SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Academic Self-Concept
•
4 likes•1,525 views
Week 5: Academic Self-Concept
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Academic Self-Concept
Similar to SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Academic Self-Concept (20)
More from Melanie Tannenbaum
More from Melanie Tannenbaum (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Academic Self-Concept
- 1. Week 5: Academic Self-Concepts Melanie Tannenbaum, M.A. Sociology 463/663 Spring 2015
- 2. This Week The Self Self-Esteem Self-Complexity (Academic) Self-Concept Self-Enhancement Self-Efficacy
- 3. The Self
- 4. What is the “self”? The set of ideas that you refer to when saying “me” ! Beliefs about oneself ! Perceptions of oneself
- 5. Where does self-concept content come from? Experience in interacting with one’s environment Interpretation of one’s environment Interaction with others, especially significant others “Looking Glass Self” Mead, Cooley
- 6. The Looking-Glass Self Charles H. Cooley (1902) People shape their self- concepts based on their understanding of how others perceive them. We learn to see ourselves as we think others see us.
- 9. Self-Esteem
- 10. Definition Positive (or negative) evaluation we have of ourselves; attitude toward the self. Trait: Enduring level of regard for yourself; stable across time. State:Your current feelings; based on recent events, changes throughout the week/day, etc.
- 11. Common Beliefs Self-esteem is important and we should raise it! ! Sample #1 ! Sample #2
- 12. Is low self-esteem bad? Modest/small correlation between student self-esteem and academic achievement. ! Causality?
- 13. Baumeister et al., 2005 “Those with high self-esteem are gorgeous in their own eyes…but not necessarily to others.” Response Biases Directionality Risk Behavior & Bullying
- 14. Criticism “If students work in classrooms where posters proclaim WE APPLAUD OURSELVES…they will be inoculated against drug use, teen pregnancy, bad grades and just about everything else short of the common cold… Newsweek magazine, July 13, 1998, page 69
- 15. Criticism “…or so the story goes. Parents, like educators, have soaked up the message, trying to make their child feel good about himself no matter how many courses he fails or fly balls he drops…” Newsweek magazine, July 13, 1998, page 69
- 16. Criticism “…But now there is evidence that it might be dangerous. If kids develop unrealistic opinions of themselves and those views are rejected by others, warns psychologist Brad Bushman of Iowa State University, the kids are potentially dangerous.” Newsweek magazine, July 13, 1998, page 69
- 17. Criticism Why might it be “dangerous”?
- 18. Self-Worth Not Necessarily Linked to Academics “I, who for the time have staked my all on being a psychologist, am mortified if others know much more psychology than I. But I am contented to wallow in the grossest ignorance of Greek.” ! - William James (1842-1910)
- 19. Problems with Self- Esteem Striving? If “feeling good about yourself” doesn’t occur in the academic domain, it can lead to disengagement “General” self-esteem is not always the best predictor of academic success.
- 20. Contingency Model Crocker & Wolfe, 2001 People attach their sense of self to what they are good at/what is rewarding. People dissociate their sense of self from what they are bad at/what is not rewarding. Outcomes are self-relevant depending on whether a person bases their self-esteem on this domain or not.
- 21. Self-Complexity
- 22. Self-Complexity How do you define yourself? What are your most important identities, hobbies, group memberships, jobs, or interests?
- 23. Self-Complexity The number of self-defining domains that you have matters — and so does the amount that they overlap! People with more domains and non-overlapping domains tend to be happier and healthier.
- 24. Self-Complexity: Why? It has to do with self-esteem. If you face failure in one domain, it helps to have other domains you can use to “buffer” your negative feelings. If you define yourself entirely as a “girlfriend” or “boyfriend,” a “student,” or a “runner,” when you face failure in that domain it can be really demoralizing.
- 25. Contingencies of Self-Worth After failing in one domain, thinking about other domains in which you excel protects self-esteem. This is a very functional and protective mechanism! It also helps to think about other domains before the self-esteem blow (if you fear failing in an important domain, focusing on other domains in which you are currently succeeding can help “buffer” the negative feelings).
- 26. Cost of Seeking Self-Esteem Based on the contingency model of self-esteem, what goals & activities do people choose? ! Should we discourage the pursuit of self-esteem? ! Is healthy self-esteem an educational outcome?
- 29. Lyon (1993) Academic self-concept is the best predictor of achievement; better than general self-concept.
- 30. Valentine (2004) Small, positive influence of academic self-beliefs on academic achievement. ! Specificity matters; academic self-beliefs are a better predictor than general self-beliefs, and the prediction is even stronger when you get down to the specific domain (e.g., math self-beliefs for math performance).
- 31. Dilemma! If there is a strong link between self-esteem and academics… PROS: Promotes engagement in academics CONS: Engages self-protective strategies Biases, distortions, self-handicapping, cheating… If there is a weak link between self-esteem and academics… PROS: Insulates sense of self from failure CONS: Low levels of academic motivation
- 32. Paradox: High Self-Esteem, Low Academic Achievement Male African-American students in high school Making a connection between self and social environment Attributions for success — and failure Attributions for low academic outcomes Locus? Stability? Controllability? Attributions for one’s environment Locus? Stability? Controllability?
