What You Know About You: The Self

Transcription

1 What You Know About You: The Self Chapter 17 Tell me something about yourself! What would you say if someone asked you this question, out of the blue? Early Ideas About the Self William James: Two selves The Me: is a sort of object, which can be observed and described; it is declarative knowledge about the self I am conscientious. The I: is the somewhat mysterious entity that does the observing and describing; it is the little person in the head (sometimes called the homunculus) or even the soul, which experiences life and makes decisions. Fall 09 1

2 The Self Across Cultures Recall that individualistic cultures assume that the self has an independent and separate existence, while collectivist cultures view it as embedded in a larger social context of obligations and relationships. This theme has been represented in theoretical debates and in modern research in two ways. 1. The self is a Western cultural artifact that has no meaning in other cultures. 2. Examining how ideas about the self might differ across cultural contexts. The Self Across Cultures: The Self as a Cultural Artifact 1. The self is a Western cultural artifact. Shweder & Bourne: 50 percent of the terms Americans used to describe their acquaintances were personality traits; only 20 percent of the terms Indians used were trait terms. This evidence has been used to reach the conclusion that many ideas that have long been taken for granted by psychologists. The Self Across Cultures: The Self as a Cultural Artifact (cont.) 2. Some psychologists do not support the conclusion that the self is a Western cultural artifact; they favor examining how ideas about the self might differ across cultural contexts. Sabini noted that this kind of evidence (i.e., percentage of trait terms) cannot be used to reach the conclusion that the concept of the self is a product of Western culture. Personality trait terms were used in 20 percent of the Indians descriptions of people it is overgeneralizing to say that Indians do not have a concept of personality in their culture. Fall 09 2

3 Individualist and Collectivist Selves Self-regard the possibility that the individualist s need for positive self-regard may be felt less acutely by a member of a collectivist culture Consistency the matter of self-determination The individualist view of the self assumes that the cause of behavior lies within the person; an individual is expected to behave in consistent ways from one situation to the next. Individualist and Collectivist Selves (cont.) Consistency the matter of self-determination This line of research raises an important methodological distinction regarding the measurement of consistency it can be measured in two different ways. Examining research results, using this methodological distinction is helpful for reaching important general conclusions: Contents of The Self Self-knowledge, self-image Declarative knowledge: the facts and impressions that we consciously know and can describe Procedural knowledge: knowledge expressed through actions rather than words Includes patterns of social skills, styles of relating to others that comprise the relational self The unconscious self-knowledge that resides in the implicit self Fall 09 3

4 The Declarative Self: Self-Esteem Self-esteem your overall opinion about whether you are good or bad, worthy or unworthy, or somewhere in between Problems with self-esteem can cut both ways: If one s self-image is unrealistically negative this is bad, but the same may be true if one s self-image is unrealistically grandiose. The Declarative Self: Self-Schema The Self-Schema Some psychologists theorize that the declarative self resides in a cognitive structure called the self schema, which includes all of one s ideas about the self, organized into a coherent system. The self-schema can be identified using S data, B data, or both; e.g., reaction times when completing trait questionnaires is b-data schematics possessed faster reaction time to schema relevant traits. There are two important implications of this research. The Declarative Self: Self-Reference and Self-Efficacy Self-Reference and Memory Self-reference effect the enhancement of long-term memory that comes from thinking of how information relates to the self Self-efficacy Our opinions about our capabilities set the limits of what we will attempt. Because the (conscious) self-schema contains our ideas about our characteristics and capabilities, it affects what we do Fall 09 4

