigger: mirror reflections, video recording, etc. Limited utility  Sometimes people are not consciously aware of the reasons for their thoughts, feelings, and behavior INTROSPECTION Self-awareness theory: When people become aware of themselves, they evaluate themselves by comparing their behavior to their own personal standards Behavior can conflict to personal standards, which makes us uncomfortable  Distress motivates distractions and self-destructive behaviors Other times, it can be pleasant by highlighting accomplishments Can also remind us to follow moral codes Cultural differences: Collectivist cultures seem to be more “self-aware” by default INTROSPECTION: TELLING MORE THAN WE KNOW While it is easy to identify how we feel right now, it is difficult to accurately remember how we felt retrospectively and to know why.  E.g., People report that they were happier on the weekend then they actually were  E.g., People will mistakenly identify lack of sleep as the cause of poor mood Why? People rely on causal theories, or schemas (beliefs) about why they engage in particular behaviors or feel the way the way do.  Causal theories are not always accurate!  They are learned through personal experience and vary by culture OBSERVING OUR OWN BEHAVIOR Self-perception theory: When our attitudes are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer inner feelings by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs Happens only when we are not sure how we feel? OBSERVING OUR OWN BEHAVIOR We evaluate whether our behavior reflects how we truly feel or if something about the situation we’re in makes us behave a certain way  E.g., Watching certain types of movies Related to intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations  When people come to believe that they do something for extrinsic rewards, they persist less in that behavior and ultimately achieve less SOCIAL INTERACTION People have different “selves” that develop in response to different social situations. Self-monitoring: a personality trait reflecting an ability to modify one’s behavior in response to situational pressures, opportunities, and norms  People with high self-monitoring are more likely to regulate their expressive behavior and self-presentation to better adapt to the situational expectations SOCIAL INTERACTION The looking-glass self: We see ourselves through the eyes of other people and incorporate their views into our self-concept  E.g., Baldwin et al.’s (1990) Pope study.  Ties to the Michelangelo phenomenon Implications -> Who we think we are in general or in a particular situation is partially determined by the people around us! SOCIAL INTERACTION Feedback from others can shape the self-concept  Michelangelo phenomenon: The process though which close others can help us move closer (or further) from who we ideally want to be Three shaping methods:  Affirming  Failing to affirm  Disaffirming MICHELANGELO PHENOMENON Affirming feedback !  Helpful ?  Positive and encouraging (yet realistic!) feedback MICHELANGELO PHENOMENON Failing to affirm ?  Neither particularly helpful nor ? particularly harmful  Irrelevant feedback MICHELANGELO PHENOMENON Disaffirm !  Harmful ?  Negative or counter-ideal feedback COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHERS Social-comparison theory: We learn about our abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves with other people COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHERS Knowing Ourselve We socially compare when there is no objective s standard to measure ourselves against  E.g., intelligence / academic achievement  E.g., sexual frequency / number of partners etc. It is usually the most informative to compare ourselves with others who are similar to us on the attribute or dimension in question. SELF-CONTROL SELF-CONTROL: EXECUTIVE FUNCTION OF THE SELF The self allows us to self-regulate; that is, to act in accordance with our goals and direct our behavior, choices, plans for the future, etc. Self-control, or the capacity to self-regulate can help us override impulses and modify our behavior SELF-CONTROL Dispositional (trait) self-control  Relatively stable amount of self- control State self-control  Variable amount of self-control  Self-regulatory resource model: argues that self control is a limited resource susceptible to depletion (ego depletion) SELF-CONTROL In general, low self-control (dispositional or state) yields negative outcomes  Less academic success  Impaired ability to control anger or aggression  Less healthy interpersonal relationships  Tendency to be less helpful to strangers  Tendency to use porn in inappropriate places (work, school, etc.) IS LOW SELF-CONTROL EVER GOOD? Yes! Low self-control can sometimes be adaptive and yield prosocial outcomes.  If our gut reaction to a situation is appropriate, high self- control can impair or impede the expression of those feelings  Therefore, low self-control can bypass our “filters” and our tendency to overanalyze certain situations IS LOW SELF-CONTROL EVER GOOD? Which direction is the center arrow? Condition with congruent trials (i.e., ←←←←←, →→→→→) vs. Condition with incongruent trials (i.e., →→←→→, ←←→←←) Apfelbaum & Sommers (2009). Liberating Effects of Losing Executive Control When Regulatory Strategies Turn Maladaptive. Psych Science. In subsequent white-black interactions with a confederate about diversity, white “depleted” participants:  Enjoyed the interactions more  Exhibited less inhibited behavior  Appeared less prejudice BOLSTERING SELF-CONTROL Make implementation intentions, or make specific plans regarding how you will obtain your goals and avoid distractions. Remove distractions from your environment. The ego depletion perspective argues that just as people can