Reading Guide Part 3 Self and Identity 4 The Nature and Significance of the Self 91 110 Not the whole chapter 1 What are the two main ways that the self is a social process also referred to as a communicative process the inner dialogue between the I spontaneous impulsive and Inner communication initiating tendencies of the individual and the me internalized attitudes of others through which one views oneself and one s actions as a reflective response to a situation The internalization of the generalized other that occurs through the individual s participation in the conversation of significant symbols i e language and in other socialization processes e g play and games Outer communication 2 How does the twenty statements test work In what ways does it categorize the self What is identity salience It essentially answers the question to who am I by measuring the content and structure of the self The self attitudes expressed on the test I am are classified into four general modes of responses that reflect and reveal the central features of our self concepts Identity Salience organized hierarchy of identities based on the importance they have for our self concepts and the degree to which we are committed to them The higher the rank of salience of a specific identity the more often we will try to draw upon that identity as we assess and define a situation and coordinate our behavior with others in that situation I A mode physical self height weight hair color II B mode social self social roles social statuses group memberships III C mode reflective self feelings character traits behavioral tendencies IV D mode OCEANIC self vague statements with no reliable expectations about behavior 3 What is the self concept Self efficacy Self esteem the overarching view that a person has of himself or herself as a physical Self Concept social moral or spiritual being Self Esteem Self Efficacy glass and social comparisons our sense of worthiness sense of being in control that is shaped by reflected appraisals looking 4 What is impression management With what and where do people do it It is acting and talking in ways that shape how others view us It is displayed through expressive resources of setting appearance and manner and it can be performed in either front stage or back stage regions Adler Patricia A Peter Adler 1989 The Gloried Self Social Psychology Quarterly 52 299 310 1 How did Adler Adler conduct their study Five years of participant observation research with a college basketball team and their experiences with fame 2 What is the gloried self The greedy self that ascends salience hierarchy and is experienced as intoxicating It violates the norms against big egos 3 How does the reflected self and the media self play into the development of the gloried self The forging and modification of their reflected selves began as team members perceived how people treated them with awe and respect subsequently they formed reactions to that treatment and starting using these reflected appraisals in forging a new sense of self The formation of their compelling and more salient media selves began through the national level of the print and video coverage they received coupled with the intensity of the constant focus They developed public self consciousness in which the self comes to be perceived as a social actor who serves as a stimulus for others behavior 4 What were the inhibiting and enhancing factors that shaped athletes self aggrandizement What are the three ways there is often a price of glory or a personal cost to those who adopt a gloried self Players knew they had to be careful both about feeling important and about showing these feelings therefore they worked hard to suppress their growing feelings of self aggrandizement in several ways Inhibiting Factors 1 They drew on their own feelings of fear and insecurity 2 They tried to discount the flattery of others as exaggerated or false 3 Their feelings of importance and superiority were constrained by the actions of the coach and by the norms of their peer subculture in trying to achieve the right balance of confidence and humility o Coach tried to keep players self aggrandizement in check by puncturing them whenever he thought they were becoming too conceited he also criticized and mocked them both in team meetings and in individual sessions o Players punctured their teammates by ridiculing each other publicly in their informal sessions in the dorms Their peer subculture allowed little room for glory passing but none of the players expressed in public how good they felt 4 Coach helped to normalize their experiences and reactions by placing them in the occupational perspective by telling them that this was merely a job Although the players fought to normalize and diminish their feelings of self aggrandizement they were swept away in spite of themselves by the allure of glory to varying degrees Enhancing Factors 1 Through self attribution they were able to observe outcomes of their behavior and use them to form and modify assessments of their selves and thus because their record was overwhelmingly successful they concluded that they were fine athletes and local heroes 2 They invoked normative and associative effects in forging self conceptions rather than engaging in social comparison to each other or having negative feelings about themselves in light of the team s high standards of success o They used their athletic peers as a reference group to set normative group standards and evaluations of their behavior and self worth These group conceptions were extremely favorable and generated positive self appraisals for all team members they ignored variations among individuals o They made positive inferences about themselves based on their association with the team rather than on individual attributes 3 The level of attention they individually received affected their varying degrees of aggrandizement and glorification o Players with more talent who held central roles as team stars were the focus of much media and fan attention Others who possessed the social and interpersonal attributes that made them good subjects for reporters also received considerable notice 4 Players who were more deeply invested in the athletic role were more likely to develop stronger glorified selves since they looked to the arena for their greatest awards and were the most susceptible to its aggrandizing influence 5 Personal attributes affected whether the players resisted or