Approaches to the Self Learning Objectives 1 What is a self schema How is it different from other schemas How do people respond to self relevant information compared to non self relevant information How do self schemas differ from person to person a Self Schema Pg 321 them to structure the processing of self relevant information and guide behavior an abstract knowledge structure about the self or a series of i Like all other schemas in that it simplifies incoming information and fills in the gaps ii Different from all other schemas Larger and more complex 1 2 Richer in their network of associations and relationships among compartments 3 More frequently activated in processing daily information 4 Loaded with emotion and emotional information b Emphasizes personally significant information about the self i At the center we put self defining properties our name where we live what we c People process information that s relevant to their individual schema in incredibly look like etc efficient ways i Some people have field independent self schemas some have field dependent self schemas some are aschematic meaning they weren t defined by either category ii People who s self schemas emphasize particular areas are 1 Readily able to evaluate new information 2 Make judgments and decisions in the domain with relative ease 3 Retrieve episodes and other behavioral evidence from their past that illustrates the particular area 4 Predict future behavior in that area 5 Resist information that s counter to the prevailing schema d Individual differences i The content in each persons schema is virtually infinite its all self relevant information that people decide on what they determine as relevant is uncountable ii Differences in structure of the schemas self complexity see question 12 2 What are possible selves What are the functions of possible selves How do lost possible selves affect emotion a Possible Selves Pg 323 might become or are afraid to become persons representation of what they would like to become b Self Schemas contain multiple generalizations about the current and past self and the possible selves of the future i Each possible self is a personalize construction 1 Example if unemployed self is a feared one I have there will be a vivid picture in my mind of what they self would be like to my individual personality 2 What my feared unemployed self looks like is not what yours would c Lost possible selves what might have been like it its personalized to me i Current happiness is associated with the extent to which people can let go of the lost ii Holding onto what could have been requires a lot of energy if people can let go they can invest their energy into current goals 1 Without letting go people will be drained and likely be depressed 3 What are the differences between actual self ideal self and ought self According to self discrepancy theory what emotions do we feel when our actual self is different from our ideal self When it is different from our ought self Which gap actual self being different ideal or What makes something part of the self a Each self can be seen from your perspective or from another s i Actual self your representation of the attributes that someone yourself or ii another person believes you actually posses Ideal self your representation of the attributes that someone yourself or another person would ideally like you to posses iii Ought self your representation of the attributes that someone yourself or another believes you should or ought to posses 1 Example actual self from your perspective actual own is the characteristics you believe you posses actual other is the characteristics you think a significant other believes you posses b Self discrepancy theory Pg 326 discrepancies among actual ideal and ought selves focuses on the emotional outcomes among various i Problems come around when the various selves in different domains or from different views are inconsistent or discrepant with one another ii Actual own and ideal are discrepant dejection related emotions 1 Sadness disappointment shame 2 Feel they haven t been able to attain hopes dreams or aspirations that they or a significant other have set for them iii Actual own and ought discrepancies agitation related emotions 1 Fear anxiety guilt 2 Feel they ve failed to live up to others standards of good dutiful responsible behavior c Ideal and ought selves may be called self guides Pg 327 selves against which the person compares the actual self i Standards and goals that we can compare our current life situation to ii Two motivational focus points 1 Promotion focus associated with strong ideal self guides sensitivity toward positive outcomes and approach strategies in social behavior 2 Prevention focus associated with strong ought self guides a sensitivity toward negative outcomes and avoidance strategies in social behavior d The gap i We re closer to our undesired selves than our ideal and actual selves 1 The larger the gap between ideal and actual is associated with lower life satisfaction 2 The larger the hap between undesired and actual self is associated with positive life satisfaction a If we look at where we are compared to what we want to be we ll be unhappy if we look at where we are compared to what we really don t want to be we re happy 4 Know what self esteem is and what it s not a Self Esteem is how you feel about yourself i Not how capable you think you are 1 Not how you feel about other people 2 Not a self concept ii Not always congruent with reality 5 Know the differences between various kinds of self esteem and be able to recognize the different ways these different kinds would be measured a State vs trait i State self esteem how you feel in the moment 1 You get recognized by your teacher for your well written paper you temporarily have higher self esteem ii Trait Self Esteem how you feel about yourself generally 1 Trait can end up shifting enough positive contributions to your self esteem can raise it enough negative contributions can lower it i Global Self Esteem how you feel about yourself across all domains 1 You re very athletic and tend to be one of the better players in every sport ii Specific self esteem how you about yourself feel in a specific setting 1 You re really good at basketball the best player on the team b Global vs specific 6 Overall what is the relationship between self esteem and positive life outcomes Specifically what relationship was found between achievement and
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