Outline. The Self. Self-Related Constructs. What is the Self? Self-Awareness Self-Concept Self Esteem Positive Illusions Self-Presentation

Transcription

1 The Self PSY 750 Social Psychology Outline What is the Self? Self-Awareness Self-Concept Self Esteem Positive Illusions Self-Presentation Self-Related Constructs Desired/undesired self Ego defense Ego threat Feared self Possible selves Self-acceptance Self-actualization Self-affirmation Self-complexity Self-concept Self-confidence Self-conscious emotions Self-control Self-deception Self-defeating behavior Self-discrepancy Self-efficacy Self-enhancement Self-esteem Self-handicapping Self-monitoring Self-presentation Self-protection Self-verification 1

2 What is the Self? It is the mental apparatus that allows us to think consciously about ourselves The self is a mental capacity that allows us to take ourselves as the object of our own attention and to think consciously about ourselves The Self Two big questions about the self Structure (i.e., Why are human selves put together as they are?) Function (i.e., What does the self do?) An important feature of the self is that it allows us to relate to others What is the Self? Three main parts of the self: 1. Self-Knowledge 2. Interpersonal Self 3. Agent Self What Does the Self Do? Being able to think about oneself has five important consequences: Self-Conceptualization and Evaluation (e.g., we can form mental representations of who we are and have reactions to those representations) Introspection (e.g., we can think about our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors) Perspective-Taking (e.g., we can imagine what it would be like to be someone else) Planning (e.g., imagining the future consequences of one s actions) Decision Making and Self-Control (e.g., we can decide to behave differently than we would naturally behave) 2

3 Self-Awareness Attention directed at the self Do people behave differently when they know they are self-aware (e.g., in front of a mirror or being videotaped)? Two forms of self-awareness Private self-awareness Looking inward on private aspects of self Emotions, thoughts, desires, traits Public self-awareness Looking outward on public aspects of self Usually involves evaluative comparison Awareness of how you appear to others What do others think of me? Necessary for self-regulation Self-Awareness and Standards Self-awareness often leads to comparisons between the self and relevant standards Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, Bond, Klein, & Strauman, 1986) Actual self may differ from either the Ideal self or the Ought self Actual-Ideal discrepancies lead to dysphoria Actual-Ought discrepancies lead to anxiety The use of standards begins around age 2 This is the beginning of self-awareness Looking Outside the Self Looking-Glass Self (Cooley, 1902) You imagine how you appear to others You imagine how others will judge you You develop an emotional response as a result of imagining how others will judge you The Generalized Other is an elaboration on the Looking-Glass Self (Mead, 1934) Feedback from others tell us who and what we are 3

4 Looking Inside the Self Can you know yourself by looking inward? Introspection The process by which a person examines the contents of the mind and mental states Privileged Access: the idea that we know things about ourselves that no one else knows Limitations of Introspection Development Children under 11 Nisbett & Wilson (1977) showed that participants were unaware of why they chose products We may know what we think and feel but not why Looking At Others Social Comparison Examining the difference between oneself and another person Upward social comparisons Comparing yourself to people better than you May inspire or discourage Downward social comparisons Comparing yourself to people worse off than you Can make you feel better in comparison Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory (Tesser, 1988) When a sibling, spouse, or close friend experiences more success than you do, what impact does it have on your self-esteem? Two possible reactions: Feel proud about our close association with successful others (i.e., BIRGing: Basking In Reflected Glory to boost selfesteem) Feel overshadowed by others success (i.e., social comparison jealousy: envy, resentment, loss of self-esteem) 4

5 Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory (Tesser, 1988) The relevance of the performance domain matters If irrelevant to us (not important to our self-concept), we BIRG If relevant to us, we are jealous To maintain self-esteem we can: Distance ourselves from the other person Reduce relevance of the domain Hurt the other person s performance Work hard to improve our performance Looking At Our Own Behavior Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1965) People observe their own behavior in order to clarify their ambiguous attitudes Do I like classical music? Hmmm I never listen to it so I must not like it Motives for Self-Knowledge Why do people post their photos on websites such as Hot or Not? Self-Enhancement Motive Desire to learn flattering things about self This is typically the strongest motive Consistency Motive Desire to be seen by others as you see yourself This is usually the second strongest motive Appraisal Motive Simple desire to learn the truth about oneself Usually the weakest motive 5

