PSY 314 (2)

self-promotion

attempt to get others to see us as competent

to be likable: ingratiation

1) be pretty 2) find common ground 3) flatter them 4) automatic process: mimicry

self-enhancement

consists of cognitive strategies designed to bolster and protect one's self image

high self-monitor

- alter behavior to match situation - social chameleon- can alter to match audience EX: politician

what affects the desire for cognitive consistency?

- arousal (unpleasant) - preference for consistency - consequences - salience (prominent) of the inconsistency - consistency and culture

how to measure attitudes?

- can be measured explicitly by asking individuals to report directly (Ex: Attitude Toward Blacks Scale, problem of social desirability though) - bogus pipeline technique (give impression they're being hooked up to a machine that detects lies) - implicit/ covert measures (Ex: EMG and fMRI, con is that it is hard to interpret)

self-promotion strategies (to appear competent)

- claiming competence - staging "competence" performances - self-handicapping - convey status and dominance

measuring attitude change

- covert techniques - nonreactive measurement (doesn't change a subject's responses while recording them) - self-report (only used when respondent has no reason to lie)

self-varification

- desire to have others perceive us as we truly perceive ourselves - desire for self-verification will sometimes overwhelm the need for self-enhancement

attitude-behavior consistency

- knowledge - personal relevance - attitude accessibility (degree it springs into mind quickly)

low self-monitor

- less likely to alter according to situation - act consistently EX: Sheldon from Big Bang Theory

how to become better lie-detectors?

- let go of common myths about lying - pay less attention to what people say and more to how they say it - tax their self-regulated resources (Ex: can they tell their story out of sequence?) - don't overthink it

implicit association test

- measuring cognitive strength between categories - quick because hard to do social desirability - may have validity issues - shows if you made a bias

why do people self-present?

- obtain desirable resources from others - constructing a self-image (to see themselves a certain way) - help others know how we expect to be treated, enabling social encounters to run more smoothly

what affects the desire for accuracy?

- personal relevance - mood - done deals - unwelcome situations expertise and complexity

motivation

- personal relevance - need for cognition

terror management theory

- protect us from anxiety of death - mortality silence (aware of our own death) - self-esteem: force within us to help us deal with fear of inevitable death, buffer between being aware of death and death anxiety, try to find value in life, can derive self-esteem/ value/ meaning from group

self-esteem: good or bad?

- self-esteem can be unstable when explicit ratings of self-esteem diverge from implicit assessments of self-esteem - unstable self-esteem has been linked to aggression - trick question, no right answer

strategies of self-promotion

- staging performances - claiming competence - using the trapping of competence (dress well, look busy) - making excuses, claiming obstacles

attitude strength

- strong attitudes accurately predict behavior & resist change (because more stable and better able to withstand persuasive attacks; resist change because commitment and embeddedness) - commitment: certain attitude is correct embeddedness in (connected to) other features of a person such as individual's self-concept, values, social identity

affective misattribution procedure (AMP)

- trying to get at affective attitudes without them being aware of it - Ex: go on a date to scary movie, girl thinks she likes boy more because she's misattributing the arousal

motives for self-presentation

- we self-present in order to make ourselves appear more likable and/ or competent to others - CENTRAL TRAITS: COMPETENT AND LIKABILITY

when do people self-present?

- when they feel like they're in the public eye - observers control something we want - the more important the goal - observers hold undesired impressions of us

when competence matters

1) ambiguous settings where individuals are unsure of their standing 2) pressure-filled, competitive circumstances

where do attitudes come from?

1) develop through our own experiences - classical conditioning - mere exposure effect - operant conditioning 2) develop by learning about the attitudes of others - social learning - cultural norms 3) influenced by genetic predispositions

strategies for conveying status and power

1) displaying artifacts of status and power 2) conspicuous consumption 3) personal associations (basking in reflected glory & cutting off reflected failure) 4) status and body in nonverbal expressions

strategies of ingratiation

1) expressing liking for others 2) creating similarity 3) making ourselves physically attractive 4) projecting modesty

why do we change our attitude?

