Lecture 2 Sept 19 The Social Self

Lecture 2: Sept 19: The Social Self Defining The Self ● The mental apparatus that allows people to think _______________ about themselves ● "________-awareness" ● Unique to humans* ● Egocenter: "constant presence inside head" ● Problem: leads to _____________ ___________ ● ● ● Self-Concept ● The self-concept is a mental representation of one's attributes and other pieces of knowledge about the self Spontaneous Self-Concept ● Spontaneous self-concept is the collection of aspects of identity that are available to awareness at a given point in time ● E.g., ● ● Multiple Selves ● Current self compared with: ● 1. " Ideal " Self - who we aspire to be ● 2. " Ought " Self - who we think we should be (based on obligations) ○ Great discrepancy = sad ● 3. Undesired self - who we do not wish to become ○ Motivated to avoid How Is The Self-Concept Formed? ● 1. Looking Glass Self (Cooley): Self-concept is reflection of how others see us ○ Problem #1: people don't always give honest feedback ○ Problem #2: selective attention to feedback ● 2. Social comparison ○ The process of judging ourselves relative to others to assess our own attitudes and abilities. 2. Social Comparison ● Types of social comparison:

○ Accuracy : compare to similar others ■ E.g., i'm a better goalie compared to my friends, so i must be good ○ Upward social comparison : comparing yourself to someone who is better than you are ■ Helps motivate improvement (but only if improvement still possible) The Effect of 'Superstars' ● 1st-year and 4th-year accounting students ● Some Ps read about a "superstar" fourth-year accounting student ● Control: Others not exposed to the superstar ● All asked to rate themselves on traits related to career success ● 1st year: rated themselves highly - had more time to achieve ○ Upward social comparisons helpful when still time for improvement ● 4th year: rated low - they hadn't done and were out of time ● 2. Social Comparison ● Types of social comparison: ○ Upward social comparison ■ Also can lead to anger / resentment (relative deprivation) when we feel we deserve better outcomes ■ E.g., ○ Downward social comparison involves comparing yourself to someone who's worse off than you are ■ Usually makes you feel better about yourself ■ E.g., I did poorly on a test,, but at least i didn't fail How Accurate is Self-Knowledge ● Introspection: the process of looking inward and examining one's thoughts, feelings, and motives

○ Problem: Often unaware of underlying reasons ○ E.g., why do you like your fav song ● E.g., Wilson et al. (1982) ○ Ps kept mood diaries for 5 weeks ○ Ps often wrong about what factors predicted mood ○ E.g., remembering little sleep when having bad mood, despite it being unrelated Cultural Differences in the Self Cultural Differences in Identity ● Triandis et al. (1990) ● Complete the statement "I am..." U.S.A. China Non-social completions 81% 48% Social completions 19% 52% ● Individualist Cultures: ○ E.g., Canada, U.S.A., Western Europe ○ people seen as independent beings who possess stable abilities, traits, and attitudes ○ Need for individual distinctiveness: personal goals prioritized ● Collectivist Cultures: ○ E.g., most East Asian (e.g., China, Japan), Central American and African countries ○ Emphasizes connections between self and important others ○ people seen as interdependent beings who should contribute to harmonious group functioning ● ● People in individualistic cultures view themselves as autonomous beings with control of their own lives