Self Awareness, Psychology and Social Roles

8/7/2019 Self Awareness, Psychology and Social Roles

1/64

Self Awareness, Psychology and Social Roles

THE SELF


2/64

PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTATION

To understand : The concept of Self How we know our

own

characteristics How self-

conception is usedto guide selection

of activities Development ofPersonal beliefs

Interactions with

people


3/64

Content

What is Self?

Where does Self-Knowledge come from?

Aspects of Self-Knowledge

Self Regulation Motivation and the Self

Social Comparison Theory

Self-presentation Culture and the Self


4/64

WHAT IS THE SELF?

Collection of beliefs that we hold about

ourselves

The individual as perceived by the individual

Peoples private personal views of who they

are and what they think and feel


5/64

SELF ESTEEM


6/64

Self- Esteem

Evaluation we make of ourselves

People with high self-esteem:

Have a clear sense of what their personalqualities are

Think well of themselves

Set appropriate goals

Use feedback in a self-enhancing manner

Cope successfully with difficult situations


7/64

Self- Esteem

People with low self-esteem:

Think poorly of themselves

Often select unrealistic goals orShy away from goals altogether

Pessimistic about the future

Adverse emotional or behavioralreactions to criticism or negativefeedback


8/64

Sources Of Self Knowledge

Where does Self-Knowledge Come

from?


9/64

1. Socialization

Much of our Self-knowledge comes fromsocialization

Socialization is defined as the process bywhich a person acquires the rules, standardsand values of his/her family group and

culture


10/64

Socialization

During childhood we are treated inparticular ways by parents, teachersand friends.

We participate in religious, ethnic orcultural activities

All of these socialization processes later

come to be significant aspects ofourselves


11/64

Feedback from Others


12/64

2. Feedback from Others

People sometimes give us explicitfeedback about our qualities

This feedback is an important elementto get knowledge about ourselves


13/64


The process of socialization begins when ourparents tell us not to be so shy, how good weare at playing a piano, how math is our

strong point, or what a good reader we are.

There is a strong relationship between how

parents think about their childrens abilitiesand childrens own self-conceptions

(Felson & Reed, 1986)


14/64


In later childhood and early adolescence, feedbackfrom peers become more important

Adolescent brings with it additional sources of direct

feedback

Students get direct feedback from teachers on theiracademic abilities in the form of comments and

grades which becomes important part of a childs selfconcept.


15/64


Research suggests that people preferobjective feedback about their personalattributes (Festinger, 1954)

It is regarded as less biased and more fairthan personal opinion

But the opinions of others also countparticularly when they are shared by anumber of people.


16/64

3. Self-Perception

People also infer their personal qualities byobserving their own behavior

In observing ourselves, we see ourselvesconsistently preferring certain qualities overanother, certain foods over others or certainpeople over others

From observing these regularities we maygain self-knowledge


17/64

4. Environmental Distinctiveness

The self-concept is also heavilyinfluenced by factors that make youdistinctive

People often explain their selves on thebasis of the aspects that make themdifferent


18/64

5. Comparisons with others

Sometimes we see our personal qualities bycomparing ourselves to other people

Social comparison may be helpful when wecan not find information about certain aspectsof ourselves

We may then compare ourselves to others toget information about our self


19/64

6. Social Identity

Social identity is the part of an individuals self-concept which derives from her/hismembership in a social group together with thevalue and significance attached to that group

We are born in a family having particularvalues and beliefs these values become a part

of our self concept, as we grow older we pickour social groups according to these values.


20/64

Social Identity

Our association with these social groupsbecomes an important element of our socialidentity

So self-concept and social identity mutuallydetermine and shape each other


21/64

ASPECTS OF SELF KNOWLEDGE


22/64

Self-schemas

A Schema is an organized, structuredset of cognitions about some concept orstimulus.

Just as people hold schemas about thenature of other people and events, theyalso hold schemas about themselves

Self-schema describe the dimensionsalong which you think about yourself


23/64

People are schematic on the dimensions that

are important to them, on which they think ofthemselves as extreme, and on which they arecertain that the opposite is not true.

For example if independence is important toyou and you think of yourself as extremelyindependent and not at all dependent, thismeans that you have accumulated

considerable knowledge about yourself on thatdomain


24/64

EXAMPLE

You may be very concerned about maintaining anddisplaying your independence having a strongindependence schema

You may refuse to accept help and take yourchoices alone.

On you might consider yourself more dependentand think a lot about ensuring security for

yourself by surrounding yourself with people youcan depend on..


