Psychology applied to modern life adjustment in the 21st century, 11e chapter 6

Self-Discrepancies, continued• Self-discrepancies –mismatches between the actual, ideal, and/or ought selves.. Self-Discrepancies, continued• People cope with self-discrepancies by – Ch

Chapter 6 The Self

Self-Concept, continued

• The nature of the self-concept

– Self-concept – “an organized collection of beliefs about the self”.

– These beliefs are also called self-schemas and include personality traits,

abilities, physical features, values, goals, & social roles (see Figure 6.1)

– Possible selves – refer to “one’s conceptions about the kind of person

one might become in the future”

Figure 6.1 The concept and schemas The concept is composed of various

self-schemas, or beliefs about the self Jason and Chris have different self-concepts, in part, because they have different self-schemas.

• Individuals have the following self-perceptions:

– An actual self (qualities people think they actually possess).

– An ideal self (qualities people would like to have).

– An ought self (qualities people think they should possess).

Self-Discrepancies, continued

• Self-discrepancies –mismatches between the actual, ideal, and/or ought

selves

• These can cause various effects: Figure 6.2

– When the “actual self” falls short of the “ideal self”, we feel dejected and sad

– When the “actual self” falls short of the “ought self”, we feel irritable and guilty

Figure 6.2 Types of self-discrepancies, their effects on emotional states, and possible consequences According to E Tory Higgins (1989), discrepancies between actual and

ideal selves produce disappointment and sadness, whereas discrepancies between actual and ought selves result in irritability and guilt Such self-discrepancies can make individuals vulnerable to more serious psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety-related disorders.

Self-Discrepancies, continued

• People cope with self-discrepancies by

– Changing their behavior to bring it more in line with the ideal, or ought, self

– Blunting self-awareness by

• Avoiding situations that increase self-awareness, or

• By using alcohol (see Figure 6.3)

Figure 6.3 Self-awareness and alcohol consumption Individuals who were high in self-awareness drank significantly more wine in a 15-minute period if they believed that they had

performed poorly on an IQ test than did any other group This finding shows how people sometimes try to blunt self-awareness to cope with self-discrepancies.

From Hull, J.G., & Young, R.D (1983) Self-Consciousness, self-esteem, and success-failure as determinants of alcohol consumption in male social drinkers Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1097-1109 Copyright © 1983 American Psychological Association Reprinted by permission of the author.

Factors Shaping the Self-Concept

• Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory states that we compare

ourselves with others in order to assess and/or improve our abilities

• A reference group is “a set of people who are used as a gauge in making

Factors Shaping the Self-Concept, continued

• Generally, our self-perceptions are distorted in a positive direction

• Feedback from others is important in balancing our own observations.

– Early in life, parents and family members are the primary influences

– As children age, peers become progressively more important

– Later in life, close friends and marriage partners play dominant roles

Factors Shaping the Self-Concept, continued

• Social context also affect our self-concept.

– We may view ourselves more, or less, critically, depending on the situation

Factors Shaping the Self-Concept, continued

• Cultural values and self-concept

– In cultures that value individualism – “putting personal goals ahead of

group goals” – identity is defined more in terms of personal attributes.

– In cultures that value collectivism – “putting group goals ahead of

personal goals” – identity is defined more in terms of the groups one

belongs to

Factors Shaping the Self-Concept, continued

Individualism vs collectivism, continued

– People raised in individualistic cultures

• Have an independent view of the self.

• View themselves as unique, self-contained, and distinct from others

– People raised in collectivist cultures

• Have an interdependent view of the self.

• View themselves as more connected to others (see Figure 6.5)

Figure 6.5 Independent and interdependent views of the self (a) Individuals in cultures that support an independent view perceive the self as clearly separated from significant

others (b) Individuals in cultures that support an interdependent view perceive the self as inextricably connected to others.

Adapted from Markus, H.R., & Kitayama, S (1991) Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivations Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

Self-Esteem, continued

• Self-esteem refers “to one’s overall assessment of one’s worth as a person”.

• It is a global evaluation of many aspects of the self (see Figure 6.6).

• Self-esteem can be construed two ways:

– Trait self-esteem (an enduring sense of confidence in a person).

