Social Psych Ch. 6

In a study conducted by Svenson (1981), drivers were interviewed while hospitalized for being in a car accident. The majority of those interviewed rated their driving skill as closer to _____ than _____ which provides support for the better than average effect.

expert; poor

We find evidence that when people are excluded in a situation, they show activation in what brain region?

anterior cingulate cortex

The idea that self-esteem allows people to face threats with their anxiety minimized.

anxiety buffer

Locus of control is most closely tied with which component of self-determination theory?

autonomy

feeling a sense of authentic choice in what one does

autonomy

Basic psychological needs:

autonomy, competence, relatedness

Associating oneself with successful others to help bolster one's self-esteem.

bask in reflected glory

When people often overestimate the frequency of their own good deeds relative to those of others.

better than average effect

_____ is the tendency to rank ourselves higher than most people on positive attributes.

better than average effect

Pros of high self-esteem:

buffers anxiety, better mental and physical health, and success in career and relationships

There are three primary ways to reduce dissonance:

change one of the cognitions, add a third cognition, trivialize the cognitions

What do people do when they have insufficient justification for doing or saying something that goes against their beliefs?

change their beliefs

The idea that people have such distaste for perceiving inconsistencies in their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior that they will bias their own attitudes and beliefs to try to deny those inconsistencies.

cognitive dissonance theory

Research suggests that people tend to think that their shortcomings are _______, whereas their strengths are ______, which likely plays a role in the better than average effect.

common; unique

A key variable that determines whether people identify with or distance themselves from a successful other is whether:

comparison is or is not relevant

Cons of high self-esteem:

compensating for feelings of inferiority; sometimes unstable and narcissistic/defensive

_____ occurs after a blow to self-esteem in one domain and leads to a person inflating his or her self-worth in an unrelated domain.

compensation

feeling effective in what one does

competence

Dan McAdams (2006) found that middle-aged and older adults tend to structure their life stories around two story patterns:

contamination and redemption

Story pattern in which the person first experiences good fortune but then experiences tragedy or failure and ends up in a place of bitterness or depression.

contamination story

When actions are motivated by external forces.

extrinsic motivation

Self-esteem that relies on outside sources.

extrinsic or contingent self-esteem

Low levels of self-determination are to _____ motivation as high levels of self-determination are to _____ motivation.

extrinsic; intrinsic

A person's sense of public value.

face

Nietzsche was a strong proponent of the idea that to achieve a more freely determined and satisfying life, the person must:

face distressing truths and endure hardships

When people rely on extrinsic sources, their self-esteem is contingent on:

feedback from others

The feelings of being completely absorbed in an activity that is appropriately challenging to one's skills.

flow

After a blow to self-esteem in one domain, the process of shoring up one's overall sense of self-worth by bolstering how one thinks of oneself in an unrelated domain.

fluid compensation

Allows a person to think, "I may not be achieving success in this domain, but I rule in that other one."

fluid compensation

A laboratory situation in which people make a choice between two alternatives, and after they do, attraction to the alternatives is assessed.

free choice paradigm

Possible selves give a face to a person's:

goals, aspirations, fears, and insecurities

The tendency to overestimate another's ability to know our internal thoughts and feelings.

illusion of transparency

Self-esteem traits we are not aware of.

implicit self-esteem

Hard choices are ones for which there are more:

inconsistent cognitions

A laboratory situation in which participants are induced to engage in a behavior that runs counter to their true attitudes.

induced compliance paradigm

A laboratory situation in which participants are asked to advocate an opinion they already believe in but then are reminded about a time when their actions ran counter to that opinion, thereby arousing dissonance.

induced hypocrisy paradigm

When people feel inferior in a valued domain of life.

inferiority complex

When we simply want people to like us, we often use ______, such as by flattering others, which is generally quite effective.

ingratiation

Research using the induced compliance paradigm shows that when people perceive _______ for choosing to say or do something against their initial beliefs, they change their beliefs to reduce dissonance.

insufficient external justification

The extent to which a person believes that either internal or external factors determine life outcomes.

internal or external locus of control

One benefit of high self-complexity is that the person can;

cope with difficulties in one area of life by drawing strengths from another

Self-determination theory proposed that people are naturally powered by _____ to explore their environment, master new challenges, and integrate these experiences with a core sense of who they are.