25/64

Self-Schemas

Not all Self-Schemas are positive People also hold well-articulated , highly

organized beliefs about themselves on negative

qualities For example someone who is over-weight will quickly notice that eating situations are relevantto him, he might plan what he will eat and may

count the calories that he consumes He may also notice others around him who are

weight schematic and those who are not


26/64

Self-Schemas

Possible Selves: People hold self-conceptions not only about their

current qualities, but also about traits that may

become self-descriptive at some time in the future. Most possible selves tend to be positive; peoplethink of themselves in the future primarily in goodterms.

However, some possible selves represent fearsconcerning what one might become in the future


27/64

Self-Schemas

Possible selves function in much the same way asself-schemas, they help people to attain their goals

and develop behaviors that will enable them to

fulfill those goals. Possible selves provide focus and organization for

the pursuit of goals


28/64

Functions of Self-Schemas

Knowing about personal qualities enables us toidentify quickly whether situations are relevant to

us or not

Self-Schemas help us to remember schema related

information

They help us to make inferences about the meaning

of past behaviors and to make decisions and

judgment that guide our future behavior Relating other material to ourselves makes that

material more memorable


29/64

SELF DISCRIPENCIES

Sometimes there are discrepancies between how we

actually are and how we ideally want to be or

think ought to be. Psychologist Tory Higgins suggests that these self-

discrepancies produce strong emotions


30/64

When we perceive a discrepancy between ourpersonal qualities and what we would

ideally like to be (ideal self), we experience

disappointment, dissatisfaction or sadness,what are called dejection related emotions

Discrepancies between our actual self and

what we think we ought to be produceagitation related emotions such as fear or

anxiety


31/64

SELF REGULATION

Self-regulation refers to the ways inwhich people control and direct theirown actions

People store enormous quantities ofinformation about themselves, includingtheir personal characteristics, their

goals and desires and their conceptionsof themselves in the future.


32/64

How conceptions of the Self regulatethoughts, emotions, feelings andactions in social situations?


33/64

THE WORKING SELF-CONCEPT

Which aspect of the self influences ourthoughts and ongoing behaviordepends in large part on what aspect of

the self-concept is relevant to aparticular situation

The aspect of the self-concept that is

accessed for a particular situation iscalled the working self-concept


34/64

For Example

In a classroom situation, the academicself is likely to be dominant determinantof our thoughts and feelings, whereas ifwe are reminded about a party coming

up on Friday, the social self may beaccessed

The working Self concept is importantbecause it draws on our overall self-

concept but guides social behavior inspecific situations and is, in turn,modified by what goes on in the situation


35/64

Working Self-concept Vs Stable Self-Concept

The working self-concept can

sometimes be at odds with the stableself-concept.


36/64

For Example Think about a time that you had an argument

with your friend and you yelled at her

Afterward, you probably didnt feel very goodabout yourself and she probably think much ofyou either

Yet you probably have a stable sense ofyourself as a nice person who is easy to getalong with.

After that particular incident you may not have

thought of yourself for at least several hours orfew days. Overtime however your stable selfconcept won out and you again thought ofyourself as pleasant and easy to get along with


37/64

Working Self-concept Vs Stable Self-Concept

Changes in the working Self-conceptproduce changes in the permanent self-concept only when the working selfconcept is stable overtime


38/64

For Example

While in college you may not think of yourself asparticularly authoritative. Yet upon graduation, if youget a job supervising several other people in a bankand you do this day in and day out for months oreven years, you may come to think of yourself as

authoritative and that may become an important partof your stable self-concept.

It was not so before but it became so because youare now consistently in a situation that requires anauthoritative manner.

The working self in this case became part of thestable self-concept


39/64

Self-Complexity

Another aspect of the self thatis important for self-regulation

involves self-complexity.

Some people think of themselves

in terms of one or two

predominant ways, whereas

others think of themselves in

terms of a variety of qualities


40/64

Self-Complexity

One college student may think of herself primarilyas a student, focusing her attention and beliefs

about herself on how well she does in her courses.

Another may think of herself as in more complex

ways as a student, a friend, a member of sports

team and a part time employee


41/64

Simple Vs Complex Self-Concepts

People with simple self concepts may have successin their particular area of importance but are veryvulnerable to failure

For example, a student who is focused primarilyon her grades and who receives a bad grade mayfeel very upset and depressed because of it.

But a student having a complex self may turn

away her attention from academic failure and prepare for other areas hence coping with thesetback


42/64

Simple Vs Complex Self-Concepts

Self-complexity then can act as a buffer against

stressful life events.

It may help people from becoming depressed or illin response to setbacks

A setback in one area of life is less devastating

when other aspects of our lives are rewarding andsatisfying than when we derive most of our

identity from one aspect of the self.