– State self-esteem (dynamic feelings about the self that change with the

situation)

Figure 6.6 The structure of self-esteem Self-esteem is a global evaluation that combines assessments of various aspects of one’s self-concept, each of which is built up from many

specific behaviors and experiences (Adapted from Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976).

Self-Esteem, continued

• Self-esteem and adjustment

– Self-esteem is strongly and consistently connected to happiness

– People with high self-esteem also feel more likeable and attractive, have better relationships, and make better impressions on others

Self-Esteem, continued

Self-esteem and adjustment, continued

– People with high self-esteem persist longer in the face of failure and cope better with setbacks

– Self-esteem has not been linked to achievement, however

Self-Esteem, continued

• High self-esteem versus narcissism

– Feeling too good about oneself is not desirable

– Narcissism – “the tendency to regard oneself as grandiosely

self-important” - is pathological and different from high self-esteem, a healthy

trait

Self-Esteem, continued

High self-esteem versus narcissism, continued

– Narcissistic individuals

• Are preoccupied with fantasies of success

• Believe they deserve special treatment

• React aggressively when their view of themselves (ego) is threatened (see Figure 6.9)

Figure 6.9 The path from narcissism to aggression Individuals who score high on narcissism perceive negative evaluations by others to be extremely threatening This experience

of ego threat triggers strong hostile feelings and aggressive behavior toward the evaluator in retaliation for the perceived criticism Low scorers are less likely to perceive negative evaluations as threatening and, therefore, behave much less aggressively toward evaluators (Adapted from Bushman & Baumeister, 1998).

The Development of Self-Esteem

• Parents play an important role in shaping self-esteem early in life

• Two dimensions of parenting are important

1. Parental acceptance

2. Parental control

• Together, these dimensions yield four parenting styles (see Figure 6.11)

• The authoritative style is associated with the highest self-esteem scores.

Figure 6.11 Baumrind’s four parenting styles Four parenting styles result from the interactions of parental acceptance and parental control, as theorized by Diana Baumrind.

Adapted from Baumrind, D (1971) Current patterns of parental authority [Monograph] Developmental Psychology, 4(1, Part 2), 1-103 American Psychological

Association Adapted by permission of the author.

The Development of Self-Esteem, continued

• Teachers, classmates, and close friends also influence children’s self-esteem

– Children with perceived support from significant others have the highest esteem

self-• Children also use reference groups as a basis for self-judgments

– Those who feel competent, relative to others, have the highest self-esteem

Ethnicity, Gender, and Self-Esteem

• Ethnicity and gender interact in complex ways with regard to self-esteem:

– White males have higher self-esteem than do white females, but minority males have lower self-esteem than do minority females.

– Overall, males score slightly higher on self-esteem than do females, and white females have lower self-esteem than do minority females

– Individualism is also associated with high self-esteem

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

• Cognitive processes affect the ability to maintain a view of the self.

• Two different types of processes are at work:

1. Automatic processing – default mode in which we handle information without much

deliberate decision-making (e.g., going through our morning routine).

2. Controlled processing – active thinking required for important decision-making and

analysis.

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

• Self-attributions – are “inferences that people draw about the causes of their

own behavior”

• Three key dimensions of attributions:

1. Whether they are internal or external.

– Internal attributions – “ascribe the causes of behavior to personal

dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings”

– External attributions – “ascribe behavior to situational demands”.

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

Dimensions of attributions, continued

2. Whether they are stable or unstable.

– Stable attributions – the cause of behavior is unlikely to change over

time

– Unstable attributions – the cause of behavior is variable, or subject to

change

– This dimension interacts with the internal-external one and yields

four types of attributions about success and failure (see Figure 6.12)

Figure 6.12 Key dimensions in attributional thinking Weiner’s model assumes that people’s explanations for success and failure emphasize internal versus external causes and

stable versus unstable causes For example, if you attribute an outcome to great effort or to lack of effort, you are citing causes that lie within the person Since effort can vary over time, the causal factors at work are unstable Other examples of causal factors that fit into each of the four cells in Weiner’s model are shown in the diagram.

