The Self in a Social World

1. The Self in a Social World Chapter 2

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3. Who are you? Imagine someone asked you this question� how might you respond? Write down a possible response This entire response = your self-concept

4. Parts of the self-concept Your self-concept probably includes various roles Student Sibling Friend Your self-concept may also include abilities Good at soccer Good at making toast These parts, or elements, of your self-concept = your self-schema

5. Differences across cultures Difference between independent and interdependent cultures? (individualism and collectivism differences?) Who might be more likely to have self-schema that include relationships with other people? Why?

6. Variability across cultures Independent cultures � individualism

7. Variability across cultures Interdependent cultures � collectivisim

8. Fitting in versus standing out Which type of culture might endorse �the squeaky wheel gets the grease�? Which might endorse �the nail that sticks up gets hammered down�? Although everyone (as we�ll see later) wants to both fit in and stand out, some cultures may value one of these goals more than the other

9. Implications of cultural variability Kim and Markus (1999) study: selecting a pen as a �thank you� gift Who picks which? Why?

10. Person-level variability In addition to cultural differences in self-schema, there are person to person differences These differences in self-schema help predict what people notice and pay attention to and how they interpret others� behavior

11. Self-schema and interpretation Sally believes that she is very attractive and nice. She�s at a party and notices someone looking at her from across the room. Why is Sally likely to think that the person is looking at her? Silvia believes that she is not that attractive, and she questions how nice of a person she really is. She�s at a party and notices someone looking at her from across the room. Why is Silvia likely to think the person is looking at her?

12. Self-schema and attention Susie thinks of herself as quite athletic. Stephanie thinks of herself as quite scholarly. They see this�

13. What do they each notice?

14. More types of selves In addition to thinking about who they are know, people also think about who they might be Ideal selves: this is who you would ideally like to be What happens if you don�t achieve this � how do you feel? Disappointed Ought selves: this is who you think you should be (think of the voice of your mother in your ear) What happens if you don�t achieve this � how do you feel? Guilty

15. Bottom line so far Who people think they are matters Affects what choices they make Affects what they pay attention to Who people want to be, and who people think they should be, matters Affects what goals they have Affects how they feel if they do not reach those goals

16. How well do we know ourselves? Do you know why you do what you do? Why did you decide to come to CW Post? Why did you decide to live where you do? Do you know what makes you happy?

17. Nisbett and Wilson (1977) panty hose study

18. What makes you happy? How can we study this? Can we just ask people? What if they don�t know? Diary study Compare what predicts people�s mood over time with what they think predicts their mood over time

19. When we ask people what predicts their mood� People say day of the week (less happy on Monday)

20. When we look to see what�s related to mood It is related to day of the week� but people are not more depressed on Monday Monday is no different from Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in terms of mood Mood is more positive on the weekend

21. How long will your mood last? Lottery winners and paraplegics study: Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman (1978) How long will you feel happy after a positive event? How long will you feel miserable after an awful event? Impact bias: �overestimating the enduring impact of emotion-causing events� Immune neglect: we tend to forget about how well we can bounce back

22. How long will it take for you to write your paper for this class? Planning fallacy: �the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task� Why? Forget about little stumbling blocks that might occur along the way (or assume they won�t occur) Level of construal

23. How to avoid the planning fallacy Think about predicting someone else�s behavior, and how long it might take that person to complete a task Be like Microsoft and add 30% to your time estimate

24. Additional bottom line so far People aren�t all that good at figuring out why they do what they do, or why they feel what they feel To study behavior and mood, we can�t just rely on people�s self-report We need to set up situations and see how they act or behave, or we need to follow them over time, or compare people in one group with people in another group

25. Feeling in control You want to eat healthier food When will you be most successful at this: At the start of the semester, when your stress level is low? At the end of the semester, when your stress level is high?

26. A limited supply of control Self-control seems to come in limited supplies Exerting control in one area leads to a lack of control in other areas Eating healthy food and quitting in trying to solve a puzzle Trying to control emotions and amount of physical stamina Trying to control emotions and inability to later control aggressive impulses Possible implications?

27. Feeling in control Self-efficacy: �a sense that one is competent and effective� *note that this is not the same as self-esteem � how might they differ?

28. The motive to feel in control Locus of control: �the extent to which people perceive outcomes as controllable by their own efforts or as externally controlled by outside forces� Can be external: outcomes are controlled by forces external to you Can be internal: outcomes are controlled by you

29. Implications of locus of control You just failed a test. You have an external locus of control How do you explain your failure? How do you behave when studying for a future test? You have an internal locus of control How do you explain your failure? How do you behave when studying for a future test?