43/64

Self-Efficacy and Personal Control

Another aspect of the self that influences self-regulation include self-efficacy beliefs, that is, the

expectations that we hold about our abilities to

accomplish certain tasks (Bandura, 1986) Whether or not we will undertake a particular

activity, attempt to do a particular task, or strive

to meet a particular goal depends on whether or

not we believe we will be efficacious in performing

those actions


44/64


45/64

SELF AWARENESS

Self-Regulation is also influenced by ourattention, specifically, whether attention isdirected inward toward the self or outward toward the environment.

Usually our attention is focused outward towardthe environment, but sometimes our attention isfocused inward on ourselves

Certain experiences in the world automaticallyfocus attention inward, such as catching sight ofourselves in the mirror, having our picture taken orwhen being evaluated by others.


46/64

SELF AWARENESS

Self-awareness leads people to evaluate theirbehavior against a standard and to set an

adjustment process in motion for meeting the

standard.


47/64

Self-awareness causes people to compare

themselves to standards, such as physical appearance, intellectual performance, athleticprowess, or moral integrity.

We attempt to conform to the standard, evaluateour behavior against that standard, decide that iteither matches the standard or does not and continue adjusting and comparing until we meet

the standard or give up. This process is called feedback and the theory is

called the cybernetic theory of self-regulation.


48/64

Public Self-ConsciousnessPeople high on public self-consciousness areconcerned with autonomy and issues of identity,concerned with what other people think aboutthem, the way they look, and how they appear toothers

Private Self-consciousness

People high in private self-consciousness try toanalyze themselves, think about themselves a greatdeal and are more attentive to their inner feelings


49/64

Public and private self-consciousness are not

opposites of each other. People can be high in both,low in both, or high in one or the other.


50/64

MOTIVATION AND THE SELF

People are inherently motivated to seek out

possibilities to develop an accurate stable and

positive self-conception and seek out situations or

behave in ways that further those aspects of theself.


51/64


THE NEED FOR AN ACCURATE SELF-CONCEPT

To make future outcomes predictable and controllable, weneed to have a fairly accurate assessment of our abilities.

Having an accurate sense of self is an importantdeterminant in the selection of a task

Accurate self-assessment enables us to anticipate andcontrol our future performance


52/64


THE NEED FOR A CONSISTENT SELF-CONCEPT

Related to the need for accuracy is the need to have a

sense of self that is consistent

We do not want to think of ourselves as changing

dramatically from situation to situation; rather we need

to believe that we have certain qualities that remainrelatively stable overtime


53/64

SELF-VERIFICATION

People tend to seek out and interpret situations

that confirm their already existing self-conceptions

and they avoid or resist situations and feedback

that are at odds with their existing self-conceptions. This process is called Self

Verification.


54/64

FOR EXAMPLE

Imagine that a class ended and a classfellow comes to you and comments thatyou dont talk much. Perhaps you didnttalk in that particular class but you think

of yourself as an active student You may find that during the very next

class you talk more than usual in order

to convince yourself and your classfellow that you are an active classparticipant


55/64

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

In addition to wanting an accuratesense of self, people are motivated by

the desire to improve Many self-regulatory activities serve the

need of the desire to improve


56/64

SELF ENHANCEMENT

In addition to having an accurate self conceptpeople are heavily determined by the need tofeel good about themselves and to maintainself-esteem

One way in which people satisfy their self-enhancement needs is by holding self-perceptions that are falsely positive andsomewhat exaggerated with respect to theiractual abilities, talents and social skills

These false perceptions are known asPOSITIVE ILLUSIONS


57/64

SELF ENHANCEMENT

We remember positive information about

ourselves, but negative information often slips

conveniently from our mind

Most of us would have more difficulty recalling

information about when we have failed than

when we have succeeded.


58/64


59/64

Self-Affirmation

For example an attractive student who fails anexam may seek out female classmates who will flatter his ego

Or the college student who is not making friendseasily may proudly display high-school trophies.

Self-affirmation theory explicitly predicts thatpeople will cope with specific threats to their self-

worth by affirming unrelated aspects of themselves


60/64

SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY

In 1954 a pioneer in modern socialpsychology Leon Festinger developed socialcomparison theory

Festinger believed that people are motivatedto make accurate assessments of their levelof ability and the correctness of theirattitudes

To do this they assess their own standing incomparison to others like themselves


61/64

Festingers theory can be summarizedin 3 points

1. People have a drive to evaluate theiropinions and abilities accurately

2. In the absence of direct physicalstandards, people evaluate themselvesthrough comparisons with others

3. In general people prefer to comparethemselves to similar others.


62/64

The Goals of Social Comparison

1. Accurate Self-evaluationFestinger suggested that peoplesometimes desire truthful knowledgeabout themselves, even if thefeedback is not favorable

For example, learning that you are theworst player on the volleyball team

may spur you to greater effort orencourage you to change sports


63/64


64/64

Self Awareness, Psychology and Social Roles

Documents