Chapter 4: Seeking Selfhood

visualization

A procedure that helps an individual shut off the outside world and bypass the censor we call the brain, enabling the person to see, experience and learn from an intuitive, feeling, unconscious nature.

self-verification

Attempt to preserve their own images (both positive and negative) of themselves and therefore elicit feedback that verifies or confirms their own self-perceptions (both positive and negative).

self-serving attributional bias

Beliefs that glorify the self or conceive of the self as causing the good outcomes that came our way.

self-alienation

Occurs when we fail to aknowledge or accept certain aspects of ourselves. We then feel these qualities are foreign to us and we project them onto others, whom we then dislike.

spotlight effect

Overestimate how prominent our own behavior, appearance, and emotions are to others.

mnemonic neglect

Poor recall (or forgetting) of negative feedback that is inconsistent with core aspects of the self concept.

discounting

Significance of an ability traditionally valued by society is lessened.

self-consistency

Tendency to perceive our experiences in a manner consistent of our self concepts.

body image

The awareness of my body.

self-clarity

The extent to which one's individual self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent and stable.

self-complexity

The extent to which one's self-concept is comprised of many differentiated self-aspects.

self-concept

The overall image or awareness we have of ourselves.

self-esteem

The personal evaluation of ourselves and the associated feelings of worth.

minority stress

The psychological and social stress associated with minority status.

self-image

The self I see myself to be.

ideal self

The self I'd like to be.

feared self

The self that would result if you don't succeed.

social self

The ways I feel others see me.

core of self-concept

Those aspects of ourselves we regard as very important to us.

self-immunization

To trivialize threatening information by making behavior seem less important.

self-enhancement

Try to get positive feedback that affirms their own ideas about their positive qualities.