1. Chapter 3: Social Self Part 2: Sept. 10, 2010

2. (cont. from part 1…) 5.Culture & self-concept: – “Who am I?...” test – Individualism (I) vs. collectivism (C) I cultures = U.S., Australia, Great Britain, Canada… C cultures = Venezuela, Colombia, Pakistan, China… What is the focus of self-definitions in these cultures? Markus’ research on the self as part of a group:

3. Self-esteem Positive and negative evaluations of ourselves – Value different attributes that contribute to SE – What purposes are served by SE? 1. 2. Correlates of high SE: Correlates of low SE:

4. Contributors to Self-Esteem Self-discrepancy theory – – Consider match between how we see ourselves & how we’d like to see ourselves Current self-concept vs. ‘ideal self’ We differ in degree of self-awareness: – Most people aren’t self-focused but situations can cause internal reflection – What does high self-focus/awareness relate to? – How does it affect our behaviors? » Halloween study – kids and free candy! Results?

5. Self-regulation Baumeister’s research on limits of self-control – It requires lots of cognitive resources Self-control is a limited resource What are his research results? How to re-energize our self-control? – 1. – 2.

6. Boosting self-concepts Our tendency to overestimate our abilities may serve a purpose related to self-concept – “implicit egotism” – enhances self-assessments – Self-serving cognitions – 1. Take credit for successes: 2. Self-handicapping:

7. Self-serving cognitions (cont.): – Self-handicapping: » What is its purpose? – 3. Identifying with groups and BIRGing: » ‘we won’ versus ‘they lost’ » What is it?

8. – 4. Downward social comparisons » How do we reconcile results on this vs. BIRGing? – Example: sibling rivalry