Module 48: Social-Cognitive Theories and the self

Spotlight Effect

- overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us) -Thomas Gilovich

Consider three specific ways in which individuals and environments interact:

-Different people choose different environments. -Our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events -Our personalities help create situations to which we react.

To turn down the brightness of the spotlight, we can use two strategies.

-The first is simply knowing about the spotlight effect. Public speakers who understand that their natural nervousness is not obvious perform better -The second is to take the audience's perspective. When we imagine audience members empathizing with our situation, we tend to expect we will not be judged as harshly

How do social-cognitive theorists view personality development, and how do they explore behavior?

Albert Bandura first proposed the social-cognitive perspective, which emphasizes the interaction of our traits with our situations. Social-cognitive researchers apply principles of learning, cognition, and social behavior to personality. Reciprocal determinism is a term describing the interaction and mutual influence of behavior, internal personal factors, and environmental factors.

______________ (Secure/Defensive) self-esteem correlates with aggressive and antisocial behavior. ______________ (Secure/Defensive) self-esteem is a healthier self-image that allows us to focus beyond ourselves and enjoy a higher quality of life.

Defensive; Secure

What criticisms have social-cognitive theorists faced?

Social-cognitive theorists build on well-established concepts of learning and cognition. They tend to believe that the best way to predict someone's behavior in a given situation is to observe that person's behavior in similar situations. They have been faulted for underemphasizing the importance of unconscious motives, emotions, and biologically influenced traits.

Self-Serving Bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

A person who scored highly on agreeableness would MOST likely:

be very cooperative

A person who is highly conscientious will MOST likely

value achievement.

After years of study, researchers identified _____ personality factors.

5

self-efficacy

: one's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Reciprocal Determinism

: the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Social-Cognitive Perspective Definition

: views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context

What is the best way to predict a person's future behavior?

Examine the person's past behavior patterns in similar situations.

How do excessive optimism, blindness to one's own incompetence, and self-serving bias reveal the costs of self-esteem, and how do defensive and secure self-esteem differ?

Excessive optimism can lead to complacency and prevent us from seeing real risks, while blindness to one's own incompetence may lead us to make the same mistakes repeatedly. Self-serving bias is our tendency to perceive ourselves favorably, as when viewing ourselves as better than average or when accepting credit for our successes but not blame for our failures. Narcissism is excessive self-love and self-absorption. Defensive self-esteem is fragile, focuses on sustaining itself, and views failure or criticism as a threat. Secure self-esteem enables us to feel accepted for who we are.

What are the positive and negative effects of high self-esteem?

People who feel confident in their abilities are often happier, have greater motivation, and are less susceptible to depression. Excessive optimism and very high self-esteem can lead to blindness to one's own incompetence, self-serving bias, and narcissism.

Why has psychology generated so much research on the self? How important is self-esteem to psychology and to human well-being?

The self is the center of personality, organizing our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Considering possible selves helps motivate us toward positive development, but focusing too intensely on ourselves can lead to the spotlight effect. Self-esteem is our feeling of self-worth; self-efficacy is our sense of competence on a task. High self-esteem correlates with less pressure to conform, with persistence at difficult tasks, and with happiness. But the direction of the correlation is not clear. Psychologists caution against unrealistically promoting children's feelings of self-worth. It's better to reward their achievements, which leads to feelings of competence.

Researchers believe that personality traits:

are on a continuum.

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth.

Social-Cognitive Perspective Founder

proposed by Albert Bandura (1986, 2006, 2008) emphasizes the interaction of our traits with our situations. Much as nature and nurture always work together, so do individuals and their situations.

The tendency to accept responsibility for success and blame circumstances or bad luck for failures is called ______________-______________ ______________ .

self-serving bias

Albert Bandura proposed the ______________- ______________ perspective on personality, which emphasizes the interaction of people with their environment. To describe the interacting influences of behavior, thoughts, and environment, he used the term __________ __________ .

social-cognitive; reciprocal determinism