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
