THE SELF

Chapter 5

SELF

All the Characteristics of the Person

Self-concept: everything the person believes to be true about him/herself

Includes traits, preferences, social roles, values, beliefs, interests, self-categorization

Self-understanding develops throughout the lifespan

Components of Identity:

Ultimately also become part of the self-concept.

Career Political views Religious beliefs Relationships Ethnic identity Personality Body image

Who (what) could you be?

If you wanted to (motivation) Opportunity (time, practice, challenge) Possible selves Growth and ability

Self-Awareness in Infancy

Dot-of-rouge experiment Recognize selves in mirror at 15-18

months 15-23 months

Personal pronoun use Picture recognition Self-referencing, ownership, self-monitoring

Self in Early Childhood

Confusion of self, mind, and body Concrete descriptions Physical descriptions Activities – what they do Overestimation of abilities

Self – Middle & Late Childhood

Shift to internal traits and abilities Social role descriptions Real and ideal selves More realistic about abilities

Self in Adulthood

Self-awareness (emotional intelligence) Accept own good and bad qualities

Possible selves become more realistic Life review – evaluation of successes &

failures; more likely as you get older

Classroom Exercise

Who am I?

Homework Exercise: Do the Try It on page 108.

What are the origins of self-concept?

We appear to come into the world with a pre-disposition for self-awareness.

What other people tell us about ourselves and how they react or respond to us becomes part of our picture of who we are.

Our beliefs and ideologies help us to define or understand who we are. Are you temporal or eternal?

Comparing ourselves to standards and to other people adds information.

Defining Ourselves through Comparison

Past self – comparing current & past performance

Adopting other people’s views – see things through the eyes of others

Social tuning – adopting another person’s attitudes; We subconsciously accept the views of those we like and reject the views of those we do not.

4 Components of the Self

Self-knowledge

Self-control

Impression management

Self-esteem

Self-knowledge

Are you independent or interdependent? If you are independent, who determines

what you are? You Circumstance Ideology

Gender Differences

Women have more relational interdependence. Intimate friendships Small groups Cooperation

Men focus more on larger social group memberships such as sports.

Tendencies, not major differences.

Self-awareness Theory

Introspection – looking inward and examining one’s own thoughts, feelings, and motives

Self-Awareness Theory: When people think about themselves, they compare their behavior to their internal standards and values.

Encourages you to follow own moral standards. Self-awareness can be aversive, making you

want to escape.

Telling More than We Can Know Why do I feel this way? Causal theories about what should make

us feel a certain way Reasons-generated attitude change.

Introspection: Thinking about Yourself

True reasons for behavior can be hidden from conscious reality

Self-awareness Theory The idea that when people focus their

attention on themselves they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values

Self-consciousness

Objective and judgmental

People say that when thinking about themselves, they are more apt to be in a bad mood (Mor, et al., 2010)

What happens next?

When self-awareness makes us conscious of our internal standards: It can cause behavioral change. We may try to escape ourselves.

Get drunk Binge eat Sexual masochism Religious expressions of spirituality

Sometimes self-awareness is positive

Self-Control

Executive function of the self How do you do it?

Thought suppression (difficult) Need plenty of energy Eat sugar Practice (learn)

Impression Management

Attempt to get others to see you as you would have them to see you

Ingratiation Self-handicapping – making excuses

beforehand Saving face – arranging circumstances to

your benefit

Self Esteem

Evaluation of your own self-worth and the extent to which you are good, competent, and decent Low self-esteem – ineffective, out of control,

depressed

Terror Management Theory Self-esteem is a buffer that protects us from

thoughts about our own mortality It assures us that we live in a meaningful

world

Self-esteem

May give us moderate optimism leading to perseverance

Narcissism excessive self-love, accompanied by a lack of empathy for others

Self-Esteem: What is it?

Evaluative part of the self-concept emotional

Difference between the real and ideal self Have you realized your potential? Do you value the trait, but have little potential? Ideal self includes the “ought” and the “wish”

selves Measure of our sense of meaning in life

This includes purpose Self-respect (Have you lived up to who you are?)