strengthen their muscles, people can strengthen their self-control Use your non-dominant hand in mundane tasks (e.g., when brushing your teeth, eating, etc.) Regulate your habitual speech patterns  Avoid sentences that begin with the word “I”  Say “yes” instead of “yeah” OVERCOMING EGO DEPLETION Problems caused by ego depletion can be counteracted in many ways  Humor, laughter, or other positive emotions  Cash incentives  Sugar sweetened lemonade! http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/ cover_story/2016/03/ ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology _may_have_just_been_debunked.html SELF-EVALUATION SELF-ESTEEM: HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES Self-esteem has both cognitive and affective components  Cognitive: Beliefs about self-worth  Affective: Feelings toward the self THE VALUE OF SELF-ESTEEM? High self-esteem is generally thought to be adaptive and healthy, but…correlation ≠ causation  Potential consequences of the “Self-Esteem Movement” in education  Video: Part 1 and Part 2 SELF-ESTEEM VS. NARCISSISM Having high self-esteem is not the same as being narcissistic High Self-Esteem Narcissism 1. Positive, secure self- 1. Grandiose but fragile views self-views 2. Not overly sensitive 2. Quite sensitive to to rejection rejection 3. Esteem threat 3. Esteem threat likely unlikely to trigger to trigger aggression aggression MEASURING SELF-ESTEEM Letter Self-esteem can be measured both implicitly and explicitly  Explicit self-esteem: Influenced by self-presentation concerns  Measured through self-report: e.g. Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale  Implicit self-esteem: Arguably more resistant to self- presentation concerns, and thought to better reflect our unconscious feelings toward ourselves  Measured through implicit tests like name-letter tasks or the IAT TWO TYPES OF SELF-ESTEEM Self- Esteem So, high explicit self-esteem can manifest in two ways:  Secure self-esteem: High explicit + high implicit  Defensive self-esteem: High explicit + low implicit Secure self-esteem is stable and resistant to threat, whereas defensive self-esteem is fragile and vulnerable to threat  Defensive self-esteem is an aspect of narcissism (which also involves entitlement, lack of empathy, etc.) SOCIAL COMPARISONS IMPACT SELF-ESTEEM Married Downward social comparison: Comparing yourself to someone who is worse than you  Self-protective, self-enhancing strategy  The worse-off someone can be a past self Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action We feel good when making a DSC only if we don’t feel vulnerable to the worse-off person’s negative outcomes SOCIAL COMPARISONS IMPACT SELF-ESTEEM Upward social comparison: Comparing yourself to someone who is better than you  Usually makes us feel worse about ourselves (e.g., threatens our self-esteem)  Can be motivating if we’re focused on our “actual” or “usual” self (vs. our “best” self) SOCIAL COMPARISONS IMPACT SELF-ESTEEM Social comparison theory is why many people believe social media and porn is destroying our self-esteem and our relationships. SOCIAL COMPARISONS IMPACT SELF-ESTEEM Exception: The effects of DSCs and USCs are reversed when the person we’re comparing ourselves to is our romantic partner  Close others become included in the self  Promoting intimacy and empathy  “Share fate” with our partners SELF-ESTEEM AS A FUNCTION OF SOCIAL EVALUATIONS Sociometer Theory: self-esteem is gauge that monitors the extent of our social acceptance or rejection  Low self-esteem individuals are more willing to join social interactions when they’ve been given positive feedback from a group  Links to self-fulfilling prophecies SELF-ENHANCEMENT Intelligence SELF-ENHANCEMENT Believing that our skills and attributes are better than average helps us to maintain high levels of self-esteem. Distribution of self- esteem scores for European Canadian’s (Heine et al., 1999) Self-enhancement describes the motivational tendency for people to hold unrealistically positive views of themselves. SELF-ENHANCEMENT Interestingly, however, this seems to an individualist culture thing  People from collectivist cultures are more likely to engage in self-effacement, the tendency to have a negative view of one-self Failure feedback leads to more self-effacement in collectivist cultures than individualist cultures SELF-VERIFICATION People also seek verification and confirmation on their sense of self, regardless of whether their self- views are positive or negative  We’re motivated to maintain consistent self-views SELF-VERIFICATION Why do we want our self-views verified?  It’s unsettling and confusing to have our self-views “disconfirmed”  Remember self-concept clarity?  It can be awkward or uncomfortable to interact with people who view us differently than we view ourselves The desire for self-verification can conflict with the desire for self-enhancement SELF-ENHANCEMENT VS. SELF-VERIFICATION Ideally, we want both to align  We want people to “get” us and to see us in a positive light But, when the need for self-enhancement conflicts with the need for self-verification  We seem to prefer self-enhancement feedback from “experts” when it comes to their domain of expertise  Otherwise, we tend to prefer self-verification feedback WRAP-UP SUMMARY The self has involves several aspects (self-knowledge, self-control, and self-esteem) People gain self-knowledge in four main ways People use two primary strategies to evaluate themselves High self-esteem is generally good, but not when implicit self-esteem is low! Self-enhancement and verification motives can conflict when self- esteem is low NEXT CLASS Monday, February 3  Topic: Attitudes and Attitude Change  Reading(s): Chapter 6  Start studying for the exam!