Developing individual in society Lecture 12: 22/03/2021 The Social Self Lecturer: Dr. Ava Horowitz Self-awareness - The "me" and "I". - When you are able to evaluate and understand yourself as an object. - Easiest way to understand this is our ability to understand it is us we are looking at in the mirror. Other species (8 in total) are also capable of this. (Gallup, 1970). The Multifaceted Self Self-Schemas - A complex cognitive structure. o Contain components of our 'self' o And the relationships between these. - We have a schema for how we are (self-schematic), these are clear and important. - There are less clear and unimportant views of ourself. (aschematic). Self-discrepancy Theory - Higgins (1987 ; 1998) - Three parts of the self-schema. o Actual self o Ideal self (Strive to be) o Ought self (Strive not to be) - A discrepancy produces emotions. - A difference between actual-ideal leads to dejection. - A large difference between actual-ought leads to agitation. Social roles & Self-concept - Roles are fundamental to our self-concept; they define who we are. - More roles are more characteristics we associate with the role. - This can lead to a problem of a unitary identity, a self with just one component. (Linville, 1985, 1987). o If you only have one role in life and all of the elements of self-concept with that, this can lead to you not knowing who you really are. o However, later in life a unitary identity is something to look for according to Erikson. (Erikson, 195ff, late adolescence).
The Future Self - Future self is often viewed more positively than the current self. - The future self often has a higher well-being. - The future self often has a higher life satisfaction. When compared to peers, we expect our future self to: - Experience more positive events. - Experience less negative events. Making progress: - We expect our positive progression to increase. - We expect less negative progress. More positive self in the distant future than the near future. · Affect (emotions) · (e.g. higher joviality & self-assurance, lower fear & hostility) · Traits · (e.g. higher agreeableness & conscientiousness, lower neuroticism) · Open-ended self-narratives · Positivity judged by participant and coders · (Heller et al., 2011) Understanding the self Self-perception Theory - Bem (19ff7) - Argues there is no first-hand self-knowledge. - We cannot just observe ourselves to find out what we're like. - Instead, we must observe ourselves just like we observe others. - We conclude what we are like after the fact.
Self-motives & Search for self-knowledge 3 information-search motives have been identified to understand what we're like. - A motive for accuracy (Self-assessment). To obtain an accurate and certain picture of our self. - A motive for confirmation (Self-verification). To check that you are like you think you are. - A motive for positivity (Self-enhancement). To maintain this positive self-image by focusing on the positive and avoiding the negative. Comparing these motives - Sedikides