Self-Esteem: What is it?

Influenced by the reactions of others Generalized other, great ubiquitous “they”

People are susceptible to flattery It is tougher to accept criticism Basis for conformity

Self-Esteem: What is it?

Self-serving bias

Overrate ourselves Blame our failures Claim our victories As a rule, only depressed people truly have low

self-esteem

The Self-Esteem Movement

Thank you to Dr. Tracey Zinn, on whose conference presentation this section is

based.

What’s the problem?

“Why is being wrong so socially traumatic to students?”

The Self-Esteem MovementPropagated primarily in the educational system

Curricula aimed at increasing students’ self-esteem

Everyone born after 1970…

Focus has been on increasing self-esteem that is not rooted in reality

Researchers now suggesting that students need to be able to identify their talents

The Psychology of Self-Esteem Branden (1969)

What Was Taught “Keep your head up, feel good about yourself” vs. “take responsibility for your work”. Forsyth et al (2007)

“You can do anything!”

No use of the word “failure”

Everyone got all As in HS, doing little work

Unrealistic expectations of success

Students report being bored in class

Problems Created

False images to maintain Concern over not having high self-

esteem Sense of entitlement Anti-work/study ethic Inflated and delicate egos

What Resulted

What Resulted: Attitudes “Being happy is the most important thing”

We should always feel good about ourselves

Increase in narcissism (debated)

Don’t say “I’m a good soccer player” (Just say “I’m good.”)

What Resulted: Attitudes

Carol Dweck’s research

Effort is considered a sign of stupidity

When children are told that they are smart, they choose an easier task.

Panic when they are challenged orthink they are engaging in “a lot of effort”.

Result – Confused Parents Encouraged delicate handling of children Shielded them from negative emotions,

criticism Praised kids regardless of what they did

Carol Dweck’s researchParents often think that helping their kids build

self-esteem is done by shielding them from criticism and praising their talents

Protecting kids from hurt, failure, criticism, & disappointment has made them more vulnerable

What Resulted - Behaviors

Thin skinned undergraduates, defensive when they miss questions or are challenged

Generation X Goes to College (Peter Sacks)

Students seem to be incapable of handling negative feedback.

New hires are asking for raises and promotions almost immediately after being hired.

When students with high SE are criticized Unfriendly, rude, and uncooperative.

Entitlement regularly cited as an issue in college.

What Failed to Result

[High self-esteem] Isn’t associated with improved grades, career achievement,

reduced alcohol usage, lower violent behavior, etc.

Baumeister and colleagues (2003)

What Self-esteem Cannot Do?

Improve school performance Improve social relationships Guarantee good leadership Prevent risky behavior such as drinking Promote health

It is defined in more than one way. It may simply be a marker or indicator

variable.

Educational Outcomes of the Self-Esteem Movement

Susan Jacoby The Age of American Unreason

Are our students (people) hostile to knowledge?

Self-esteem movement = I’m the smartest kid!

“I’m supposed to be happy!”

Backlash against Self-Esteem

John Hewitt’s

The Myth of Self-Esteem: Finding Happiness and Solving Problems in America

“Why do you feel good about yourself?”

“Because of self-esteem”

Backlash against Self-Esteem

Generation Me

Risk of depression & anxiety higher for young people today

“Our growing tendency to put the self first leads to unparalleled freedom, but it also

creates an enormous amount of pressure on us to stand alone.”

Are Negative Emotions Normal?

Against happiness: In praise of melancholy Eric Wilson

Loss of sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder

Alan Horwitz & James Wakefield

The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into

Treatable Disorders Peter Conrad

Correlates of Self-Esteem

More initiative Happier, less depressed

As long as things are going well.

Related to physical appearance Can become narcissistic Fluctuates across the lifespan

Self-Worth

Meaning

Purpose

Living up to your identity & your destiny