Social Psychology Exam 2Chapter 4• Self-presentation is the process through which we try to control the impressions people form of us; synonymous with impression managemento Why? To obtain desirable resources from others A way of “constructing” a self-image If you want to see yourself a certain way, you need to act the part They help others to know how we are expecting to be treated; enabling social encounters to run more smoothly• Dramaturgical perspective is that much of social interaction can be thought of as a play, with actors, performances, and so ono Strategic self-presentation When observes can influence whether or not we obtain out goals When these goals are important to us When we think observers have impressions different from the ones we want to projecto Social anxiety is the fear people experience while doubting that they’ll be able to create a desired impression.• Public self-consciousness is the tendency to have a chronic awareness of oneself as being in the public eye• Self-monitoring is the tendency to be concerned with one’s public image and to adjust one’s actions to fit the needs of the current situationo High self-monitors are both adept at assessing what others want and at tailoring their behavior to meet those demands Skilled at reading others’ emotional expressions and detecting when others are being manipulative More likely to mimic others’ behaviors More comfortable acting in ways inconsistent with their attitudes and beliefs Better at customizing their presentations to fit the situationo Low self-monitors look inside themselves to decide how to act, and do not change much across situations• Ingratiation is an attempt to get others to like us.o Express liking for others Flattery Smiling• False smiles are often held longer• True smiles, the cheeks raise and the skin around the eye wrinkle Mimicking someone’s behavioro Create similarity o Make ourselves physically attractive Seen as more honest More likely to be hired and elected Paid more Receive shorter sentenceso Project modesty Cultures• Immodesty is more tolerated by African Americans than by European Americans• Asian Americans are not as boastful as European Americans • Nigerian tribes: Hausa stress modesty, Igbo allow self-promotion Gender• Women are more likely to smile, compliment and agree with others, and present themselves modestlySocial Psychology Exam 2• Women tend to be like this because of socialization, they tend to get more social rewards for being agreeable• Lower levels of hormones that may incline men to be more disagreeable like testosterone• Self-promotion is an attempt to get others to see us as competento Staging performances Because successes are sometimes overlooked, we may seek opportunities to stage performances or demonstrate our competence in public Conversely, people who are incompetent at something will avoid public stagingo Claiming competence They are appropriate when invited or are second-hand Verbal claims can interfere with projecting modestyo Using the trapping of competenceo Making excuses, claiming obstacles, follows the discounting and augmenting principles in Chapter 3o Self-handicapping is the behavior of withdrawing effort or creating obstacles to one’s future successes Especially to occur when people doubt that previous achievements accurately reflect their personal abilities and efforts The result is a fear that similar high-level performances will be difficult to sustain and that the private and public esteem built upon past successes will crumble Examples:• Taking drugs or drinking alcohol• Not practicing• Listening to distracting music during the task• Choosing unattainable goals• By giving a competitor a performance advantageo Competence motivation is the desire to perform effectivelyo Shyness is the tendency to feel tense, worried, or awkward in novel social situations and with unfamiliar people• Conveying Status and Powero Displaying the artifacts of status and power: framing diplomao Conspicuous consumption: buying lavish goodso Personal associations Basking in reflected glory is the process of associating ourselves with successful, high-status others or events Cutting off reflected failures is the process of distancing ourselves from unsuccessful, low-status others or eventso Statue and power in nonverbal expressions Body language is a popular term for nonverbal behaviors like facial expressions, posture, body orientation, and hand gesturesEmotion• Emotion is how you feel about a specific evento Physiological arousal is he body’s response to stress in the environment Controlled by the autonomic nervous system• Sympathetic nervous system increases sweating, breathing, heart rate, pupil dilation, and decreases saliva and blood to intestines• Parasympathetic nervous system settles the body down and allows it to recover Yerkes-Dodson law explains that some arousal is good for performance, but too much can be damagingo Theories James-Lange: stimulus-> physiological arousal-> emotion FALSE Cannon-Bard: stimulus->physiological arousal and emotion FALSESocial Psychology Exam 2 Schacter-Singer: stimulus->(physiological arousal<->cognitive appraisal)->emotiono Facial feedback hypothesis Feedback from face muscles evokes or magnifies emotions Smiling makes you happy, frowning makes you sado Emotions are studied through self reportingo Emotions direct our attention to relevant stimuli, motivate specific behaviors, and guide learning and thinkingo Emotions serve an evolutionary purpose, they help people face current challenges Self-protection Mate attraction and retention Avoid disease Overcome obstacles Navigate a group Gain statuso Some cultures encourage the sharing of emotions.o People in high power tend to be more emotionally expressiveo Some men, especially in the US are taught to not express sadnesso People are capable of hiding their emotions or even faking them, this is self-presentationo Factors shaping out perceptions If we expect someone to be happy or sad, we are more likely to see them that way Our own emotions can influence how we think others feel The context of something, because some expressions are ambiguouso Jealousy is resentment toward a rival when a valued relationship is threatened Attention is directed towards rivals Negative
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