CHAPTER 6 - SELF AND PERSONALITY WHO AMI . The nature of ourselves strongly inf 1 uences the ways we perceive and interact with our social worlds . People all over the world are able to think of themselves in terms of both abstract psychological attributes ("I am creative") and concrete roles and relationships ("I am a younger brother") o The ways in which they think of themselves in these two ways varies across cultures · Our survival and f i tness depend both on the things that we accomplish as individuals and on our abilities to interact successfully with others . How we are ultimately distinct from other or how we are closely connected with others is the most researched psychological dimension across culture INDEPENDENT VERSUS INTERDEPENDENT VIEWS OF SELF · The self can be thought to derive its identity from its inner attributes - these are assumedtoreflectanessenceoftheindividualinthattheyare: o The basis of the individual's identity o Stable across the lifespan o Perceived to be unique o are self-contained in that they are perceived to arise from the individual and not from interactions with others o Viewed as signif i cant for regulating behaviour o Individuals feel an obligation to publicly advertise themselves in ways consistent with these attributes o Referred to as the independent view of self o View fi gure on page 201 · Independent selves tend to be viewed as distinct, autonomous entities whose identities are grounded in a variety of internal component features, and who interact with other similarly independent entities · The self can be viewed as a relational entity that is fundamentally connected to, and sustained by, a number of signif i cant relationships · Viewing oneself as part of an encompassing social relationship means that behavior is recognized as dependent upon perceptions of others thoughts, feelings, and actions · In this view, individuals are not perceived as separate and distinct entities but as participants in a larger social unit o Theirexperienceofidentityisreflexiveinthatitiscontingentontheir position relative to others, and their relationships with those others o Referred to as the interdependent view of self o View fi gure on page 203
· These cultural dif f erences in the self concept can also be observed in brain activation patterns o The medial-prefrontal cortex is an area that has previously been linked to self representations · Self concept shapes much about how people think-not just about themselves but about the world more generally · Our minds are like a computer - they both take in information, execute various programs or heuristics to process that information, and reach conclusion regarding the info considered o The mind, however, has a self-concept · Our self concepts serve a number of key functions o Organize the info that we have about ourselves o Direct our attention to info that is viewed to be relevant o Shape the concerns we have o Guide us in our choice of relationship partners and the kinds of relationships we maintain o Inf I uence how we