From Weiner, B., Frieze, I., Kukla, A., Reed, L & Rosenbaum, R.M (1972) Perceiving the causes of success and failure In E.E Jones, D.E Kanuouse, H.H Kelly, R.E

Nisbett, S Valins, & B Weiner (Eds.), Perceiving causes of behavior Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press Reprinted by permission of the author.

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

Dimensions of attributions, continued

3. Whether they are controllable or uncontrollable.

– This dimension simply considers whether or not the individual has any control over the behavior

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

• Explanatory style – refers to the “tendency to use similar causal attributions for

a wide variety of events in one’s life”

– People who use an optimistic explanatory style attribute setbacks to

external, unstable, and specific factors

– People who use a pessimistic explanatory style attribute setbacks to

internal, stable, and global factors (see Figure 6.13)

Figure 6.13 The effects of attributional style on expectations, emotions, and behavior The pessimistic explanatory style is seen in the top row of boxes This attributional style,

which attributes setbacks to internal, stable and global causes, tends to result in an expectation of lack of control over future events, depressed feelings, and passive behavior A more adaptive, optimistic attributional style is shown in the bottom row of boxes.

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

• Four motives guide self-understanding.

1. Self-assessment – desire for truthful information about oneself.

2. Self-verification – preference for feedback that matches our self-view.

3. Self-improvement – looking to successful others in order to improve

ourselves

4. Self-enhancement – desire to maintain positive feelings about oneself.

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

• Methods of self-enhancement

1. Downward social comparison – a “defensive tendency to compare oneself

with someone whose troubles are more serious than one’s own”

2. Self-serving bias – “tendency to attribute one’s successes to personal

factors and one’s failures to situational factors”

Basic Principles of Self-Perception, continued

Methods of self-enhancement, continued

3. Basking in reflected glory – “tendency to enhance one’s image by publicly

announcing one’s association with those who are successful”

4. Self-handicapping – “tendency to sabotage one’s performance to provide

an excuse for possible failure”

Self-Regulation, continued

• Self-regulation is “the process of directing and controlling one’s behavior”.

• According to the ego depletion model, people have a limited amount of

self-control

– For example, if you successfully resist temptation to indulge yourself with sweets today, it is more difficult to do so tomorrow

Self-Regulation, continued

• Self-efficacy – “one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviors that

should lead to expected outcomes” is very important to healthy adjustment

– Fortunately, self-efficacy can be learned and changed

– This is important to adjustment because increasing self-efficacy is beneficial to one’s physical and mental health

Self-Regulation, continued

Self-efficacy, continued

• Self-efficacy can be developed and usually comes from four sources

1. Mastery experiences

– Learning new skills increases self-efficacy

– It is especially important to persist in the face of mistakes or failure

Self-Regulation, continued

Sources of self-efficacy, continued

2. Vicarious experiences – watching others to learn a new skill.

3. Persuasion and encouragement

4. Interpretation of emotional arousal

– When we try new things, we may become nervous

– It is important to attribute this to normal arousal needed to do well, rather than fear

Self-Regulation, continued

• Self-defeating behaviors, “seemingly intentional actions that thwart a

person’s self-interest”, come in three categories:

1. Deliberate self-destruction.

2. Trade-offs – engaging in short-term, potentially harmful behaviors, in

order to pursue healthy long-term goals

3. Counterproductive strategies – persisting in ineffective strategies to

achieve a goal

Self-Presentation, continued

• A public self is “an image presented to others in social interactions”.

• Public selves can vary according to the situation, or role, that people are in Thus, we have multiple public selves

• However, adjustment is best when there is considerable overlap, or integration,

in the various public selves (see Figure 6.17)

Figure 6.17 Public selves and adjustment Person 1 has very divergent public selves with relatively little overlap among them Person 2, whose public selves are more congruent with

each other, is likely to be better adjusted than Person 1.

Self-Presentation, continued

• Impression management refers to “usually conscious efforts by people to

influence how others think of them”

• Impression management strategies include

1. Ingratiation – “behaving in ways to make oneself likable to others”.

2. Self-promotion – accenting your strong points in order to earn respect.

3. Exemplification – “demonstrating exemplary behavior in order to boost

your integrity or character”