Participants overestimated the extent to which their nervousness was apparent8 Savitsky & Gilovich (2003, Study 1)
Self-reference effect
The tendency to process efficiently and remember well information related to oneself
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Self-concept
Exercise
Who am I?
I I I I I am... am… am… am… am…
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Self-schema
The exact beliefs by which a person defines himself/herself Beliefs about self that organize and guide processing of self-relevant information
Gujarati Vaishnav parents invite correspondence from never married Gujarati well settled, preferably green card holder from respectable family for green card holder daughter 29 years, 5'4", good looking, doing CPA. Gujarati Brahmin family invites correspondence from a well cultured, beautiful Gujarati girl for 29 years, 5'8", 145 lbs. 30 Handsome looking, well settled boy.
An official of the Japanese Bar Association explaining why there are half as many lawyers in his country as in the Greater Washington area alone
“If an American is hit on the head by a ball at the ballpark, he sues. If a Japanese person is hit on the head he says, ‘It’s my honor. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been standing there.’”
0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0
about the confederate about the participant
Participants recalled more of what the confederate said about them than what the confederate said about herself Kahan & Johnson (1992)
SOSC221 Fundamentals of Social Psychology
Self
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1. 2.
Self at the centre Self-concept
Development Culture Self-evaluations
3. 4.
Self-serving biases Self-presentation
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Social roles
Any pattern of behavior involving certain rights, obligations and duties expected of a person by others and the society E.g., university student, parent, salesperson, government official, nurse, wife
Upward social comparison: comparison with people who are better off or more skilled than we are
helps us to improve but may generate bad feelings
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Other people’s judgments
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Possible selves
Images of what we dream of or dread becoming in the future
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Self-concept: Development
Forces which shape our self-concept
Social roles Social identity Social comparisons Success and failure Other people’s judgments
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28 SWM, 6'1", 160 lbs. Handsome, artistic, ambitious, seeks attractive WF, 24-29, for friendship, romance, and permanent partnership. Very attractive, independent SWF, 29, 5'6" 110 lbs., love fine dining, the theater, gardening, and quiet evenings at home. In search of handsome SWM 28-34 with similar interests.
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Participants exaggerated the prominence of their own contributions to the group discussion Gilovich, Medvec & Savitsky (2000, Study 3)
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Illusion of transparency
“I am my own heaven and hell!”
~J.C.F. von Schiller, German poet
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Spotlight effect
The belief that others are paying more attention to one’s appearance and behavior than they really are
prioritizing goals of one’s groups (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly
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I should take into consideration my parents’ advice when making education or career plans. I feel my fate is intertwined with the fate of those around me. I prefer to be direct and forthright when dealing with people I’ve just met. I feel good when I cooperate with others. I am comfortable with being singled out for praise or rewards.
Looking glass self: the tendency to incorporate other people’s judgments about us into our self-concept
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Self-concept: Culture
Individualistic societies
How to be a good wife?
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How to be a woman?
How to be a good wife?
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Social identity
The “we” aspect of self-concept, coming from our social group memberships (e.g., ethnicity, religion) Each group membership comes with certain rights, obligations and duties expected
prioritizing one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group memberships
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Collectivistic societies
The illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
observer's rating of apparent nervousness self-rating of apparent nervousness
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Self at the centre
Normal? Abnormal? /apps/paranoidthoughts/accounts/default.aspx