CHAPTER 2: THE SELF IN A SOCIAL WORLD

SPOTLIGHT AND ILLUSIONS: WHAT DO THEY At the center of our Own Worlds: Our Sense of
TEACH US ABOUTB OURSELVES Self- the most important aspect of yourself is the self.

Spotlight effect- the belief that others are Self-Concept- what we know and believe about
paying attention to our appearance and ourselves.
behavior than they really are.
Neurologists believe that the sense of self is in
-seeing ourselves sat center stage, thus the right hemisphere of the brain and that the
intuitively overestimating the extent to which medial prefrontal cortex, right behind your eyes,
others attention is aimed at us. is the neuron path that help stitch your sense of
self together.
Illusion of transparency- the illusion that our
concealed emotions leak out and can be easily Self- schemas- beliefs about self that organize
read by others. and guide the processing of self-relevant
information.
(research close-up: on being nervous about
looking nervous) - The elements of one’s self-concept
- The specific beliefs you define
Social surroundings affect our self-awareness-
yourself.
noticing how different we are with other people
and reacting to that difference. Self-conscious. Schemas- are mental templates by which we
organize our worlds.
Self-interest colors our judgement- when
problems arise, we blame others. When good Our self-schema powerfully affect how we perceive,
remember, and evaluate other people and ourselves.
things arise, we feel more responsible.

Self-concern motivates our social behavior- to Social comparison- Evaluating ones opinion and
make a positive impression we agonize about abilities by comparing oneself with others.
our appearance; we also monitor others Schadenfreude- taking pleasure in peers’
behavior and expectations then adjust misfortune.
accordingly.
Looking glass self- Charles Cooley, our sense of
Social relationship help define our sense of how we think others perceive us as a mirror for
self- with different company, our sense of self perceiving ourselves.
will vary as well. our sense of self affects how
we respond to others and others help shape our - George Herbert Mead refined the
sense of self. (PsycINFO, for psychology concept, our sense of self is not
research). how others actually see us but how
we imagines they see us.
Our sense of self organizes our
thoughts, feelings, and actions and enables us SELF AND CULTURE
to remember our past, assess our present, and Individualism- the concept of giving priority to
project our future- and thus to behave more one’s own goal over group goal and defining
adaptively. one’s identity in terms of personal attributes
The self can be an impediment to a rather than group identification.
satisfying life. (the curse of the self- mark leary) Independent self- construing one’s identity as
SELF CONCEPT: WHO AM I? an autonomous self.
CHAPTER 2: THE SELF IN A SOCIAL WORLD

Collectivism- Giving priority to the goal’s of one - The theory argues that humans
group and defining one’s identity accordingly. must find ways to manage their
overwhelming fear of death.
Individualism and collectivism are important
concepts in understanding our cultural Self-compassion- leaving behind comparisons
differences. with others and instead treating ourselves with
kindness.
SELF KNOWLEDGE
THE TRADE OFF OF LOW SELF- ESTEEM AND
Predicting behavior errored
HIGH SELF-ESTEEM
Movie watching
Longitudinal study- research in which the same
Dating and romance future- people beside you people are studies over a period of time.
know much better how your relationship would
go. Narcissism- an inflated sense of self.

Performance- others could accurately predict The Dark Triad- Machiavellianism, Antisocial
the behavior of others than with themselves. Psychology, Narcissism.

Planning Fallacy- the tendency to SELF EFFICACY

underestimate how long it will take to complete Self-efficacy- a sense that one is competent and
a task. effective, distinguished from self-esteem, which
Impact Bias- Overestimating the enduring is one’s sense of self-worth. A sharpshooter in
impact of emotion causing events. the military may feel high self-efficacy and low
self-esteem.
The wisdom and illusions of self-analysis
- How competent we feel on a task.
Dual attitude system- differing implicit and
explicit (automatic and controlled) attitudes WHAT IS SELF-SERVING BIAS?
toward the same object. Verbalized explicit Self-serving Bias- the tendency to perceive
behavior attitude may change with education oneself favorably.
and persuasion; implicit attitudes change slowly
with practice that forms new habit. EXPLAINING POSTIVE AND NEGATIVE EVENTS

Self-reports are often untrustworthy. Self-serving attributions- a form of self-serving

vias; the tendency to attribute positive
WHAT IS THE NATURE AND MOTIVATING outcomes to oneself and negative outcomes to
POWER OF SELF-ESTEEM other factors. (pg1. Self-interest colors our
Self-esteem- a person’s overall self-evaluation judgement).
or sense of self-worth. UNREALISTIC OPTMISM
- The sum of all our self-views across Optimism- predisposes a positive approach in
the across the various domain. life.
Terror management theory- proposes that Defensive pessimism- the adaptive value of
people exhibit self-protective emotional and anticipating problems and harnessing ones
cognitive responses when confronted with anxiety to motivate effective action.
reminders of their mortality.
CHAPTER 2: THE SELF IN A SOCIAL WORLD

- Anticipate problems and motivates

effective coping.

FALSE CONCENSUS AND UNIQUENESS

False consensus effect- the tendency to

overestimate the commonality of one’s opinion
and one’s undesirable or unsuccessful behavior.

False uniqueness effect- the tendency to

underestimate the commonality of one’s
abilities and one’s undesirable or successful
behavior.

SELF SERVING BIASES- self-serving attribution,

self-serving congratulatory comparison,
illusionary optimism, false consensus for ones
failings.

HOW DOMPOEPL MANAGE THEIR SELF

PRESERVATION?

SELF- HANDICAPPING

- Protecting one’s self-image with

behaviors that create a handy
excuse for late failure.

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Self- presentation- the act of expressing oneself

and behaving in ways designed to create a
favorable impression or an impression that
corresponds to one’s ideals.

- Refers to our wanting to present a

desired image both to an external
audience and internal audience.

Self-monitoring- being attuned to the way one

presents oneself in social media and adjusting
one’s performance to create the desired
impression.