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The Social SelfThree Motivations in Social PsychologyM.docx
- 1. The Social Self Three Motivations in Social Psychology our environment of ourselves pleasant and stable social connections Three Motivations in Social Psychology Motivation for certainty Motivation for esteem Motivation for belonging The way we view our self-concept is driven largely by these Self-concept: A system of knowledge and beliefs about our personal qualities Self-Concept Me
- 2. My likes My values My skills My traits My feelings Sources of Knowledge Write a list of 5 subjective traits that define you I am outgoing (subjective) I am a student (objective) These can include your values, likes, talents, personality traits, aspirations, etc. Next to each one: How do you know? Knowledge Through Behavior Self- our own behaviors I am talking in front of a classroom, so I must be outgoing
- 3. Our behaviors are more telling when: They are freely chosen There is no reward Knowledge Through Behavior Children asked to draw with new markers for 20 minutes Condition 1: Promised a “Good player” certificate 2 weeks later, played with markers 8% of free-time Condition 2: Not promised a certificate, but surprised with one 2 weeks later, played with markers 16% of free-time Condition 3: Not promised a certificate, not given one 2 weeks later, played with markers 16% of free-time Knowledge Through Behavior Why? Condition 1: I played with these before, but it was for a certificate, so I don’t actually like them Condition 2 + 3: I played with these before without the promise of a certificate, so I must like them! Knowledge Through Thoughts/Feelings Similarly, we use our thoughts and feelings to define who we are I am calm in this classroom right now, so I must be
- 4. outgoing Knowledge Through Feelings/Thoughts Researchers put a female surveyor in a national park to approach men Condition 1: Men approached in an open field/ picnic area Condition 2: Men approached as they crossed a swaying, unstable bridge A second researcher approaches after and asks how attractive that female was Men in condition 2 reported being more attracted to her Knowledge Through Feelings/Thoughts Conclusion: Being on the bridge elevated heartrate, sweating, and attention Men took this to mean attraction Knowledge From Others’ Reactions We understand who we are through the ways others treat us/react to us. My brother asked me to talk at his wedding, so I must be outgoing
- 5. We respond to both obvious and subtle information from others: Obvious: Others tell me I am creative, people are impressed by what I create Subtle: My brother asks me to help design his wedding invitations Works more with under-developed self-concepts or new domains Knowledge from Social Comparisons We judge who we are by how we compare ourselves with others I get a bit nervous before being in front of a large crowd, but my peers get incredibly nervous, so I must be outgoing We feel different about the same traits when given different social comparisons Knowledge from Social Comparisons someone less skilled/fortunate Benefits: Boosts confidence, self-esteem Drawbacks: Bad for improvement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3gGkiWSzvg more skilled/fortunate Benefits: Motivating (at times) Drawbacks: Distressing, threatens the self https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSPYgwP9R84 In Summary We build our self-concept from several sources, including
- 6. Our own behaviors Our own thoughts/feelings Others’ reactions Social comparisons Multiple Selves Multiple Selves We are made up of multiple diverse “selves” Sometimes these selves can be contradictory Alejandro Student Teacher Political activist Father Balancing the Self An overly diverse, contradictory self-concept can be distressing
- 7. Cause feelings of hypocrisy, conflict, lack of identity An overly narrow, singular self-concept can be instable We need other identities to “fall back on” when one fails An ideal self-concept is diverse, multi-faceted, but rooted in core values https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Fj49rEiak Cognitive Dissonance Protecting the self Positive Self-Concepts We are motivated to understand ourselves and have a strong sense of self But We want to feel good/proud about that sense of self VS Cognitive Dissonance feel in conflict with a desired/perceived sense of self I am X Z is true for me Z is not true for X’s
- 8. Cognitive Dissonance I cheat on a statistics test I am honest I cheated on the test Honest people don’t cheat Cognitive Dissonance I get cut from the soccer team I’m good at soccer I didn’t make the team Good players make teams Festinger & Carlsmith’s cognitive dissonance study Had participants complete a boring task for an hour participant this was fun Payed either $1 or $20 for being an assistant Asked to report on how fun they actually found it Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) I am a good person A good person is honest I just lied to that participant Resolving Cognitive Dissonance We are highly skilled and motivated to resolve cognitive dissonance
