Social Psychology (Chapter 6)

Self-Compassion

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

Ostracism

Being left out

People raised in individualistic cultures tend to derive self-esteem from: sustaining their honor. proving their superior skills and abilities. performing cultural rituals. promoting group harmony.

proving their superior skills and abilities

3 Primary ways to rid of dissonance

Change one of the cognitions. Add a third cognition that makes the original two cognitions seem less inconsistent with each other. Trivialize the cognitions that are inconsistent.

The belief that others are more focused on us than they actually are is called: self-monitoring. self-esteem. illusion of transparency. the spotlight effect.

the spotlight effect

High Dissonance

Difficult choice between two things Participants increased their liking for what they choose and decreased their liking for what they did not choose- thus reducing dissonance

Low Dissonance

Easy choice between two things No change in items attractiveness ratings

Both the free choice paradigm and induced compliance paradigms are examples of _____ paradigms. contagion dissonance cognition denial

dissonance

Stable self-esteem

Based on intrinsic factors rather than extrinsic factors. More constant over time and more resistant to feedback from others.

Robert is a smoker and is experiencing cognitive dissonance. Choose the BEST example of something Robert might say to himself. "I don't care about quitting." "I love smoking." "I've cut back to only a pack a day." "I'll never quit."

"I've cut back to only a pack a day."

Frances is a heavy drinker and is experiencing cognitive dissonance. Choose the BEST example of something Frances might say to herself. "Alcohol is not a problem for me. I can quit whenever I want. " "I love alcohol. It makes me a more fun person." "Alcohol helps me to relax. I'm happier when I'm relaxed." "We all die from something. I would rather live a shorter but more enjoyable life."

"We all die from something. I would rather live a shorter but more enjoyable life."

Possible selves

Images of what the self might become in the future. Envisioning possible selves can help motivate people to achieve their long-term goals.

Better than Average Effect

People often overestimate the frequency of their own good deeds relative to those of others

People who are high in self-monitoring are better able to change their expression, vocal tone, and mannerisms to convey a certain character, also known as: being fake. emotional self-regulation a sincere performance. a cynical performance.

a cynical performance

According to Martens et al. (2008), how does self-esteem accomplish an anxiety-buffering response? activation of the sympathetic nervous system activation of the central nervous system activation of the limbic system activation of the parasympathetic nervous system

activation of the parasympathetic nervous system

In the dramaturgical perspective, a well-practiced script is referred to as a ________ performance. cultural sincere cynical congruent

sincere

Self-Concept Clarity

A clearly defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable self-concept. Individuals with high self-concept clarity are less sensitive to the feedback they receive from others, such as insults or nasty looks on the street. In contrast, individuals with low self-concept clarity tend to look to other people's feedback to understand who they are. Their attitudes toward themselves are therefore more likely to fluctuate, depending on whether they perceive that others view them positively or negatively. Self-concept clarity is a clear sense of who one is from one situation to the next. High self-concept clarity supports psychological well-being.

Self-narrative

A coherent life story that connects one's past, present, and possible future. Self-narratives are coherent stories explaining how one's past, present, and future cohere into a unified whole. Threats to psychological security increase reliance on self-narratives for meaning in life.

Induced hypocrisy paradigm

A laboratory situation in which participants are asked to advocate for an opinion they already believe in, but then are reminded about a time when their actions ran counter to that opinion, thereby arousing dissonance. People induced to say or do something against their beliefs may change their beliefs to reduce dissonance if there is insufficient external justification for their behavior.

Induced compliance paradigm

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

Free choice paradigm

A laboratory situation in which people make a choice between two alternatives, and after they do, attraction to the alternatives is assessed. Any choice creates some dissonance. The harder the choice, the greater the dissonance. People reduce dissonance by emphasizing the positive aspects of the chosen alternative and the negative aspects of the rejected alternative.

Self-Esteem

A person's evaluation of his of her value or self-worth. The fact that self-esteem can remain stable as a trait but vary as a state indicates that a number of factors influence it. One source is genetics. The stability of trait self-esteem from childhood to adulthood suggests that our self-esteem may result in part from certain inherited personality traits or temperaments (Neiss et al., 2002). This stability also suggests that, as noted in chapter 5, the reflected appraisals and social comparisons we experience as children have a lasting impact on our sense of self-worth.

Projection

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

Basking in Reflected Glory

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

Self-Consistency

At the macro level, self-consistency is an important way that people make sense of their lives as a whole.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

According to Leon Festinger (1957): 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 inconsistencies.

Compensation

After a blow to self-esteem in one domain, people often shore up their overall sense of self-worth by bolstering how they think of themselves in an unrelated domain. "I may be lousy in this domain, but I rule in that other one"

Self-Monitoring

An individual difference in people's desire and ability to adjust their self-presentations for different audiences. People high in self-monitoring are social chameleons, adjusting their appearance and behavior to fit with the norms and expectations in a given situation. Those low in self-monitoring seem to march to the beat of their own drum, ignoring other people's expectations and doing what feels true to them.