6 Self-Concept We possess a vast amount of information about ourselves Self-concept content refers to the specific beliefs that we hold about the self In order for this information to be useful, it must be organized in some fashion Self-concept structure refers to the ways in which the content of the self-concept is organized Self-concept structure moderates the effect of self-concept content by influencing the accessibility of specific items of selfknowledge Self-Complexity (Linville, 1985, 1987) Structural models assume that the selfconcept consists of multiple categories (or self-aspects) Complex self-concepts contain a high number of self-aspects that are highly elaborated (i.e., contain a number of attributes) and that do not overlap Self-complexity has been shown to buffer individuals from stress because less of the self-concept is implicated by any external event (e.g., Linville, 1987) Evaluative Organization of Self-Knowledge (Showers, 1992) Model of self-concept structure that accounts for both the valence and structure of selfknowledge Compartmentalization: Positive and negative selfbeliefs are separated into distinct self-aspects Integration: Self-aspects contain a mixture of positive and negative self-beliefs Evaluative organization influences the accessibility of specific self-beliefs Positively compartmentalized individuals have more positive mood and higher self-esteem (Showers, 1992) But they also have specific vulnerabilities Possess self-esteem that is fragile (Zeigler-Hill & Showers, 2007; Zeigler-Hill & Showers, in preparation) 6

7 Compartmentalized Card Sort With My Boss Work Ethic Social Life Love Life Fear of Being - Not the Real Me - Inferior - Insecure - Irritable - Tense - Indecisive + Successful + Mature + Friendly + Confident + Intelligent + Needed + Communicative + Capable + Organized + Giving + Hardworking + Fun & Entertaining + Happy + Interested + Comfortable + Outgoing + Energetic + Friendly + Independent + Hardworking + Giving + Communicative + Needed + Mature + Comfortable + Happy + Lovable + Optimistic - Unloved - Worthless - Sad & Blue - Isolated - Like a Failure Integrated Card Sort Social Life Working Life Love Life Religious Life Education + Mature + Needed - Tense + Fun & Entertaining + Giving - Insecure - Not the Real Me - Like a Failure - Indecisive - Indecisive - Weary + Independent + Organized + Interested - Inferior - Lazy + Hardworking - Weary + Lovable - Hopeless + Interested + Giving - Like a Failure - Sad & Blue + Mature + Needed - Insecure + Mature - Uncomfortable + Optimistic - Insecure + Interested + Needed - Weary - Irritable - Indecisive - Lazy - Weary + Organized - Like a Failure - Uncomfortable + Optimistic + Interested - Insecure What Is Self-Esteem? The term is used in three ways Trait self-esteem (Global self-esteem) Represents the way people generally feel about themselves Relatively enduring across time and situations State self-esteem Moment-to-moment feelings of self-worth Is trait self-esteem just the average of state selfesteem over a prolonged period of time? Self-evaluations (Domain-specific self-esteem) The way individuals evaluate their various abilities Ex. a girl who is good at sports may have high athletic self-esteem 7

8 Relations Among the Three Constructs Cognitive Model (Bottom-Up) State Self-Esteem Immediate effect Self-Evaluations Trait Self-Esteem If enduring Evaluative Feedback Relations Among the Three Constructs Affective Model (Top-Down) Trait Self-Esteem Evaluative Feedback Trait Self-Esteem x Evaluative Feedback Self-Evaluations State Self-Esteem Differences in Self-Esteem Women tend to report lower selfesteem than men (Kling, Hyde, Showers, & Buswell, 1999) Individuals from Western cultures tend to report higher self-esteem than those from Eastern cultures (Markus & Kitayama, 1991) Black individuals tend to report higher levels of self-esteem than White individuals (Gray-Little & Hafdahl, 2000; Twenge & Crocker, 2002) 8