curiosity

When people change their expression, vocal tone, and mannerisms strategically to convey a certain character.

cynical performance

Conscious attempts to perform in a certain way to make a particular impression.

cynical performances

The most common forms of self-handicapping involve:

denying one's desire for success and not trying one's hardest

Dissonance is aroused whenever people make:

difficult choices

When two cognitions (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, perceived actions) are inconsistent with or contradict one another, people experience an uncomfortable psychological tension known as:

dissonance

Using the theater as a metaphor, the idea that people, like actors, perform according to a script. If we all know the script and play our parts well, then, like a successful play, our social interactions flow smoothly and seem meaningful, and each actor benefits.

dramaturgical perspective

Helps us gauge what actions we should or should not attempt and what future challenges and obstacles might arise.

effective action

The phenomenon whereby people reduce dissonance by convincing themselves that what they have suffered for is actually quite valuable.

effort justification

The phenomenon whereby people reduce dissonance by convincing themselves that what they suffered for is quite valuable is known as:

effort justification

When people have difficulty getting beyond their own subjective experience when judging how much other people attend to them.

egocentric bias

Nostalgia, by increasing the perceived connection of one's past to the present, can bolster people's view that their life has:

enduring significance

Which of the following is the BEST example of a cynical performance?

interviewing for a job

When actions originate as your own authentic desires.

intrinsic motivation

Barbara is a university student who is majoring in social work because she cares about issues such as equality and justice. Moreover, she is personally motivated to help others through their problems, and she values supporting others. Barbara is _____ motivated.

intrinsically

Impact of encouraging self-esteem on children:

lasts into adulthood

Otto Rank proposed that inside each of us is a _____ that drives us to separate from others and establish the self as a unique individual who determines one's own actions.

life force

Ingratiation is to the chief human goal of being _____ as self-promotion is to the chief human goal of being _____.

liked; perceived as competent

"Low choice conditions" keep dissonance:

low

Upward social comparison is to _____ self-esteem as downward social comparison is to _____ self-esteem.

lower; higher

Projection, compensation, and the better than average effect provide support for the idea that people are generally motived to ______ and _____ their self-esteem.

maintain; defend

Concerning gender, who is more likely to self-handicap?

men

Perceiving consistency among the specific things we believe, say, and do.

micro level of experience

Attentive to the present moment in which one is actively involved with one's actions and their meaning.

mindful

Use the minimal level of external justification necessary to deter unwanted behavior.

minimal deterrence

Research suggests a role for ________. When participants are given an alternative explanation for why they might be experiencing tension and discomfort, they no longer adjust their attitudes after engaging in inconsistent behavior.

misattribution of arousal

The better than average effect can be seen as a result of:

our motivation to feel positive about our self.

When external factors lead people to attribute the reason, or justification, for their action to an external incentive (such as money, approval, or meeting a deadline), their intrinsic motivation and enjoyment of the task are diminished.

overjustification effect

Self-esteem accomplishes this anxiety buffering by increasing activation of the:

parasympathetic nervous system

What happens in a high choice condition?

people may change their opinion to keep dissonance low

A key factor in creating dissonance in the induced compliance paradigm is:

perceived choice

Images of what the self might become in the future.

possible self

Which term is used to emphasize images of a person's potential future in a manner that stems from personal self-narratives or life stories?

possible selves

Assigning to others those traits that people fear they possess themselves.

projection

In line with the better than average effect, if the judgments for this task were for all negative traits (e.g., hostile, mean, dishonest), participants would likely:

rate themselves lower than "most other people"

Story pattern in which people experience obstacles, challenges, and sometimes even tragedies but then turn their lives around and overcome those difficulties to feel successful in their lives.

redemption story

Being meaningfully connected with others.

relatedness

Deci and Ryan argue that people feel self-determined in their actions when three basic needs are met:

relatedness, autonomy, competence

How do we defend and bolster our self-esteem?

seeking out others who corroborate our self-image

The idea that people respond less defensively to threats to one aspect of themselves if they think about another valued aspect of themselves.

self-affirmation theory

Being kind to ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, recognizing that imperfection is part of the human conditions, and accepting rather than denying negative feelings about ourselves.

self-compassion

The extent to which an individual's self-concept consists of many different aspects.

