There are three parts to the self:
– The Individual Self:
– The Relational Self
– The Executive Self
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Model from Baumeister,1998
also Sedikides & Brewer, 2004
Individual Self
Reflective Self
Executive Self
The Individual Self
Refers to thinking about the self and who you are
– Self-Serving Biases
– Actor-Observer effect
– Implicit Egotism
– Self-Concept
The Individual Self: Self-Concept
DEF: The set of beliefs we have about ourselves and about what we are like.
• Influences how we process and recall information about the self and others
Possible Selves
Def: The different selves or roles that a person plays, similar to an actor might in a play. These selves prescribe particular types of behaviors in certain social situations.
All possible selves are based on core identity
• Actual Self - the person you are right now
Self Guides - Possible selves
• Ideal Self - The self it is your goal to be
• Ought Self - The self it is your duty to be
• Feared Self - The self you fear becoming
• Our view of ourselves includes how well our actual self matches our self-guides
– Discrepancy – a mismatch between our actual self and a self-guide
• Discrepancies result in emotional reactions
The Individual Self
Refers to thinking about the self and who you are
– Self-Serving Biases
– Actor-Observer effect
– Implicit Egotism
– Self-Concept
– Possible Selves (Marcus & Nurius, 1986)
- Motives for Self-Knowledge (Swann)
Motives for Self-Knowledge
We have three motives:
– Appraisal:
– Consistency:
– Self-Enhancement:
Motives for Self-Knowledge
How do we know that self-enhancement is best?
– Because we hold Positive Illusions:
– We tend to view the world in a slightly more positive light than we should (Taylor & Brown, 1988)
Implicit theories of the Self
We unconsciously view ability as
Dweck, 2000
– Changeable: Incremental theorists believe we are able to increase (incrementally) the amount of ability that we have
– Unchangeable: Entity theorists believe that we are born with a fixed amount of ability that will not ever change.
Implicit theories of the Self
What happens after failure?
Entity theorists become more self-protective
Incremental theorists become more motivated
Moral of the story (Optimistic thought of the day):
It’s better to be an incrementalist! It’s an approach to life, not strictly a personality trait. You can become more incremental with effort!
The Individual Self
Refers to thinking about the self and who you are
– Self-Serving Biases
– Actor-Observer effect
– Implicit Egotism
– Self-Concept
– Possible Selves (Marcus & Nurius, 1986)
– Motives for Self-Knowledge
- Self-Awareness
Self-Awareness
The ability to look at what you are doing and interpret what you are like based on your actions (Duval & Wicklund, 1972)
The Relational Self
Refers to thinking about the self in relation to other people
– Reflected Appraisal to gain self-knowledge
• We view ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their perceptions of us into our selfconcept.
• AKA Looking-Glass Self
• Not necessarily accurate! Why not?
If a close other excels in unimportant
activity then people BIRG
If a close other excels in a personally
relevant activity then people feel envy
distance self from the person
decrease importance of activity
can lead to sabotage
Self-Presentation
A strategy by which people convey an impression of what they are like to others
• There are two motives for selfpresentation:
1) Present a Positive Self
•
2) Construct Image of the Self
•
The Relational Self
How we view ourselves influences how we view others
People tend to judge others based on their possession of the traits or the judger.
– We of course are high in all of the important traits and abilities
– If we are low in a trait or ability, it isn’t really important
Bridge between