This chapter discusses the concepts of success, psychology, and identity. It defines success as a lifetime of personal fulfillment rather than money or fame. Psychology is described as the scientific study of human behavior with goals of describing, predicting, explaining, and potentially changing behavior. Key components of identity are discussed, including individual identity defined by personal characteristics, relational identity defined in relation to others, and collective identity defined by social roles and groups. The relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions is explored, as well as factors that influence self-image and success such as self-awareness, self-discipline, and positive relationships.

1. Psychology and Success
Chapter 1
“What
lies behind us and what lies before
us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives
• Define success.
• List several personal qualities that help people
to be happy.
• Define psychology and cite its four major
goals.
• Explain the relationship between thoughts,
feelings, and actions.
• Define self, self-image, and identity.
• Describe the components of identity.
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3. What is Success?
Success: a lifetime of personal fulfillment.
Success Secrets
• Success is a journey, not a destination.
• Money and fame don’t equal success.
Activity 1: What Success Means to You
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4. Ingredients of Success
1. Self-Awareness Appreciating your personal
values, qualities, skills and interests.
2. Self-Direction Setting a goal and working
toward it.
3. Self-Esteem Respecting oneself.
4. Positive Thinking Focusing on future
possibilities to propel yourself toward your
goals.
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5. Ingredients of Success continued…
5. Self-Discipline Daily personal effort
putting your plans into action.
6. Self-Motivation Getting and staying
motivated. Moving forward despite
fears.
7. Positive Relationships Healthy
relationships with friends, family, and
co-workers.
Personal Journal 1.1 Ingredients of Success
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6. Who is a Success?
• In society, it is not always obvious who are
truly successful people.
• Role Model Person who has qualities you
would like to have.
Success Secrets
• Always make time for relationships.
• Adults need role models, too.
Activity 2: Role Model
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7. Success and Happiness
• Happiness The natural experience of
winning your self-respect and the respect of
others.
• Outside factors—wealth, youth, physical
attractiveness, etc., have little effect on
happiness.
Success Secret
• Create your own opportunities for happiness.
Activity 3: How Happy Are You?
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8. Positive Qualities
• Another way to boost your happiness is to develop
personal qualities that will help you enjoy life and
cope with challenges.
• Psychologists have identified the following qualities:
ability to love, vocation, courage, trust, optimism,
future-mindedness, social skills, aesthetic sensibility,
work ethic, honesty, emotional awareness,
persistence, forgiveness, creative thinking, spirituality,
self-esteem and wisdom.
Success Secret
• Try new ways of thinking and doing.
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9. Understanding Psychology
• Psychology Scientific study of human
behavior.
• Behavior Anything that you think, feel or do.
• Goals of Psychology Describe, predict,
explain, and (in some cases) change human
behavior.
Success Secret
• Studying psychology helps you understand
yourself and others.
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10. Explaining Human Behavior
Why do people think, feel and act the way they do?
• Nervous system Regulates thoughts, feelings
and actions.
• Conscious Mind The part of the brain that
controls the mental processes of which we are
aware.
• Subconscious Mind The part of the brain that
controls the mental processes of which we are
not actively aware.
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11. Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions
• Cognition (thought) Mental processing of
information in any form.
• Includes: perceiving, recognizing,
remembering, reasoning, solving problems,
making decisions, forming concepts,
visualizing.
• Emotion (feeling) Subjective feeling
accompanied by physical and behavioral
changes.
Personal Journal 1.2
Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions
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12. Positive and Negative Emotions.
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13. Understanding Yourself
• Self Your sense of being a unique, conscious
being, the inner core of you.
• Self-Image All the beliefs you have about
yourself.
• Areas in which you have self-images include:
intellectual ability, competence, creativity,
sense of humor, morality, romantic appeal,
physical appearance, parental relationships,
close friendships, and social acceptance.
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14. Building A Healthy Self-Image
• A healthy self-image is positive but realistic.
• Makes the best of all the things you do well.
• Is based on who you are right now.
• Does not limit who you will be next week.
• A complex self-image means having a variety of
positive ways to see yourself.
Personal Journal 1.3 How Do You See Yourself?
Activity 4: Wheel of Life
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15. You and Your Social World
• Social Role Norms that define how you are
supposed to behave in a given situation.
• Self-Preservation Altering your behavior to
make a good impression of others.
Activity 5: Sides of Yourself
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16. Identity
• How you choose to define yourself to the
world.
• Individual Identity The physical and
psychological characteristics that distinguish
you.
• Relational Identity How you identify yourself
in relation to others.
• Collective Identity The sum of the social
roles you play and the social groups to which
you belong.
Activity 6: Identify Profile
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17. Culture, Gender and Identity
• Culture – the behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and
traditions shared by a large social group,
transmitted from one generation to the next.
Western– individualism, Eastern-collectivism
• Gender Role – norms that define how males
and females are supposed to behave.
• Gender Bias - treating someone differently
or unfairly due to one’s gender.
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18. Defining Your Role
• Researchers suggest that it is healthiest to
have a combination of stereotypically
masculine and feminine qualities.
• Some typical qualities: logical, assertive,
sensitive, independent, gentle,
compassionate.
Success Secret
• Don’t put limits on what you can become.
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