6 1 15 7 6 15 Psyc221 Notes 1 Week Two a The Self Personality i A person s self concept is their schema for themselves ii Having self concept also referred to as personal identity is very important for psychological health It gives people a sense of continuity in their existence over time and across situations Allows for effective social communication bonding with others iii People have a strong need for distinctiveness also known as the need for uniqueness 1 2 1 In similar experiments to the ones we discussed previously psychologists have given people personality assessments with fake feedback They randomly assign people to hear that their personality profile is a unique or b typical average and then measure what people think and do 2 Turns out that when people are told they are typical they experience an increase in negative affect they re in a bad mood and show an increased motivation to distinguish themselves from others a In other words they feel an extra need to be different in a number of ways b Need for distinctiveness 3 Once something becomes a fad people stop doing it to stand out 4 Need for uniqueness varies between people a Those who have a high need for uniqueness are less concerned with social acceptance from others i They are more confident and less shy they are less self conscious and less socially anxious iv Self awareness is the state of paying attention to the self looking at yourself thinking about yourself etc 1 Paying attention to oneself being self aware is not the same as being knowledgeable about oneself 2 Being self aware can be distressing a This is because people become aware of their actual self or how they actually are they want to be their ideal self b People who suffer from depression and other emotional illnesses are chronically self focused 3 Because people tend to have inflated views of themselves positive illusions being self aware is like crashing down to a painful reality Do I really sound look like that 4 To escape self awareness people often seek 1 of 2 paths either to change oneself positively to be more like the ideal self or to escape self awareness with alcohol or other drugs binge eating and other self destructive behaviors a Scientists often do experiments with self awareness by randomly assigning some people to hear their name see a photo of themselves or look at themselves in a mirror In these situations of increased self awareness people become more honest and show a greater tendency to conform to socially desirable norms 5 Mirrors can induce self awareness well a In a few experiments those given the opportunity to steal or cheat were less likely to if shown their reflection b Prosocial relating to or denoting behavior that is positive helpful and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship v Not only do people have a need for self enhancement to be viewed in high esteem they also have a need for self verification to be seen accurately 1 Sometimes people will feel uncomfortable receiving a compliment they don t believe is true a This causes inconsistency and people have a desire for consistency b Mimicry mirroring synchronization is key to predicting a smooth interaction c When people believe that others see them accurately anxiety is reduced and trust is increased vi The sociometer theory of self esteem pioneered by Mark Leary suggests that self esteem exists in humans as a gauge of how well we are doing socially 1 2 If we re doing well we get positive feedback and feel good about ourselves If we re doing badly we get negative feedback and feel badly about ourselves motivation to change 3 This theory has evidence to support it but self esteem has been proven to be mostly determined by how physically attractive someone is halo effect 4 Feedback from others also influences self esteem 5 In childhood people s parents are the strongest source of SE whether parents express love and adoration vii Self esteem starts out high in childhood plummets in adolescence and then slowly goes back up in adulthood and goes back down again in old age 1 Men are seen to have higher self esteems than women viii High self esteem Benefits 1 Studies have shown that people who feel better about themselves are more emotionally healthy meaning they score higher on measures of positive affect and life satisfaction and lower on negative affect 2 More psychologically healthy they are less vulnerable to mental illness and psychopathology 3 They also score higher on another variable called self concept clarity meaning that high SE is strongly associated with having a clear well defined idea of who you are 4 Social benefits include being able to hold eye contact being more cooperative assertive and confident 5 Also less prone to peer pressure and social influence ix High self esteem can be bad 1 Can be more antisocial 2 More likely to be bullies 3 Narcissism aggression and prejudice towards others 4 Programs in schools are designed to inflate kids self esteems but if you always feel good about yourself and think there s nothing wrong there is no room for improvement x Americans have the highest self esteems xi Research has shown humans do not need to be shielded from failure or normative setbacks 1 Rejection and failure is completely normal 2 The pursuit of high SE can be very damaging some psychologists call this the costly pursuit of self esteem 3 Depriving kids of negative experiences is detrimental to their own self concept development 4 Benefits of adversity the benefits to experiencing hardship and misfortune 5 Hedonic treadmill is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of xii Personality happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes 6 Self concept growth people realize that they re stronger than they previously assumed and their social ties and close relationships are strengthened people become closer to each other after experiencing tragedy 1 Level 1 what we normally think of when we discuss personality your basic traits e g introversion neuroticism 2 Level 2 involves adaptation and change this is how traits evolve after new life changing experiences and new environments a Remember you re not the same person from the minute you re born to the minute you die Some folks describe themselves as more shy reserved as children but then grew out of their shell after forming close friendships in adolescence b Level 1 and Level 2 actually cause changes in each other this is known as reciprocal
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