9 Pursuit of Self-Esteem Self-Esteem may be pursued by Seeking dominance over others Increasing competence Pursuing acceptance of others Avoiding failures or rejection Pursuit of self-esteem can be harmful if people Choose easy tasks for easy success Go along with what others want for acceptance Pursue strategies for increasing self-esteem that harm interpersonal relationships The pursuit of self-esteem has become a central preoccupation in American culture Hundreds of self-help books Schools have implemented programs aimed at boosting selfesteem More than 20,000 journal articles on self-esteem have been published over the past 30 years The Importance of Self-Esteem People seek to maintain, enhance, and protect their self-esteem (e.g., Baumeister, 1998) We want to believe we have value and worth this drives our behavior and shapes how we think about ourselves, other people, and events in our lives Example: the best predictor of satisfaction with positive events is their impact on self-esteem (Sheldon et al., 2001) The pursuit of self-esteem is so pervasive that many researchers have assumed it is a universal and fundamental human need However, the role of self-esteem as a causal agent in a number of areas (e.g., high academic achievement, good job performance, improved leadership) has been questioned (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003) but others have argued that self-esteem still has value as a construct (e.g., Swann, Chang-Schneider, & McClarty, 2007; Trzesniewski et al., 2006) Focus on Level of Self-Esteem The vast majority of the literature has focused exclusively on level of self-esteem (i.e., whether people typically have high or low selfregard) High self-esteem is strongly related to the beliefs people hold about themselves (e.g., intelligence, attractiveness, acceptance) Low self-esteem is generally associated with uncertainty about qualities rather than an intense dislike for oneself Low self-esteem is also associated with a self-protective orientation Individuals with high self-esteem believe they are superior to others in many domains (e.g., Campbell, 1986) and they expect their futures to be more positive than the futures of other individuals (Taylor & Brown, 1988) 9

10 The Paradox of High Self-Esteem Initial research focused on the virtues of high self-esteem such as its connection with indicators of psychological adjustment (Diener, 1984; Kaplan, 1975; Robins, Hendin, & Trzesniewski, 2001; Tennen & Affleck, 1993) Associated with higher levels of initiative and perseverance Feels good More recent research has revealed that high self-esteem also has a dark side Prejudice (Crocker, Thompson, McGraw, & Ingerman, 1987; Verkuyten, 1996; Verkuyten & Masson, 1995) Aggression (Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996; Papps & O Carroll, 1998) A variety of self-protective or self-enhancement strategies (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1993; Baumeister, Tice, & Hutton, 1989; Blaine & Crocker, 1993; Fitch, 1970; Gibbons & McCoy, 1991; Miller & Ross, 1975; Tice, 1991) Two Forms of High Self-Esteem There is more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low Contemporary theorists (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1995; Kernis, 2003) have proposed that there are actually two forms of high selfesteem: secure high self-esteem and fragile high selfesteem. Secure high self-esteem reflects positive attitudes toward the self that are realistic, well-anchored, and resistant to threat Able to recognize and acknowledge their weaknesses without feeling threatened The solid foundation for their feelings of self-worth protects these individuals from the normal adversities of day-to-day life Fragile high self-esteem refers to feelings of self-worth that are vulnerable to challenge, require constant validation, and rely upon some degree of self-deception Individuals with fragile high self-esteem are believed to frequently utilize self-protective and self-enhancing strategies in order to preserve their tenuous feelings of self-worth Secure vs. Fragile Self-Esteem There are three primary markers used to distinguish between secure and fragile high self-esteem (see Kernis, 2003, for a review) Discrepancies Between Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem (Bosson, Brown, Zeigler-Hill, & Swann, 2003) Contingent Self-Esteem (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001; Deci & Ryan, 1995) Self-Esteem Instability (Kernis, Grannemann, & Barclay, 1989) 10

