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COURSE NOTES: Social



	Based on the course PSY/SOC 301, taught at The Sage Colleges by Prof. Susan Cloninger. This class uses the following textbook, which provides the chapter organization that you see on the menu on the left side of this page: Myers, D. (2005). Social Psychology (8th ed.) New York: McGraw Hill.

Chapter 2:

The Self in a Social World

Example of a Research Report

Example of a report of a journal article, related to Chapter 2, The Self (and an example to keep in mind as a model for your class reports). (Of course, your reports will need to be written in prose according to the description on the course syllabus.)

REFERENCE:

Sentyrz, S. M., & Bushman, B. M. (1998). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the thinnest one of all? Effects of self-awareness on consumption of full-fat, reduced-fat, and no-fat products. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 944-949.

SUBJECTS:

college students
320 (160 men, 160 women)
enrolled in psychology courses
in subject pool
volunteers, who received extra course credit for being in the study

PRETEST:

questionnaires about eating habits

EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION:

experimental group: seated at a desk in front of a large one-way mirror
control group: same, except mirror was covered by a curtain
random assignment to either group (by toss of a coin!)

THEN, BOTH GROUPS WERE TOLD THEY WERE PARTICIPATING IN A NATIONAL CONSUMER RESEARCH PROJECT

to evaluate the quality and taste of different types of cream cheese
given to Ss: plate; knife; bag of Lender's plain bagulettes; and 3 containers of Philadelphia brand cream cheese: regular (100 calories per 2 Tbsp; 10 g fat) light (70 calories per 2 Tbsp; 5 g fat) fat-free (30 calories per 2 Tbsp; 0 g fat)
Ss then rated each type of cream cheese on 4 dimensions: flavor zest texture aftertaste

THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE: How much of each cream cheese did S eat? Determined by weighing each container after S was finished.

RESULTS: Experimental Ss (mirror) ate less regular (fatty) cream cheese than did control Ss (no mirror).

THEORETICAL INTERPRETATION: The results confirm the prediction from self-awareness theory: that a mirror increases self-focused attention, which in turn makes people aware of their shortcomings, and they try to overcome these shortcomings by eating less fatty food.

PRACTICAL INTERPRETATION: The article says, "Something as simple as a mirror on a refrigerator may influence people to avoid high fat foods."

Chapter 2: The Self in a Social World

Who am I?
What is the self?

Philosopher David Hume: self as a fundamental, unlearned concept. "The idea of the self is the idea of something in a person that remains identical through time. I have the idea that I remain the same person despite the changes that occur in me. But, since I cannot locate in myself an element that is always present and never changes, the idea of such a self has no basis in experience."

Psychological (and sociological) approaches to the self

"I"
"me"

Just to make a point, quickly write 4 sentences using the word "I," and 4 sentences using "me."

How are the sentences different?

George Herbert Mead

"I": the self as a spontaneous actor
"me": the self as seen from the imagined perspective of others

William James

"I": the subjective self; passing thoughts
"me": the objective self; the self as an objective of awareness
spiritual me
social me
material me

One self or many selves?

"Properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their mind. ... But as the individuals who carry the images fall naturally into classes, we may practically say that he has as many different social selves as there are distinct groups of persons about whose opinion he cares." (William James, 1890)

Research (summarized by Myers) shows that...

social surroundings affect self-awareness.
self-interest colors social judgments.
self-concern motivates social behavior.

SELF-CONCEPT: Who am I?

self-concept: an image of who we are, due to self-awareness

self-schema

components of the self-concept
"cognitive generalizations about the self, derived from past experience, that organize and guide the processing of self-related information contained in an individual's social experiences" (Markus, 1977, p. 64)
examples: a good athlete; a loyal friend; a tone-deaf musician

self-reference effect

tendency to anchor perception and information on our own self-centeredness

possible selves

what we could become
"individuals' ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming" (Markus & Nurius, 1986, p. 954)
influences motivation

self-esteem

evaluation of our worth
William James proposed that self-esteem = success / aspiration
can be measured globally, or in specific areas (academic self-esteem, social self-esteem, sexual self-esteem, etc.)
As the next slide shows, we not only boost our own self-esteem, but also think favorably of close friends... [graph presented in lecture]

The "social self" is rooted in social experience.

Development of the Social Self

The roles we play

Social comparison

social identity

Success and failure experiences

Other people's judgments

the looking-glass self (Cooley)

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Perceiver has expectations.
Perceiver acts toward target.
Target responds, matching expectations.
(and then back again to 1.)

(Have you ever been the victim of a self-fulfilling prophesy? Or have you benefited from it?)

What can "the self" tell us about love?