Cynical Performances

Conscious attempts to perform in a certain way to make a particular impression. People are more likely to engage in such performances when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory or when they want to convey a specific impression.

Based on research regarding the experiences of feeling threatened or challenged, choose the BEST answer. Emily felt threatened during her swim meet and performed very well. Emily felt challenged during her swim meet and did not perform well. Emily felt challenged during her swim meet and performed very well. Emily felt threatened and challenged during her swim meet and performed very well.

Emily felt challenged during her swim meet and performed very well

_____ proposed that a person progresses through eight stages of growth. Sigmund Freud Erik Erikson Otto Rank Carl Rogers

Erik Erikson

Self-Presentational Strategies

Honing an Image: When we simply want people to like us, we often use ingratiation, such as by flattering others, which is generally quite effective (e.g., Jones & Wortman, 1973). We also ingratiate ourselves to others by presenting ourselves as like them (Gordon, 1996). But sprinkling in a little disagreement can help us come across as more sincere and create a better impression overall (e.g., Jones, 1990; Jones et al., 1963). Finally, in certain situations, people—more often men—turn to intimidation to create an image of power and strength (Jones & Pittman, 1982). Audience Segregation: Stay in character to uphold a particular public identity with a given audience. Goffman pointed out that people do so in part by keeping different audiences segregated so that they can perform consistently with each audience. Lying: One fundamental goal in self-presentation is to maintain face, a person's sense of public value. Because of the importance of protecting face, people often bend the truth. This perspective suggests that lying is pretty common and often motivated by the need to protect face—our own and others'—rather than intentionally harming or manipulating others.

Rank and Erikson contributed to which influential movement in the 1960s? psychoanalytic psychology self-actualization developmental psychology humanistic psychology

Humanistic

Sincere performances

In a classroom, for instance, you automatically take on the student role. Roles you normally (socially acceptable) play.

Cultural Influence on Dissonance

In cultures that value interdependence, public displays of inconsistency arouse more dissonance because harmonious relationships are so valued.

Five implications regarding self-esteem

It is not easily granted. Low and unstable self-esteem contributes to psychological problems. It depends on a person's worldview. Self-esteem striving can have constructive or destructive consequences for others and the self. Self-compassion may be one valuable route for maintaining stable high self-esteem.

Unstable/Low Self Esteem

People with either unstable self-esteem or low self-esteem will struggle with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and drug dependencies, which often result from attempts to avoid or alleviate these negative psychological feelings. People pursue self-esteem in ways that fit with their cultural worldview, sometimes with harmful consequences. Self-esteem pursuit often takes the form of trying to do good by eradicating evil in the world. Depending on one's worldview, this can lead to noble actions or ignoble ones. But other people try to do good by eradicating individuals or groups they perceive to be evil, leading to aggression. Striving for self-esteem can have constructive or destructive consequences for the self. For instance, young American women are socialized to derive considerable self-value from their appearance. This emphasis can lead to extreme dieting, restrictive eating, and ultimately anorexia (Geller et al., 1998).

Self-Handicapping

Placing obstacles in the way of one's own success to protect self-esteem from a possible future failure. Self-handicapping has been used to explain a wide variety of behaviors in which individuals appear to sabotage their own success: abusing alcohol or other drugs, procrastinating, generating test anxiety, or not preparing for an exam or performance.

How to Maximize Self-growth

Pursue Goals That Support Core Needs Experiencing flow. Acting mindfully. Exploring novel aspects of the world. Fostering a positive mood. Interpreting stressful situations as opportunities for growth.

Self-Verification

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

The idea that people function best when they feel that their actions stem from their own desires rather than from external forces is called: extrinsic motivation. self-determination theory. self-monitoring. intrinsic motivation.

Self-Determination theory

Spotlight effect

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

Locus of Control

The extent to which a person believes that either internal or external factors determine life outcomes. Individuals with a high internal locus of control feel confident that they can achieve desired outcomes. In contrast, individuals with a high external locus of control believe their outcomes in life depend primarily on external forces beyond their control.

Self-Complexity

The extent to which an individual's self-concept consists of many different aspects. A complex self-concept, as defined by many distinct roles and activities, may be a buffer against stress if those aspects of self are freely chosen and controlled.

Flow

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

Sociometer model

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. Self-esteem is like a sociometer that lets you know if you are currently receiving the social acceptance you need to satisfy a need to belong. Consequently, the more you perceive yourself to be liked and accepted by others, the higher your level of self-esteem.

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model

The idea that people adjust their perceived similarity to successful others to minimize threatening comparisons and maximize self-esteem-supporting identifications. When another person outperforms you in a domain (or type of activity) that is important to your self-esteem, perceiving the other person as dissimilar makes comparison less appropriate.