30. More concepts related to the motive to be in control: Learned helplessness Inducing by anagrams

31. Learned helplessness �the sense of hopelessness and resignation learned when a human or animal perceives no control over repeated bad events� Learned helplessness can be minimized by offering people choices � this lets them feel a bit in control Plants and nursing home

32. Too many choices Being given choices helps to combat feelings of learned helplessness However, when people are given too many choices, they can feel paralyzed They wonder what they might be missing if they chose each of the options

33. Being sure not to miss anything The �all sales are final� effect If you are able to take something back, or if your decision is revocable, you will be wondering whether you should take it back or change your mind If you are unable to take something back, or if your decision is irrevocable, you are motivated to find the good in it

34. Added bottom line People have a limited supply of self-control People want to feel like their in control Giving people choices boosts feelings of control Giving people too many choices takes away feelings of control Taking away people�s ability to ruminate or question themselves boosts satisfaction

35. Evaluating ourselves Who�s an overall better person � you, or the average college student? Who�s an overall better person � you, or your sibling? How do we want to see ourselves? Self-serving bias: �the tendency to perceive oneself favorably�

36. Implications of this Better than average effect, AKA Lake Woebegone effect Found in many areas Ethics Professional competence Health Intelligence Found in more global areas; less likely in more specific or concrete areas What does this mean? Why?

37. Better than average in the future What are the chances that you will experience alcohol poisoning at some point in your college years? Write down a number between 0% and 100% Think about the average college student. What are the chances that he or she will experience alcohol poisoning at some point in his or her college years? Write down a number between 0% and 100%

38. Better than average in the future What are the chances that you will get into a car accident at some point during your college years? Write down a number between 0% and 100% Think about an average college student. What are the chances that he or she will get into a car accident at some point during his or her college years? Write down a number between 0% and 100%

39. Comparing the numbers How did the number you wrote down for yourself compare to the number you wrote down for the average college student? Why?

40. Thinking about the future Skin Cancer Net: �if current trends continue, 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetime� AKA 20% Think about your own skin cancer risk How likely is it that you will develop skin cancer at some point in your lifetime? Think about a classmate�s skin cancer risk How likely is it that your classmate will develop skin cancer at some point in his or her lifetime?

41. Thinking about the future Logically, what should you have said your chances of getting skin cancer were? Why might you not have said this? Logically, what should you have said the average college student�s chances of getting skin cancer were? Why?

42. Better than others in the future Unrealistic optimism: being more optimistic than one should be, given the circumstances Comparative optimism (AKA optimistic bias � but comparative optimism is more accurate): viewing one�s own future more positively than others� futures

43. But what about happiness? What is related to long-term happiness? Optimism? Pessimism? Defensive pessimism: �the adaptive value of anticipating problems and harnessing one�s anxiety to motivate effective action�

44. The results: Outcome = change in marital satisfaction over time

45. What does this all mean? Positive expectations that you can live up to are adaptive Positive expectations that are unlikely to be met are not adaptive

46. Explaining outcomes Let�s say you�re in one of those marriages with a satisfaction level that really declines over time Why did your satisfaction level go down so much? Let�s say your friend is in one of those marriages with a satisfaction level that really declines over time Why did your friend�s satisfaction level go down so much?

47. Answering the question of why Attributions Can be stable or unstable Can be internal or external

48. Different attributions Think back to the last time you were driving and you cut someone off Why did you do that? Think back to the last time someone else cut you off Why did he or she do that?

49. Self-serving bias through attributions We can maintain positive views of ourselves by making different attributions for ourselves and for others Actor-observer effect: we tend to make external attributions for our own behavior and internal attributions for others� behavior Why? Motivation: (self-serving attributions) Salience

50. What if it�s a positive behavior? You just aced a test Why? Someone else just aced a test Why? Self-serving bias: making attributions that make us look good � and better than others

51. Being generous with bias The groups we belong to form a part of our self-concept One of your self-schema may have been belonging to a particular group People are motivated to feel belonging, and it takes little to elicit it Minimal groups paradigm Ingroup and outgroup Group-serving bias

52. Worried about possible failure What if you have a task coming up, and you�re not sure you�ll do well at it? How can you maintain your positive view of yourself? Self-handicapping Examples? Attribution if you do not do well? Attribution if you do well?

53. More bottom line We�re motivated to feel good about ourselves, and the groups to which we belong We maintain this view with how we look ahead to the future, and how we explain our current behaviors We�re so motivated to feel good about ourselves that we may resort to setting ourselves up for failure

54. Beyond our views of ourselves We also worry about how others view us Self-presentation � may selectively convey information about yourself to others Want to be seen positively, but don�t want to be seen as bragging May also engage in presentation on behalf of others � beneficial impression management Variability in concern for others� views: self-monitoring

55. Wanting to belong Sources of self-esteem Correlation versus causation and the self-esteem movement Unfounded self-esteem Narcissism and aggression

56. Assuming others agree with us Have you ever been surprised when a favorite tv show went off the air? You assumed others watched it and couldn�t believe the ratings were so low Have you ever been surprised when a favorite political candidate did not win? You assumed others agreed with your choice of who was better � or less worse

57. False consensus When it comes to opinions and preferences, we frequently assume that others agree with us Eat at Joe�s study

58. Standing out Do we always have false consensus? What about our skills and abilities? False uniqueness

59. Just one of the crowd? Spotlight effect: �the belief that others are paying more attention to one�s appearance and behavior than they really are� Examples? Illusion of transparency: �the illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others� Examples?

60. The last bottom line We�re motivated to fit in with others But we also want to maintain our sense of a unique identity

61. Putting together the bottom lines We want to feel like we know ourselves, but we frequently overestimate how much we know about why we do what we do We want to feel a sense of control We want to feel better than others We want to fit in with others, but also stand out (in good ways) All of these motives color what we pay attention to and how we explain the world