- 33. Two Models 1. Self-Esteem Model Internalization (Clark & Clark) Looking Glass Self “A Girl Like Me” 2. External Attribution Model Externalization (Crocker & Major) Paradox: High Self-Esteem, Low Academic Achievement
- 35. External Attribution Model Lower Achievement External Cause Stable Cause Maintain Self-Esteem Low Expectancies Motivation & Performance Controllable System Blame Anger & Social Action
- 36. Van Laar, 2000
- 37. Van Laar, 2000
- 38. Van Laar, 2000
- 39. Van Laar, 2000
- 40. African-American students begin college optimistically, believing they can overcome the barriers in society. ! Become increasingly pessimistic about this prospect as they go through college. ! But…separation of “expectancies” and “self-esteem” van Laar, 2000
- 41. Concerns about “raising self-esteem” to lower college dropout rates might be misplaced. ! ! Not about self-esteem…about expectancies. van Laar, 2000
- 42. The large proportion of African-American students leaving colleges and universities stems not, then, from fear of failure in that setting, or because their self-worth is negatively affected. Instead, it appears to derive from the increasing doubt African- American students have that the returns to their efforts will be worth it. van Laar, 2000
- 43. On the one hand, parents can warn their children of racism, in order to prepare them for any negative experiences they may have, but at the risk of lowering their children’s motivation. ! On the other hand, parents can encourage their children to have high expectancies and to prepare for fair treatment, but at the risk that they may become disillusioned. van Laar, 2000
- 44. Discussion Question: ! How can we balance the need to manage expectancies & work on “expectancies” to improve college outcomes without setting students up for false hopes & disillusionment? van Laar, 2000
- 45. Self-Enhancement
- 47. Self-Enhancement Self-Descriptions of Ability The “better-than-average” effect Attributions Wins attributed to ability, not circumstances Fails attributed to circumstances, not ability Failure Explanations Ensure that failure can be seen as a “lack of effort,” not a lack of ability Self-Handicapping Strategies to guarantee success
- 49. Self-Handicapping The tendency to engage in self-defeating behaviors in order to prevent others from drawing unwanted attributions about you Two main types Actually setting up obstacles Making excuses
- 50. Self-Handicapping Allows you to have a situational excuse for failure People will be less likely to make a dispositional attribution when you fail. If you fail, you have a convenient excuse. If I wasn’t so hungover, I would’ve gotten an A! If you succeed, you look even better. He got an A even though he was so hungover!
- 51. Self-Handicapping Sometimes people provide fake self-handicaps Example: Secretly working really hard but hiding this from your friends/classmates and acting like you don’t People think that you didn’t put in a lot of effort; didn’t try your hardest (even though you did) If you fail, no one knows how hard you worked – they attribute your failure to simply not putting in any effort If you succeed, everyone thinks you did well even though you barely put in any work, so you look especially good
- 52. Self-Handicapping Self-handicappers tend to be less successful ! Creates anxiety/pressure, which leads to more self- handicapping (vicious cycle!)
- 53. Ensuring Success The “wooden leg” Involuntary characteristic of the self that interferes with good performance (e.g., test anxiety) Low goal setting Pick something that you know you can attain without much effort Cheating
- 54. Self-Efficacy
- 55. Self-Efficacy Albert Bandura (1986) ! People’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances.
- 56. Self-Efficacy More specific than “self- confidence” or “self-esteem” NOT THE SAME AS… Outcome expectations Control beliefs Ability (though there is a connection)
- 57. Self-Efficacy Greater Effort Better Strategic Choices Learning strategies Study habits Goal Setting Higher goals More realistic goals Greater goal commitment
- 58. Self-Efficacy Roots History of success & failure Self-efficacy → Skill → Self-efficacy → Skill… Modeling Others Self at earlier points in time Feedback from others Developing interests
- 59. Self-Esteem vs. Self-Efficacy Self-Esteem: Sense of self-worth Self-Efficacy: Perception of ability to reach a goal ! If you don’t rely on your math performance to determine your self-worth, you can have low self-efficacy for math, but it won’t impact your self-esteem. If you have really high standards, you might have high self- efficacy for math performance, but be so hard on yourself that your self-esteem is still low.
- 60. Self-Concept vs. Self-Efficacy Self-Concept: More general; includes self-worth evaluations ! Self-Efficacy: Personal capability to perform specific actions
- 61. Confidence vs. Self-Efficacy Confidence: Not specific; general sense of competence. ! Self-Efficacy: Specific competence beliefs related to one specific goal/domain.
- 62. Discussion Questions What do you think is more important: Academic self-esteem or academic self-efficacy? ! How can we create programs to raise either one? ! What do you think are the pros and cons of both?