- 9. We find ways to satisfy both our need for certainty (feeling like we are making an accurate judgement) and our need for esteem (avoiding feelings of guilt/self-doubt) Resolving Cognitive Dissonance Three broad strategies to resolve: Reappraise the situation Create a new interpretation for the situation Cheating is not bad in cases like this Michael Jordan was cut from his team Resolving Cognitive Dissonance Three broad strategies to resolve: Reappraise the situation Blame external sources The teacher made the test too hard I had an injury Resolving Cognitive Dissonance Three broad strategies to resolve: Reappraise the situation Blame external sources Restructure self-concept I’m not a very honest person I’ve always been more about academics This approach is rare, only works for less important traits
- 10. Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) Participants were offered $1 or $20 to lie to a confederate about how fun the study was DV: How fun they later reported the study to be $20: The study was rated very negatively $1: The study was rated as enjoyable, fun $20 could blame external sources (I knew it was a lie, but they paid well) $1 could not (I knew it was a lie and I did it for a single dollar?!) They reappraised the situation Resolving Cognitive Dissonance For each of the scenarios, please describe how this is an example of cognitive dissonance (what is the tension?) and one way it can be resolved I repeatedly hear news stories about how smoking is bad, but I regularly smoke cigarettes anyway I was faced with a difficult decision between two colleges I wanted to attend, and eventually choose College A. After some time, though, I start realizing that College B might have been a better choice. I am cheating on my romantic partner despite having a happy relationship Self-Esteem Self-esteem We need a way to monitor our self-concept and detect when we are failing to live up to it
- 11. This monitoring system is our self-esteem Self-esteem: the overall positive/negative evaluation of our self-concept Our self-esteem comes from a variety of different sources Physical Appearance We derive our self-esteem from our physical appearance, and how that matches societal norms Social Roles/ Skills We draw our self-esteem from the important roles and talents we have, and our ability to be good at those roles Personality Traits We draw our self-esteem from how our personality aligns with the traits we see as desirable These traits, like a lot of other things, are socially ascribed Self-Concept Exploration The purpose of this paper is to explore the self-concept of a fictional character. This character may be one that you pull from a popular TV show, movie, book, or other form of media. Through this paper, be sure to include the following
- 12. information: · Please include 1 paragraph setting a context for this character. Give me the relevant background information I would need to understand your paper if I had never heard of your character before. · What are the central components of this character’s self- concept? What traits, roles, skills, values are at the center of who this person is? Please include at least 3 components of their self. · How does this character come to know these things about themselves? Of the knowledge sources discussed in class, which ones did the character most likely rely on to build their self- concept? · In class, we talked about how we really construct multiple “selves” that we occupy at the same time. How does this character fit into that discussion? Do they have multiple highly- contradictory and divergent “selves?” Or do they have an overly-narrow concept of the self? What are the possible dangers of how this character’s “self” is constructed? · Please describe a time this character faced a threat to their self-esteem. Based on our discussion in class, what “source” of self-esteem was damaged by this threat? How did this character cope with the threat to their self-esteem? NOTE: Exceptional papers will be able to provide both (1) a thorough understanding of self-concepts, how they are constructed, and the ways in which they can be damaged or threatened and (2) provide detailed, relevant examples from the character’s life. Papers will be regarded as incomplete if they do not respond to each of the points in this paper with clarity and specificity. NOTE: The writing prompt is listed here in a checklist to facilitate your writing and organization. It is not an indication that you should write your paper as a set of several separate short answers to the different points listed here. Exceptional
- 13. papers will sound like one single, connected narrative. Papers that sound “choppy” or disconnected will be evaluated more poorly. Audience Write to a professional, college-educated audience Don’t assume a very specific understanding of social psychological concepts Avoid first-person writing ◦ “I think that...” ◦ “I am going to write about...”