Individual self
Beliefs about our unique personal traits, abilities, preferences, tastes, talents
Relational self
Beliefs about our identities in specific relationships
Collective self
Beliefs about our identities as members of social groups to which we belong
Reflected self-appraisals
Beliefs about what others think of our social selves
Working self-concept
Subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context
Distinctive aspects of the self
We highlight what makes us unique in a given social situation. Padawer-Singer 1978, students described what was most different about them in comparison to their classmates
Malleable and stability in the self-concept
Although the working self-concept varies, core components stay the same(shy around opposite sex, outgoing with friends). A person's overall pool of self-knowledge remains stable over time, providing a sense of self-continuity, even as different parts of s
Culture and the self-concept
Interdependent vs. dependent self construals
Gender and the self-concept
Women tend to have more interdependent self-construals in both American and Japanese cultures. They are more likely to refer to social characteristics and relationships and select photos of themselves with other people. In social interactions, women more
Social comparison theory
The hypothesis that people compare themselves to other people in order to obtain an accurate assessment of their own opinions, abilities, and internal states. We compare downwards to feel better about ourselves, and upwards when we want to improve somethi
Narratives about social self
We tell narratives about ourselves to integrate our goals, to make sense of conflict, to explain how we change over time. They offer powerful scenes of self-redemption and vivid and engaging ones help people feel happy and fulfilled as they age. Asians ar
Self-schemas
Cognitive structures, derived from past experience, that represent a person's beliefs and feelings about the self in particular domains
Self-reference effect
The tendency for information related to the self to be more thoroughly process and integrated with existing self-knowledge, thereby making it more memorable
Self-complexity theory
The tendency to define the self in terms of multiple domains that are relatively distinct from one another in context
Self-esteem�trait versus state
The positive or negative overall evaluation that each person has of himself or herself. Trait self-esteem is a person's enduring level of self-regard across time. This is fairly stable across many years. State self-esteem refers to the dynamic self-evalua
Contingencies of self-worth
An account of self-esteem that maintains that self-esteem is contingent on successes and failures in domains on which a person has based his or her self-worth
Sociometer hypothesis
A hypothesis that maintains that self-esteem is an internal, subjective index or marker of the extent to which a person is included or looked on favorably by others.
Culture and self-esteem
Independent cultures foster higher levels of self-esteem than interdependent cultures. A situationist hypothesis would be that people from Western cultures create social interactions that enhance self-esteem.
High self-esteem�good or bad?
More likely than low self-esteem counterparts to give up when hearing negative feedback, but some interpersonal costs of defining self in independent ways, seen and rated as more arrogant. Greater likelihood of graduating and employment. But some forms of
Self-enhancement
People's desire to maintain, increase, or protect their self-esteem or self-views
Better-than-average effect
The finding that most people think they are above average on various trait and ability dimensions
SEM model
Self-evaluation maintenance. A model that maintains that people are motivated to view themselves in a favorable light and that they do so through two processes: reflection and social comparison.
Self-enhancement adaptive?
It makes people more able to cope with stress (lower baseline levels of cortisol, less autonomic arousal). Some question this, saying accurate self-view is better
Self-verification theory
A theory that holds that people strive for stable, subjectively accurate beliefs about the self because such beliefs give them a sense of coherence
Possible selves
Hypothetical selves that a person aspires to be in the future
Self-discrepancy theory
A theory that behavior is motivated by standards reflecting ideal and ought selves. Falling short of these standards produces specific emotions�dejection-related emotions for actual-ideal discrepancies, and agitation-related emotions for actual-ought disc
Actual, ideal, and ought selves
Actual self- the self that people believe they are
Ideal self- the self that embodies people's wishes and aspirations as held by themselves and by other people for them.