1) hold more accurate world views 2) be internally consistent 3) gain social acceptance and approval

where do attitudes come from? (4)

1. classical conditioning (come to like/dislike objects/events merely bc they are associated with objects/events we already like/dislike) 2. operant conditioning (rewards and punishments) 3. observational learning 4. heredity

how do we learn about ourselves? (3)

1. introspection- reflecting on our thoughts and feelings 2. self-perception- deciphering our thoughts and feelings by observing our own behavior 3. social comparison- we evaluate ourselves by comparing our abilities and ideas to others, use to obtain practical information but also use it strategically to engage in upward & downward social comparison

which of the following people is most likely to brag?

African american men

attributions are motivated by a desire to protect the self

belief in a just word (belief that people get what they deserve)

the interpersonal cycle of self-promotion refers to

a social situation in which one person's self-promotion makes others feel compelled to self-promote and is a good example of a person-situation interaction

self-awareness

ability to take oneself as an object of attention

ABC Triad (self-concept)

affect, behavior, cognition

counterargument

argument that challenges/ opposes other arguments

which of the following is a strategy for conveying status and power?

associating with people of status and power, communicating dominance with nonverbal expressions, and displaying artifacts of status and power

ingratiation

attempt to get others to like us

wearing your favorite team's t-shirt the day after they win a big game is an example of ___ whereas removing the pro-candidate bumper sticker on your car after your chosen political candidate loses the election is an example of ___

basking in reflected glory; cutting off reflected failure

self-handicapping

behavior of withdrawing effort or creating obstacles to one's future successes

counter attitudinal action

behavior that is inconsistent with an existing attitude

theory of planned behavior

best predictor of a behavior is one's behavioral intention, which is influenced by one's attitude toward the specific behavior, the subjective norms regarding the behavior and one's perceived control over the behavior

halo effect

bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his/ her character

a true enjoyment smile involves the movement of the muscles controlling _____ whereas false smiles are usually ____

both eyes and lips; jerky and asymmetrical

persuasion

change in a private attitude/ belief as a result of receiving a message

upward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone better than you

downward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone worse off or inferior to you

post-decisional dissonance

conflict one feels about a decision that could possibly go wrong

competence motivation

desire to perform effectively

dual attitude

explicit/ implicit components of attitude and not consistent with each other

attitude

favorable/ unfavorable evaluation of a particular thing

public self-consciousness

general tendency to focus on one's outer public image - worried about how you're projecting yourself

private self-consciousness

general tendency to introspect on one's inner thoughts and feelings - wondering about religious/ political beliefs, not as concerned with how other people think

elaboration likelihood model

holds that there are two routes to attitude change- central route & peripheral route

sociometer hypothesis

human beings need to exist in groups, need to be able to detect when our group sees us favorably or not, self-esteem is a "gauge" of our social competence and acceptance

self-serving bias

leads us to take credit for success and blame external forces for failure

more testosterone =

less you care about what others think of you

better-than-average attitude

linked to positive outcomes (mental health, mental distress, peer-judge mental health)

which of the following statements is false?

men and women are equally likely to convey their status through conspicuous consumption

dual process model of persuasion

model that accounts for the two basic ways that attitude change occurs with and without much thought two kinds: 1) those that involve a focus on the arguments in a message 2) those that involve a focus on other factors such as attractiveness of the communicator

self-monitoring

monitor and modify their public selves to fit what is socially appropriate (high) OR consistency (low)

impression motivation

motivation to achieve approved by making a good impression on others

which of the following are problems associated with the validity of the polygraph test?

no specific physiological pattern maps directly onto honesty, polygraph only measures arousal so people who feel little shame/ anxiety about their behavior can pass the test regardless of whether they are guilty of a crime, and the polygraph is less accurate when the suspect doubts the test's effectiveness

confirmation bias

noticing information that confirms one's beliefs, ignoring information that disconfirms one's beliefs

many aspects of the self-concept are relational

our self-concepts oftentimes match our perceptions of how others see us (not necessarily how they actually see us) - the looking glass self

spotlight effect

overestimate how much others are paying attention to us

which of the following statements about self-handicapping true?

