3: The Self
- Page ID
- 257074
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\(\newcommand{\longvect}{\overrightarrow}\)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\ket}[1]{\left| #1 \right>}\)
\(\newcommand{\bra}[1]{\left< #1 \right|}\)
\(\newcommand{\braket}[2]{\left< #1 \vphantom{#2} \right| \left. #2 \vphantom{#1} \right>}\)
\(\newcommand{\braopket}[3]{\left< #1 \vphantom{#2}\vphantom{#3} \right| #2 \vphantom{#1}\vphantom{#3} \left| #3 \vphantom{#1}\vphantom{#2} \right>}\)
\(\newcommand{\qmvec}[1]{\mathbf{\vec{#1}}}\)
\(\newcommand{\op}[1]{\hat{\mathbf{#1}}}\)
\(\newcommand{\expect}[1]{\langle #1 \rangle}\)
\(\newcommand{\dfn}[1]{\emph{\textbf{#1}}}\)
Chapter Overview
In this chapter, you will explore how our sense of self develops and is shaped by our thoughts, feelings, and social experiences. You will examine the self-concept and the ways self-awareness, self-complexity, and self-discrepancies influence how we understand ourselves. You will also investigate self-esteem, including how people evaluate and maintain their sense of self-worth and how these processes may vary across social and cultural contexts. Finally, you will consider how interactions with others shape the social self through processes such as social comparison, social identity, labeling, self-presentation, reputation management, and self-monitoring. Together, these concepts illustrate the important role that both individual and social factors play in shaping how we see, evaluate, and present ourselves.
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. The Cognitive Self: The Self-Concept
- Define and describe the self-concept, its influence on information processing, and its diversity across social groups.
- Describe the concepts of self-complexity and self-concept clarity, and explain how they influence social cognition and behavior.
- Differentiate the various types of self-awareness and self-consciousness.
- Describe self-awareness, self-discrepancy, and self-affirmation theories, and their interrelationships.
- Explore how we sometimes overestimate the accuracy with which other people view us.
2. The Feeling Self: Self-Esteem
- Define self-esteem and explain how it is measured by social psychologists.
- Explore findings indicating diversity in self-esteem in relation to culture, gender, and age.
- Provide examples of ways that people attempt to increase and maintain their self-esteem.
- Outline the benefits of having high self-esteem.
- Review the limits of self-esteem, with a focus on the negative aspects of narcissism.
3. The Social Self: The Role of the Social Situation
- Describe the concept of the looking-glass self and how it affects our self-concept.
- Explore the impact of the labeling bias, self-labeling, and internalized prejudice on people’s self-concepts, particularly in those from marginalized social groups.
- Define social comparison, and summarize how people use it to define their self-concepts and self-esteem.
- Give examples of the use of upward and downward social comparison and their influences on social cognition and affect.
- Explain the concept of social identity and why it is important to human behavior.
- Describe how self-evaluation maintenance theory helps to explain how we react when other people’s behaviors threaten our sense of self.
- Describe the concept of self-presentation and the various strategies we use to portray ourselves to others.
- Outline the concept of reputation management and how it relates to self-presentation.
- Discuss the individual-difference variable of self-monitoring and how it relates to the ability and desire to self-present.
- 3.1: Prelude to The Self
- This page examines the rapid rise of social media and internet use, noting that around 2.5 billion people were online by 2014. It explores social psychologists' interests in online interactions' effects on self-perception and identity. The chapter emphasizes cognitive, affective, and social aspects of the self, detailing how online behaviors shape and reflect personal identity and relationships in both digital and real-world contexts.
- 3.2: The Cognitive Self- The Self-Concept
- This page covers the development and significance of self-concept across social groups, emphasizing its influence on cognition and behavior. It highlights self-awareness evolution from infancy, the impact of culture on self-perception, and the role of self-schemas in identity formation. The discussion includes deindividuation and its behavioral implications in group settings, self-affirmation's role in cognitive dissonance, and cultural differences in self-concept responses.
- 3.3: The Feeling Self - Self-Esteem
- This page explores self-esteem, defining it as feelings of self-worth shaped by culture, gender, and age. Key insights include measurement through the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, cultural variances, and trends related to age. It contrasts the benefits of self-esteem with the risks of narcissism, emphasizing the need for balance between self-enhancement and realistic self-assessment for healthy self-perception.
- 3.4: The Social Self - The Role of the Social Situation
- This page explores the complex interplay between social influences, self-concept, and self-esteem. Key concepts include the looking-glass self, social comparisons (downward and upward), and the impact of group identity. It addresses how self-esteem affects relationships and emphasizes strategies for self-presentation, influenced by gender and culture.
- 3.5: Thinking Like a Social Psychologist about the Self
- This page examines the self in social psychology, focusing on how cognition, emotion, and behavior shape self-perception in social contexts. It encourages introspection regarding personal identities and self-esteem, while emphasizing the influence of social groups. The significance of self-presentation and online behavior in affecting self-perception is also discussed, positioning the self as a crucial element for understanding social behavior.
- 3.6: Chapter Summary
- This page examines the self-concept, encompassing thoughts, images, and beliefs about oneself, and its impact on self-awareness and behavior, including private and public self-consciousness. It explains self-esteem as influenced by social perceptions and interactions. Key concepts like the looking-glass self, social comparison, and self-presentation demonstrate how self-views are shaped by others. It stresses the need for a balance between self-enhancement and accuracy for effective living.
- 3.7: Additional Learning Opportunities
- This page presents application activities aimed at enhancing comprehension of self-concept, self-esteem, and social dynamics. It includes personal identity writing, self-esteem evaluations, social comparison analysis, and self-presentation examination.
Thumbnail: Self Reflection. (Public Domain; via Wikimedia Commons).