self-complexity

A clearly defined, internally consistence, and temporally stable self-concept.

self-concept clarity

The idea that people function best when they feel that their actions stem from their own desires rather than from external forces.

self-determination theory

The level of positive feeling one has about oneself is called:

self-esteem

The level of positive feeling one has about oneself.

self-esteem

The idea that people adjust their perceived similarity to successful others to minimize threatening comparisons and maximize self-esteem-supporting identifications.

self-evaluation maintenance model

Placing obstacles in the way of one's own success to protect self-esteem from a possible future failure.

self-handicapping

______ is when a person sets up an excuse to protect his or her self-esteem from a failure that may happen in the future.

self-handicapping

Self-compassion involves three elements:

self-kindness, recognition that everyone fails, and mindfulness

A personality variable that indicates the extent to which an individual has the desire and ability to adjust their self-presentations for different audiences is known as:

self-monitoring

A personality variable that indicates the extent to which an individual has the desire and ability to adjust their self-presentations for different audiences.

self-monitoring

A coherent life story that connects one's past, present, and possible future.

self-narrative

Every social interaction involves ________ in which actors perform according to a script.

self-presentation

To appear competent, we advertise our achievements through:

self-promotion

The _____ is to make external attributions for bad things that one does but internal attributions for good things one does.

self-serving attributional bias

Seeking out other people and social situations that support the way one views oneself in order to sustain a consistent and clear self-concept.

self-verification

Goffman refers to well-practiced scripts as:

sincere performances

People high in self-monitoring are:

social chameleons

Comparing ourselves to others.

social comparison

Meeting _____ standards of self-worth provides the best basis of stable self-esteem.

socially validated

The idea that a basic function of self-esteem is to indicate to the individual how much he or she is accepted by other people.

sociometer model

The belief that others are more focused on us than they actually are.

spotlight effect

When, after a choice is made, people generally place more emphasis on the positive characteristics of the chosen alternative and the negative aspects of the rejected alternative.

spreading the alternatives

A feeling about the self that can temporarily increase or decrease positivity in response to changing circumstances, achievements, and setbacks.

state

One implication Festinger drew from dissonance theory is that people come to believe in and love the things they:

suffer for

Ed Diener reports that the happiest people have:

supportive family and friends

The Pew Research Center found that _____ percent of Americans report they are "pretty" or "very" happy.

84

Which statement below is consistent with the main distinction between the induced compliance and induced hypocrisy paradigms?

The induced compliance paradigm induces participants to engage in behavior that is counter to their true attitudes, whereas the induced hypocrisy paradigm reminds participants of a time when their behavior diverged from an attitude or value.

Brain region generally responsible for detecting when a given situation isn't meeting our goals.

anterior cingulate cortex

People have a number of self-motives, such as a desire to view themselves as ______ and to see themselves in a positive light.

a coherent whole

Example of effort justification:

after hazing

According to the sociometer model, self-esteem is like:

the gas gauge in your car

People self-handicap when they are especially focused on:

the implications of their performance for self-esteem

Self-esteem is pursued universally, but the attributes, values, and roles that lead to feelings of worth vary depending on:

the individual's culture

When we are very self-conscious of some aspect of self, we are prone to:

the spotlight effect

According to Festinger, people experience cognitive dissonance when they perceive a conflict between:

their actions and attitudes

The idea that when people perceive that a self-defining aspect is threatened, they feel incomplete, and then try to compensate by acquiring and displaying symbols that support their desired self-definition.

theory of symbolic self-completion

So positive mood stimulates growth by making it more likely people will:

think in new ways and find creative solutions to problems.

A general attitude toward the self ranging from very positive to very negative.

trait

Self-esteem can remain stable as a ____ but vary as a _____.

trait; state

Self-handicapping stems from:

uncertainty about one's competence

Fluid compensation is to _____ domains as the theory of symbolic self-completion is to _____ domains.

unrelated; related

The best way to deter children from problematic behavior:

use just enough threat of punishment; allow the child to feel they chose not to do the behavior

How does working hard for something usually result in us thinking that hard work was worth it?

we don't want the hard work to be for nothing, so we convince ourselves we like it more than we do

Dissonance will be high if you act in a way that is counter to your attitudes with only ______ to do so.

weak external justifications

A clear self-narrative enhances:

well-being