The self that is concerned with the duties, obligations, and external demands people
Promotion and prevention focus
Promotion focus-Regulating behavior with respect to ideal self standards, entailing a focus on attaining positive outcomes and approach-related behaviors
Prevention focus-Regulating behavior with respect to ought standards, entailing a focus on avoiding n
Ego depletion
A state, produced by acts of self-control, in which people lack the energy or resources to engage in further acts of self-control
Automatic self-control strategies
Being faced with our temptations can actual diminish thoughts about our temptations. They can influence behavior as well as thoughts (pushing/pulling experiment)
Self-presentation
Presenting the person that we would like others to believe we are
Public and private face
face-the public image of ourselves that we want others to believe
Self-monitoring
The tendency for people to monitor their behavior in such a way that it fits situational demands (the current situation)
Self-handicapping
People's tendency to engage in self-defeating behavior in order to have a ready excuse should they perform poorly or fail
On- and off-record communications
On-record communication includes the statements people make that they intend to be taken literally. Off-record communication is indirect and ambiguous; it allows us to hint at ideas and meanings that are not explicit in the words we utter. On-record could
Attitude
An evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes the three elements of affect, cognition, and behavior
Three components of attitudes
Affect, cognitions, behaviors
Liker scale
A numerical scale used to assess people's attitudes; it includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme
Response latency
The time it takes an individual to respond to a stimulus such as an attitude question
Implicit attitude measures
Indirect measures of attitudes that do not involve self-report
Predicting behavior from attitudes
Restaurants claiming not to serve "Orientals" still did. Attitudes are not strong predictors of their behavior.
Attitudes conflict w/other determinants of behavior
Attitudes about dieting. Understanding of the prevailing norms of appropriate behavior.
Inconsistency btw affective and cognitive components of attitudes
Thinking about not serving Asians, different about the feelings of an Asian person present
Introspecting about the reasons for our attitudes
Introspecting isn't such a good predictor. Thinking about why you like someone isn't that accurate.
Attitudes are sometimes based on secondhand information
Attitudes from first- hand experience predict behavior better. Stronger attitudes predict stronger behavior.
Mismatch btw general attitudes and specific behaviors
Attitudes need to be specific. General attitudes are not so great at predicting specific behaviors
Prime
Priming can affect behavior that bypasses conscious attitudes
Predicting attitudes from behavior
Attitudes can predict behavior, but not as strongly as most people would suspect. Behavior can influence attitudes.
Balance theory
A theory holding that people try to maintain balance among their beliefs, cognitions, and sentiments
Cognitive dissonance theory
A theory that maintains that inconsistencies among a person's thoughts, sentiments, and actions create an aversive emotional state (dissonance) that leads to efforts to restore consistency.
Decisions and dissonance
Hard decisions arouse dissonance. People like to rationalize their decisions.
Effort justification
People's tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money they have devoted to something that has turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing.
Induced (forced) compliance
Subtly compelling individuals to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values, in order to elicit dissonance�and therefore a change in their original attitudes or values
attitude change
Less incentive changes attitude
extinguishing undesired behavior
Use punishments instead of incentive. Light punishment changes attitude and extinguishes desired behavior
Free choice
Pay students to write to ban communist speech. Cognitive dissonance effect only occurred when free choice was emphasized.
Insufficient justification
If a person's behavior is justified by the existing incentives, there will be no dissonance.
Negative consequences
If the confederate does not appear to be swayed, there are no negative consequences to the deception and no cognitive dissonance occurs
Foreseeability
The foreseeable negative consequences generate cognitive dissonance. If we can't foresee it, we don't change our attitudes.
Self-affirmation and dissonance
Self affirmation makes people reduce dissonance less.
Is dissonance universal?
Easterners may show more dissonance if social norms are primed
Self-perception theory
A theory that people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred and inferring what their attitudes must be.
Testing for arousal
Largest dissonance effect when told they took a relaxing drug but still felt aroused
Reconciling dissonance and self-perception accounts
The experiment that most powerfully supports the cognitive dissonance interpretation depends on the very processes of inference that lie at the core of self-perception theory. When partipants in the experiment implicitly reasoned about the conflict, they
Overjustification effect (Box 7.3)
The tendency to devalue activities that we perform in order to get something else
Embodied nature of cognition and emotion
Hold a marker with teeth, nod while listening to something
System justification theory
The theory that people are motivated to see the existing political and social status quo as desirable, fair, and legitimate
Terror management theory
The theory that people deal with the potentially paralyzing anxiety that comes with the knowledge of the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through the preservation of a valued worldview and the conviction that they have lived up
Sleeper effect
An effect that occurs when messages from unreliable sources initially exert little influence but later cause individuals' attitudes to shift.
Message characteristics
Aspects of the message itself, including the quality of the evidence and the explicitness of its conclusions
Message quality
High quality messages convey the desirable yet novel consequences of taking action in response to the message; they often appeal to the core values of the audience and are straightforward, clear, and logical
Vividness
Vivid information embedded in a personal narrative with emotional appeal can be more persuasive than statistical facts that are objectively more informative.