Self-Determination Theory

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 proposes that people are naturally powered by curiosity to explore their environment, master new challenges, and to integrate these experiences with a core sense of who they are. Relatedness: being meaningfully connected with others Autonomy: feeling a sense of authentic choice in what one does Competence: feeling effective in what one does

Self-Affirmation Theory

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

Anxiety Buffer

The idea that self-esteem allows people to face threats with their anxiety minimized. (Self-Esteem acts as this)

Theory of Symbolic Self-Completion

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. Consider a woman who has always wanted to be a doctor, but then experiences some kind of setback, such as getting a poor MCAT score or making a mistaken diagnosis while interning. This poses a threat to her view of herself as an aspiring doctor, making her feel incomplete. She compensates by amassing symbols of competence as a premed, medical student, or doctor, perhaps prominently displaying her medical degree or wearing a lab coat and stethoscope around her neck whenever possible.

Taylor enjoys stage acting and obtains great pleasure from performing. Taylor has been offered payment by her theater company for her to perform. Taylor's desire to act has lessened since receiving payment for her performances. Which BEST explains Taylor's reaction? the justification effect locus of control the overjustification effect self-determination theory

The overjustification effect

Effort Justification

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

Fundamental Motivations for Self-Presentation

We often use self-presentation to achieve specific goals such as getting a job, impressing a date. Three Major Goals: One is to protect your self-image. A second goal is to support the meaningfulness of social interactions by properly enacting the culture's scripts and roles. Finally, self-presentation also serves self-improvement and personal growth.

Self-Serving Attributions

The self-serving attributional bias is to make external attributions for bad things that one does, but internal attributions for good things one does. In other words, people are quick to take credit for their successes and blame the situation for their failures

Mindfulness

The state of being and acting fully in the current moment. When we're mindful, we open ourselves up to consider the world and ourselves in new, more multidimensional ways. People trained in mindfulness show less anxiety and fewer symptoms when coping with medical issues (Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Shapiro et al., 1998).

Overjustification Effect

The tendency for salient rewards or threats to lead people to attribute the reason, or justification, for engaging in an activity to an external factor, which thereby undermines their intrinsic motivation for and enjoyment of the activity. For the children offered the reward, the external inducement is so salient that they infer they are coloring for the reward and discount enjoyment as their reason for doing it. Consequently, when no more rewards are offered, these kids no longer saw a reason to color.

Illusion of transparency

The tendency to overestimate another's ability to know our internal thoughts and feelings. People are better at hiding their feelings than they think

Minimal Deterrence

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

Dramaturgical perspective:

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. People learn their scripts and roles over the course of socialization. Parents, teachers, and the media teach children about weddings, funerals, school, parties, dates, concerts, wars, and so forth, long before they experience any of these things firsthand. Kids also learn how to be friends, teammates, students, and romantic partners.

Magnitude of Dissonance

Weak External Justification Dissonance will be high if you act in a way that is counter to your attitudes with only weak external justification to do so. On the other hand, if the external justification is very strong, dissonance will be low. Choice One study using this method (Linder et al., 1967) showed that when an experimenter simply ordered students to write an essay in favor of an unpopular position—banning controversial speakers from campus—the cognition "I didn't have a choice; I was just doing what I was told" kept the dissonance low. This is known as a low choice condition. On the other hand, when the experimenter asked students to write the counterattitudinal essay to help the experiment but emphasized that it was up to them whether or not to do so, the students were no longer able to justify their behavior by saying, "I didn't have a choice." In this high choice condition, the students experienced dissonance and actually shifted their attitude toward supporting the ban on speakers. Commitment When people's freely chosen behavior conflicts with their attitudes, the more committed they are to the action, the more dissonance they experience. Foreseeable Aversive Consequences The more aversive the foreseeable consequences of an action are, the more important the inconsistent cognitions are, and thus, the more dissonance.

Based on Kip Williams and colleagues' cyberball study, what occurred after being excluded after 5-minutes? cerebral cortex anterior cingulate cortex limbic system frontal lobes

anterior cingulate cortex

According to Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective, every social interaction involves self-presentation in which actors perform according to a: script. cultural perspective. movie. book.

script

What components make up self-compassion? optimism; self-kindness; openness defensiveness; mindfulness; the recognition that everyone makes mistakes sometimes self-kindness; the recognition that everyone makes mistakes sometimes; mindfulness optimism; creativity; curiosity

self-kindness; the recognition that everyone makes mistakes sometimes; mindfulness

________ achieve(s) broad goals, including protecting self-image, supporting the meaningfulness of social interactions by enacting the culture's scripts and roles, and to self-improve and grow personally. Self-protection Self-presentation Individual differences Self-esteem

self-presentation

Identify the BEST choice of how one may cope with dissonance. spreading the alternative free choice contagion denial

spreading the alternative

What is the term used to describe a form of study in which people make a choice between two alternatives, and after they do, attraction to the alternatives is assessed? low cognitive dissonance cognitive dissonance the induced compliance paradigm the free choice paradigm

the free choice paradigm

People who are sensitive to threats to their self-esteem tend to have which type of self-esteem? unstable durable strong internal

unstable