Consider this research:
- fundamental idea: People find support for their existing self-concepts. They gravitate toward relationships in which their partners see them as they see themselves.
- We may call this "self-verification theory."
- (Reference: Swann, W. B., Jr., Hixon, J. G., & La Ronde, C. (1992). Embracing the bitter "truth": Negative self-concepts and marital commitment. Psychological Science.
Consider:
- If I think well of myself, I associate with others who think well of me.
- If I think badly of myself (low self-esteem), I associate with others who hold me in contempt. Why?
Self-verification theory suggests that at least then, I know what to expect of them. I can make accurate predictions about social relationships.
Ss: 95 married couples (41 were horse ranch patrons; 54 were in a shopping mall
- in central Texas
- paid $5
- age 19 to 78, mean 32.1
- 87.8% Caucasians
- 91% had some college education
- spouses knew each other average 9 years
- married average 6 years
Method:
seated far apart and promised confidentiality
questionaire presented as investigation of "the relation between personality and close relationships"
rated self-views and self-worth in 5 areas, compared to other people their own age and gender, on scale 0 to 9
- intellectual capacity
- physical attractiveness
- athletic ability
- social skills
- aptitude for arts and music
They also rated their partner.
RESULTS:
- ratings by self and by partner were consistent. [graph presented in lecture]
- It seems logical that we would be more committed to relationships if the partner thinks positively of us. Is it so?

Measure of commitment based on 9-point ratings of

desire to remain in the relationship
plans to remain in the relationship
relationship satisfaction
time spent together
amount of talking
discussion of problems and worries
disclosure of personal matters

Commitment to spouse
- People were committed to spouses who verified their self-concepts. They were only committed to spouses who thought favorably of them if they also thought favorably of themselves. [graph presented in lecture]
- Think about it. We are committed to people who confirm our self-view, not to those who would help us become better.
What would you tell someone, as a friend or therapist, to change this pattern?

SELF AND CULTURE

individualism (independent self)
collectivism (interdependent self)

INDEPENDENT: individualism

personal identity
me (personal goals)
disapproves of conformity
"To thine own self be true"
individualistic western cultures; US, Britain, Australia

INTERDEPENDENT: collectivism

social identity
we (group goals)
disapproves of egotism
"No one is an island"
collectivistic Asian & third world cultures; China, Africa, Latin America

Individualistic vs. Collectivistic Cultures

higher/lower economic growth
more/fewer lawsuits
value equality, freedom, enjoying life/ value social order, humility, honoring parents and elders, preserving public image

SELF-KNOWLEDGE

Explaining Our Behavior:

Nisbett & Schachter's placebo shock study --unaware of effect of placebo on shock tolerance.
Unaware of impact of weather, sleep, etc. on moods.

Predicting Our Behavior:

Inaccurate about behavior in lab & real life.

Predicting our feelings

what makes happiness?
will we have self-control (sex, smoking)?

The Wisdom and Delusions of Self-Analysis:

Aware of results of thinking, but not process.
Analysis of feelings can lead to erroneous statements about attitudes (Wilson et al, 1989).
gut-level choices are more consistent!
Self-reports are often untrustworthy.

PERCEIVED SELF-CONTROL

Self-Efficacy

Locus of Control

Internal locus of control.
External locus of control.

Learned Helplessness Versus Self-Determination

Implications for health & happiness.
Study by Langer & Rodin on nursing home residents.

Self-efficacy expectations influence what we try to do. They should be realistic, or we may find ourselves in dangerous situations.

Self-efficacy expectations that are derived from our own accomplishments are generally reliable.

Learned helplessness

uncontrollable bad events
perceived lack of control
learned helplessness

SELF-SERVING BIAS

Explanations for Positive and Negative Events

causes of accidents, successes
who does housework?
what causes good/bad grades?

Can We All Be Better than Average?

Self-Esteem Motivation

Example of the self-serving bias: survey in 1997 by US News & World Report, "Who is going to heaven"

OJ Simpson: 19%
Dennis Rodman: 28%
Bill Clinton: 52%
Princess Diana: 60% (5 months before her death)
Oprah Winfrey: 66%
Mother Teresa: 79%
ME (student him/herself): >87%

The Dark Side of Self-Esteem

Violent or cruel behavior toward others
Insecurity
Think about "secure" vs. "defensive" self-esteem.

Self-serving Bias

Explaining Positive and Negative Events

Can We All Be Better than Average?

Unrealistic Optimism

False Consensus and Uniqueness

Explaining Self-Serving Bias

Reflections on Self-Efficacy and Self-Serving Bias

The Self-Serving Bias as Adaptive.

Protects from anxiety, depression.
Motivates better performance.

The Self-Serving Bias as Maladaptive.

Expect more compensation.
Distorted judgment.

SELF-PRESENTATION

False Modesty

(has no place in a job interview!)

Self-Handicapping

(setting yourself up for failure, to preserve self-esteem)

Impression Management

self-presentation
self-monitoring

Mark Snyder

self-observation and control of expressive behavior and self-presentation

Sample Items Measuring Self-Monitoring

I would probably make a good actor. (agree)
- (acting factor)
At parties, I let others keep the jokes and stories going. (disagree)
- (extraversion factor)
When I am uncertain how to act in social situations, I look to the behavior of others for cues. (agree)
- (other-directedness factor)

Average Self-Monitoring Scores [graph presented in lecture]

stage actors > undergraduates (Stanford) > psychiatric inpatients
(based on Snyder, 1974)

TEST YOURSELF: What do you look for in a dating partner?

faithful and loyal
financial resources
honest
kind and sincere
physical attractiveness
recreational interests
responsible
sex appeal
similar educational level
similar values and beliefs
social status

Preference for dating partners

by high self-monitors:
- financial resources
- physical attractiveness
- recreational interests
- sex appeal
- social status
by low self-monitors
- faithful and loyal
- honest
- kind and sincere
- responsible
- similar educational level
- similar values and beliefs
- final thoughts about the self