The Self Lecture 13 1 What makes something part of the self The self is a broad term that encompasses the parts of human behavior that require or are altered by self reflection what makes you you You can change aspects of self but not others or objects 2 What is self concept When do the various parts of self concept develop Who Am I Basis for self understanding Development of self concept Infant basic self awareness of own body Understand that you are distinct from the rest of the world Ages 2 3 recognize own gender self concept expands to include family Start to recognize good vs bad Ages 3 4 self concept based on developing abilities Define themselves based on what they can and can t do skills they have Ages 5 6 social comparison what do I do what do others do Private self concept learn to keep secrets lie Understand that no one else has access to your mind As you get older you start to focus on abstract things e g beliefs 3 What is one way to test if a child or ape has self awareness Mirror Self Recognition Test Experimenters put a dot on the child s forehead When he she looks in the mirror if they recognize that it is on their forehead they have self awareness 4 What is theory of mind and how can we test if a child has developed theory of mind Understanding that others may have different perspectives and want different things than you do Grasp this concept around age 5 Other people have their own minds and own opinions 5 What is a self schema Schema knowledge structure What are the defining structures of a thing e g what is a dog Self schema abstract knowledge structure about the self What features are included in the self We each have a different idea on what makes you yourself this helps you to interpret info in the social environment 6 What is self complexity How does self complexity affect how people cope with negative events Extent to which self schemas are differentiated and compartmentalized High self complexity define yourself in many ways Low self complexity define yourself in one straightforward simple way Coping w negative events High if I didn t get this job at least I have to fall back on Low see it as a big problem when faced w setback effects entire self concept 7 What is self discrepancy theory What are ought selves and ideals selves Future selves serve as standards that we use to measure personality e g are you on the right path Actual self what you are Ideal self what you want to be Pursuing positive outcomes Paying attention to opportunities Ought self what you think others want you to be Paying attention to avoiding harm shame punishment etc 8 How do those selves relate to promotion and prevention foci Ideal self promotion focus focus on things that will help you achieve your goals Ought self prevention focus avoiding negative outcome or punishment e g from parents 9 What emotion do people feel when they achieve an actual self that matches their ought self Or an actual self that matches their ideal self Achievement of ideal self pleasure Achievement of ought self relief If not achieved anxiety and guilt not living up to their standards 10 Know what self esteem is and what it s not IS how you feel about yourself self evaluation Teenagers have the lowest self esteem as far as age group Gradually over time self esteem increases and then remains the same when middle aged NOT your beliefs about how capable you are necessarily a reflection of reality 11 Know the differences between various kinds of self esteem a State vs trait State how a person feels about themselves at a particular moment in time Changes e g if you fail a test get a compliment are criticized etc Trait how a person feels about themselves generally b Global vs specific Global how you feel about yourself in general across domains Specific how you feel about yourself in a specific domain 12 Overall what is the relationship between self esteem and positive life outcomes Specifically what relationship was found between achievement and performance in the study of 3rd and 6th graders academic achievement Having a high self esteem at the beginning had to effect on grades later on Having high grades at the beginning did lead to a higher self esteem Time 1 measure grades and self esteem A year later time 2 measure grades and self esteem So if better grades result in high self esteem later on it should predict behavior 13 What are three potential issues with concluding that increasing a person s self esteem would lead to positive outcomes 1 Self report completed a scale and had participants report on their results then took neutral people and had them objectively rate how attractive the participants are There is no correlation between how attractive you are and what your self esteem is 2 Causality self esteem and positive outcomes High self esteem is related to positive outcomes These positive outcomes are because of my high self esteem 3 Very few people actually have low self esteem even if truly low self esteem does cause negative outcomes it s not a common problem Most people score with a high self esteem but people who score low are actually getting an average score Most people are who do score low are depressed or have mental health issues 14 How does self esteem relate to initiative and responses to failure High self esteem relates to You take more initiative Try again after failure Lack of eating disorders lower self esteem has a positive correlation w eating disorders high self esteem less likely Having sex at an earlier age 15 Understand the three theories of self esteem that were covered in class What are the theories What does each theory have to say about self esteem Terror Management Theory awareness of our own morality existential anguish We cope w this through believing that we are individuals of value in a culture that will continue after we die Self esteem is a way for us to cope w the fact of our own morality We want to contribute to society to justify that our lives have a purpose Sociometer Theory we have a fundamental need to belong Self esteem measures your belongingness Self esteem is a gauge of how well you are getting along with others You base your self esteem based on how you interact w others If you feel like you belong you have a higher self esteem Self Determination Theory three needs Competence feeling like you are able to effectively deal w the environment Relatedness being connected to others Autonomy being able to be the causal agent in your own life Self esteem is a
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