Identifiable victim effect
The tendency to be more moved by the plight of a single, vivid individual than by a more abstract number of individuals
Fear
Works best if people are also given steps to avoid the fear
Culture
Korean vs. American ads
Receiver characteristics
Characteristics of the person who receives the message, including age, mood, personality, and motivation to attend to the message
Need for cognition
The degree to which people like to think deeply about things.
Mood
Creating a particular mood in the audience
Age
Younger people more susceptible
Third-person effect
The assumption by most people that "other people" are more prone to being influenced by persuasive messages (such as those in media campaigns) than they themselves are
Consumer/Political Advertising
Not much correlation between ad budget and market share. Ads might increase product loyalty, product awareness, and excited feelings
No significant correlation between the amount a candidate spends on an election and success in the election. Only a little
Agenda control
Efforts of the media to select certain events and topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues and events people think are important
Attentional biases
People attend selectively to information that confirms their original attitudes
Previous commitments
Parents, public commitments (Asch)
Thought polarization hypothesis
The hypothesis that more extended thought about a particular issue tends to produce more extreme, entrenched attitudes
Knowledge and resistance
More knowledgeable people are more resistant
Attitude inoculation
Small attacks on people's beliefs that engage their attitudes, prior commitments, and knowledge structures, enabling them to counteract a subsequent larger attack and be resistant to persuasion.
Changes in attitude certainty
The conviction or certainty of an attitude may change even if the direction or extremity do not.
Social influence
The many ways that people affect one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, and behavior that result from the comments, actions, or even the mere presence of others
Conformity
Changing one's behavior or beliefs in response to explicit or implicit pressure (whether real or imagined) from others
Compliance
Responding favorably to an explicit request by another person
Obedience
In an unequal power relationship, submitting to the demands of the more powerful person
Automatic mimicry
People mimic each other-yawning
Ideomotor action
The phenomenon whereby merely thinking about a behavior makes its actual performance more likely
Autokinetic illusion
The illusion that a stationary point of light in a completely darkened environment is moving.
Informational social influence
The influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective
Normative social influence
The influence of other people that comes from the individual's desire to avoid their disapproval, harsh judgments, and other social sanctions (for example, barbs, ostracism).
Group size
After 3-4 people, the conformity levels off
Group unanimity
Even one person standing up can reduce conformity
Expertise and status
Problems to navy bombing crews
Culture (including tight vs. loose)
Greater in interdependent cultures
Tighter nations have higher population densities, fewer resources, less-certain food supplies, less access to safe water, more risk of natural disasters, more threats from neighbors, more pathogens
Gender
Women conform a bit more. People conform more in domains they are unsure of
Difficulty (or ambiguity) of the task
Conform for more difficult ambiguous asks
Internalization vs. public compliance
Private acceptance of a proposition, orientation, or ideology vs. public acceptance
Interpretative context of disagreement
It is difficult to act independently when we don't make of things. It is easier to stand our ground when we have a clear understanding of what might be causing others to make different judgments from our own.
Influence of minority opinion
Majorities typically elicit more conformity, but often of the public compliance sort. In contrast, minorities influence fewer people, but the nature of the influence is often deeper and results in true private acceptance
Milgram experiments
People conform less when the authority seems less, and when they are physically less removed from the learner
Compliance techniques
Those directed at mind, heart, and those based on power of norms
Norm of reciprocity
A norm dictating that people should provide benefits to those who benefit them
Door-in-the-face (reciprocal concessions)
Asking someone for a very large favor that he or she will certainly refuse and then following that request with one for a smaller favor (which tends to be seen as a concession that the target will feel compelled to honor
That's-not-all
Adding something to an original offer, thus creating some pressure to reciprocate
Foot-in-the-door
A compliance technique in which a person makes an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies, followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest
Compliance and positive and negative mood
People are more charitable and affirmative when in a good mood. This is also due to mood maintenance.
Guilt can make people comply more.
Negative-state relief hypothesis
The idea that people engage in certain actions, such as agreeing to a request, to relieve their negative feelings and feel better about themselves
Reactance theory
A motivational reaction to offers, persons, rules, or regulations that threaten or eliminate specific behavioral freedoms.
Norm-based approaches
People follow the norm
Descriptive norms
People's perceptions of how most people behave in a given context
Prescriptive norms
People's perceptions of what behaviors are generally approved of or frowned on by others