people are more likely to self-handicap when they have a strong desire to demonstrate their competence

balance theory

people prefer harmony and consistency in their views of the world

consistency principle

people will change their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and actions to make them consistent with each other

impression biases and our own behavior/ process of social perception

perceiver -> observation -> person-situation -> attribution -> disposition -> integration -> impressions (which then goes back to perceiver)

self-fulfilling prophecy

person brings out expected/ predicted outcome step 1) perceiver forms expectations about the target step 2) perceiver acts toward the target based on expectations step 3) target interprets the perceiver's actions and responds so that his behavior is consistent with perceiver's actions (then goes back to step 1)

perceived behavioral control

person's perception of how difficult it is to perform the behavior in question

subjective norms

person's perception that important others would approve/ disapprove of the behavior in question

attitude

positive, negative or mixed reaction to a person, object or idea expressed at some level of intensity

basking in reflected glory

process of associating ourselves with successful, high-status others/ events

cutting off reflected failure

process of distancing ourselves from unsuccessful, low-status others/ events

self-presentation

process through which we try to control the impressions people form of us

self-presentation

process we use to shape other people's perceptions of who we are 1) strategic self-presentation- used to gain influence, approval, or sympathy 2) self-verification- used to try to make others see us as we see ourselves

why do we sometimes blame victims for their misfortune?

self-enhancement, belief in a just world, self-serving bias

what is not an ingratiation strategy that supports the goal of appearing likable?

showing off your unique talents

which of the following statements is true regarding shy people and self-promotion?

shy people focus more on preventing unfavorable public images than trying to acquire favorable public images

which of the following statements best defines the multiple audience dilemma?

situation in which a person need to present different images to different audiences, often simultaneously

people who act too modest may be viewed as ___ if their modesty is perceived as insincere

smug and arrogant

the fear people experience while doubting that they'll be able to create the desired impression is known as

social anxiety

why do we have self-esteem?

sociometer hypothesis & terror management

taking your date to an ice-skating rink so you can display your figure-skating skills is an example of ____ whereas talking about your professional skills during an interview is an example of ____

staging performance, claiming competence

self-concept

sum total of beliefs people have about themselves - A person's answer to the question 'who am I?' - self-schemes: specific beliefs by which you define yourself

inoculation procedure

technique for increasing individuals' resistance to a strong argument by first giving them weak, easily defeated versions of it

self-monitoring

tendency to be chronically concerned with one's public image and to adjust one's actions to fit the needs of the current situation

in one study, college students were asked to wear a t-shirt bearing a picture of an unhip older pop star. The study demonstrated

the spotlight effect, in which people overestimate how much others pay attention to them

cognitive response model

theory that locates the most direct cause of persuasion is the self-talk of the persuasion target - self-talk: internal cognitive responses/ thinking- people engage in after being exposed to the message; amount of self-talk = degree to which it supports message & affects confidence

which of the following is a reason why we self-present?

to acquire desirable resources, to help construct our self-images, and to enable our social encounters to run more smoothly

the text discusses self-handicapping as related to which goal of self-presentation?

to appear competent

the text discusses "ingratiation" as related to which goal of self-presentation?

to appear likable

cognitive dissonance

unpleasant state of physical arousal resulting from an inconsistency within one's important attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors

central route to persuasion

way people are persuaded when they focus of the quality of the arguments in a message; must have motivation and ability

peripheral route to persuasion

way people are persuaded when they focus on factors other than the quality of the arguments in a message, such as the number of arguments

sociometer hypothesis

we need to be able to detect when our groups see us favorably/ unfavorably - self-esteem is a "gauge" of our social competence and acceptance Ex: give people stuff, smile -> may lead to people liking them

the better-than-average effect

we overestimate our own awesomeness, sometimes we self-handicap to give ourselves a convenient excuse for failure, can consist of downward social comparison

which of the following statements is true regarding the gender differences in ingratiation strategies?

women are more likely than men to use ingratiation tactics