5 The Declarative Self: Self-Discrepancy Self-discrepancy In this theory Tory Higgins proposes that you have three kinds of selfrelevant schemas, and their interaction determines how you feel about life. 1. Actual self the self-schema that represents what you think you are really like 2. Ideal self the self-schema that represents what you could be when you are at your best 3. Ought self the self-schema that represents what you should as opposed to what you would like to be The Declarative Self: Self-Discrepancy (cont.) The ideal and ought selves both represent hypothetical ideals. The ideal and ought selves often differ When the ideal and ought selves differ emotional consequences are experienced. The Declarative Self: Self-Discrepancy (cont.) The two reactions differ because the two non-actual selves represent different foci for life. Everybody has both kinds of goals; nobody achieves the final state described by either the ideal or the ought self. Individuals balance these goals differently. If you primarily pursue reward focused on the ideal self failures to attain your goal will tend to depress you. If you primarily avoid punishment focused on the ought self failures to attain your goal will tend to make you anxious. Fall 09 5

6 The Declarative Self: Accurate Self-Knowledge Accurate Self-Knowledge Your self-knowledge might be right or wrong, like any other kind of declarative knowledge. Accurate self-knowledge has been considered to be a measure of mental health for two reasons. 1. People who are healthy, secure, and wise enough to see the world as it is, without the need to distort anything, will tend to see themselves more accurately too. 2. If a person has accurate self-knowledge, he or she is in a better position to decide on important issues ranging from what occupation to pursue to whom to marry. The Declarative Self: Accurate Self-Knowledge (cont.) The process for gaining accurate self-knowledge can be outlined by the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM). Achievement Relevancy Availability Detection Utilization The Declarative Self: Self-Knowledge vs. Knowledge Of Others Fall 09 6

7 PSY 370 Personality Self-Knowledge vs. Knowledge of Others The Declarative Self: Improving Self-Knowledge Achievement Relevancy Availability Detection Utilization The Procedural Self Relational selves general styles and strategies an individual uses to approach life; well-practiced routines for dealing with various situations, and sometimes these routines kick in automatically or mindlessly without conscious intention Fall 09 Most of our patterns of relating to other people are deeply ingrained and difficult to change. One reason these patterns persist is that their roots reach so deep. 7

8 PSY 370 Personality Implicit selves The relational self is one theory about the existence and motivational power of an implicit self. These self-relevant behavioral patterns are not readily accessible to consciousness, therefore, it is difficult (if not impossible) to measure them with traditional S-data questionnaires. Psychologists use B-data, often reaction time, to measure this kind of self-knowledge. The IAT is a measure of reaction time, in which participants are asked to push one of two buttons as quickly as possible, depending on which concept is displayed to them. The idea is that when two closely associated categories share the same button, responding will be easy and quick. If two categories that are less associated or that conflict with each other share the button, then responding will be more difficult and slower. Fall 09 The IAT is a measure of reaction time, in which participants are asked to push one of two buttons as quickly as possible, depending on which concept is displayed to them. The idea is that when two closely associated categories share the same button, responding will be easy and quick. If two categories that are less associated or that conflict with each other share the button, then responding will be more difficult and slower. 8

9 Conscious and Non-Conscious Self-Consciousness Self-consciousness amounts to a conscious awareness of who one is and what one is doing; for example, a selfconscious person in a social interaction might spend so much cognitive capacity worrying about the impression he or she is making that little is left for actually holding a conversation Other recent research has shown that self-consciousness may operate on both a conscious and an unconscious level Acquiring and changing procedural knowledge: Can the procedural self or selves be changed? Implicit knowledge and associated behavioral patterns consist of procedural knowledge, not declarative knowledge. How Many Selves? According to some theorists, you have not one declarative and procedural self, but many selves. Working self-concept: One theory states that the particular subset of selves that is active in working memory and has conscious and non-conscious effects on behavior at any given moment depends on where you are and who you are with. This view seems reasonable, but it has its problems. One major problem is that a unitary and coherent sense of self is generally viewed as a hallmark of mental health. Not knowing who you are, or feeling that your identity is constantly in flux, is a symptom of mental illnesses such as borderline personality disorder. The idea of multiple selves has also been criticized on philosophical grounds. Fall 09 9