11 Discrepant High Self-Esteem Discrepancies may form between an individual s level of explicit self-esteem and their level of implicit self-esteem (Bosson, Brown, Zeigler-Hill, & Swann, 2003) This model is consistent with the Psychodynamic Mask Model of Narcissism (Kernberg, 1970; Kohut, 1971) but empirical support for the link between discrepant high self-esteem and narcissism has been inconsistent (Bosson, Lakey, Campbell, Zeigler-Hill, Jordan, & Kernis, 2008) A number of other findings may also support the idea that the positive self-views of individuals with discrepant high self-esteem are defensive and vulnerable to challenge Temporal fluctuations in their state self-esteem (Zeigler-Hill, 2006) Display increased self-enhancement tendencies (Bosson et al., 2003) Use racial discrimination as a way of maintaining threatened self-images (Jordan, Spencer, & Zanna, 2005) Contingent Self-Esteem People differ in what they believe they must do or the kind of person they must be in order to be a worthy and valuable person (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001; Deci & Ryan, 1995) Contingent self-esteem is fragile because it is only high as long as you meet these standards Global vs. Domain-Specific Self-esteem reactions to acceptance/rejection letters from graduate school (Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen, 2002) and good/bad grades (Crocker, Karpinski, Quinn, & Chase, 2003) Predict the time that college freshmen spend in various activities (e.g., studying, socializing, and grooming; Crocker, Luhtanen, et al., 2003) as well as the problems they encounter (e.g., academic and financial problems; Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003) Unstable Self-Esteem Self-esteem instability refers to temporal fluctuations in state self-esteem (Kernis, Grannemann, & Barclay, 1989; Rosenberg, 1986) Often measured as the within-subject standard deviation of repeated assessments of state self-esteem Individuals with unstable high self-esteem behave as if their self-esteem is constantly at stake (Greenier et al., 1999; Kernis, Brown, & Brody, 2000; Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993; Kernis, Greenier, Herlocker, Whisenhunt, & Abend, 1997; Waschull & Kernis, 1996) Compared with individuals who possess stable high selfesteem, those with unstable high self-esteem are more likely to Report higher levels of anger and hostility (Kernis et al., 1989) Engage in self-handicapping (Kernis et al., 1992; Newman & Wadas, 1997) Adopt a self-esteem protective orientation toward learning (Waschull & Kernis, 1996) Be highly selective in their acceptance of relevant feedback (Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993) Employ immature psychological defenses (Myers & Zeigler-Hill, 2008; Zeigler-Hill, Chadha, & Osterman, 2008) 11

12 Why Do People Care About Their Self-Esteem? Sociometer Theory (Leary & Baumeister, 2000; Leary & Downs, 1995) Self-esteem is a measure of relational value How do you measure up as a relationship partner, employee, team member, friend, etc.? Think of a gas gauge on a car telling you how much fuel you have in your gas tank Bad feelings associated with low self-esteem may serve as a warning to act in order to preserve or enhance your relational value Terror Management Theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) Self-esteem serves as a buffer that protects us from existential anxiety Positive Illusions Are self-concepts accurate or filled with illusions? 1960s Clinical psychologists noted relationship between depression and low selfesteem Did depressed people have a distorted view of the world? Studies found that it is normal not depressed people who have a distorted perception of reality Depressed people took blame for failure and credit for success Normal people rejected blame for failure and credit for success Positive Illusions What are positive illusions? Self-aggrandizing self-perceptions Perceptions of mastery Unrealistic optimism Taylor and Brown (1988) argued that positive illusions promote: Psychological well-being Ability to care for and about others Perhaps through influence of positive mood Ability to cope with trauma and illness (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, Gruenewald, 2000; Taylor, Lichtman, & Wood, 1984) Capacity for creative and productive work Enhance motivation, persistence and performance Moderate positive illusions are associated with self-reported psychological adjustment 12

13 The Drawbacks of Positive Illusions Can be problematic when extremely unrealistic and impractical May fail to take the necessary safeguards a dash of realism can save us from the perils of unrealistic optimism (Myers, 1999) Shedler, Mayman, and Manis (1993) Positive illusions may prevent individuals from reporting symptoms of mental health problems Measures of mental health dimensions questionable accuracy in identifying genuinely healthy vs. defensive deniers May put individuals at risk for physical illness Self-Presentation Behaviors that convey an image to others Behaviors may be different depending on who is present Women behave less intelligently if they believe an attractive man prefers unintelligent women People tend to be concerned with gaining the approval of others Humans can be understood as actors in a play (Goffman, 1959) Functions of Self-Presentation Social Acceptance Increase chance of acceptance and maintain place within the group Claiming Identity Social validation of claims to identity We tell the world who we are and hope that will influence how we are perceived by others 13

14 Good Self-Presentation People generally want to make the most positive impression possible without going too far Modesty More prevalent in long-term relationships People sometimes engage in risky behaviors in order to gain social acceptance e.g., sunbathing, smoking, adolescent drinking, engaging in unprotected sex, failure to wear a seatbelt or a bicycle helmet Conclusion Understanding the self is important for understanding what makes us who we are Self-awareness is a vital aspect of humanity We compare ourselves to cultural standards and other people The self is a tool humans use in Gaining social acceptance Participating in culture 14