1. Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (7th Ed) Chapter 15 Personality Social Cognitive & Exploring the Self James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

2. Social-Cognitive Perspective  Social-Cognitive Perspective  views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons and their social context zhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v= SW9I7X9Wmqo

3. Albert Bandura  Reciprocal Determinism  the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors  Reciprocal Influences  Different people choose different environments  Our personality shapes how we interpret and react to events  Our personalities help create situations to which we react

4. Social-Cognitive Perspective

5.  Personal Control  our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless  External Locus of Control  the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate OR

6. Social-Cognitive Perspective  Internal Locus of Control  the perception that one controls one’s own fate  Learned Helplessness  the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

7. Social-Cognitive Perspective  Learned Helplessness Uncontrollable bad events Perceived lack of control Generalized helpless behavior

8. Optimist zFeel and view the world as good zThey are/feel in control zToo much can blind you to risks zPeople are the most overconfident when they are most incompetent

9. Social-Cognitive Perspective  Positive Psychology  the scientific study of optimal human functioning  aims to discover and promote conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

10. Social-Cognitive Perspective zAssessing Behavior in Situations yWe predict behavior by assessing past performance in similar situations zEvaluating the Social Cognitive Perspective yShow how situations affect and are affected by individuality yCritic: loses the individual by focusing too much on the situation

11. Exploring the Self  Currently there is a self focus in studies  Possible self  All the ways you view yourself in the future (dreams and goals)  Spotlight Effect  overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (we think we are getting way more attention than we are)

12. Self Esteem  one’s feelings of high or low self-worth  The benefits of self-esteem  Better is self-esteem is high  Low self-esteem  Depression: falling short of your hopes  Anxiety: falling short of where you aught to be  Self-esteem may be cyclical, but if you lower someone's they suffer

13. Culture and Self-Esteem zPositive/good self-esteem is important in all cultures zWe tend to… y value the things at which we excel yAttribute problems to prejudice yCompare ourselves to others like us

14. Exploring the Self  Individualism  giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications  Collectivism  giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

15. Exploring the Self Morality Defined by individuals Defined by social networks (self-based) (duty-based) Attributing Behavior reflects one’s personality Behavior reflects social behaviors and attitudes and roles Value Contrasts Between Individualism and Collectivism Concept Individualism Collectivism Self Independent Interdependent (identity from individual traits) identity from belonging) Life task Discover and express one’s Maintain connections, fit in uniqueness What matters Me--personal achievement and We-group goals and solidarity; fulfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and relationships Coping method Change reality Accommodate to reality Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring; confrontation acceptable harmony valued

16. Self-Serving Bias  Readiness to perceive oneself favorably  Everyone tends to  View their selves as better than average  Focus on their successes  Can be dangerous when/if illusions are threatened  To a point it’s beneficial

17. The Modern Unconscious Mind zWe spend a lot of time on autopilot zWe have a huge capacity for unconscious learning

18. Unconsciousness Involves… zSchemas that automatically control our perceptions and interpretations zPriming to stimuli that we have not paid attention to zRight-hemisphere activity (carry out activity with left hand, but don’t verbalize) zImplicit memories zEmotions that activate instantly zSelf-concepts and stereotypes that influence us

19. The Modern Unconscious Mind  Terror-Management Theory  Faith in one’s worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death