Lecture 05 & 06

• Self-Concept is the knowledge of the self and knowing there is a self is pretty human but not totally.
• Weavers: are people who experience muscle growth, fatigue, and weight loss.
• The solution to Weavers' problem is mirrors.
• Some birds "mate" with mirrors.
• Introspection is a way to know ourselves theoretically.
• Perceptions of our own behaviors are another way to know ourselves theoretically.
• Comparing ourselves to other people is another way to know ourselves theoretically

  • you think about yourself differently depending on your environment and the people you're around
• Autobiographical Memory: draw from memory/older experiences to observe oursleves

  • are another way to know ourselves theoretically.
• Explaining why we did things: thoughts, behaviors is a test of self-knowledge.
• Predicting our future emotions in response to events (affective forecasting) is another test of self-knowledge.
• We remember things in a way that makes us seem more positive.
• Self-esteem is the value people place on themselves, and it can affect how we feel about ourselves.
• Self-esteem has both trait and state elements, and for most people, it is pretty stable over their lifetime.
• There is mixed evidence on whether objective differences exist between people with high and low self-esteem.
• Self-esteem peaks at age 50 and then declines, according to Orth et al, 2012.
• We draw upon memories to inform self-concept, but not all memories are equally represented or accurate.
• Higher self-esteem is associated with higher life satisfaction, higher self-efficacy, and more confidence in being liked by others
• During an interview, if you get sexually harassed, you can test your self-knowledge by explaining how you feel and predicting how you will feel in future in response to various experiences.
• We are pretty bad at understanding reasons for own behaviors and predicting how we will feel in future in response to various experiences.
• Perception of our own behaviors is difficult as we know internal states are difficult to interpret.
• Watching our behaviors and inferring internal states/traits is a way to know ourselves.
• Downward Social Comparisons: involve comparing self to others

  • comparing ourselves to others below us to make us feel better about ourselves
• Positive Illusion may be adaptive as it can lead to more confidence and more success.
• The more often downward social comparisons are made, the better they feel.
• Healthy people not having positive illusion is evidence that those with high self-esteem have been "selected for"
• Self-Serving Cognitions protect our esteem as we can blame other things, not us, for failures.
• Two approaches to avoiding downward social comparisons are to be happy and Bask in Reflected Glory (BIRG), or to be jealous and social distance occurs.
• Intrinsic explanations for successes and extrinsic explanations for failures are a part of Self-Serving Cognitions.
• Self-Serving Cognitions involve taking credit for success and distance from failure, passing tests with phrases like "I studied really hard and I'm pretty smart", and failing tests with phrases like "The instructor is terrible and the test doesn't make sense".
• Depressed individuals are more accurate about their future probabilities, their own abilities, and how others perceive them.
• Downward social comparisons can't always be avoided.
• Overdoing positive illusion can lead to people being viewed negatively.
• There are no gender differences in self-esteem.
• North Americans score higher than East Asians on self-esteem.
• Drug abuse, sexual overindulgence, spiritual ecstasy/religion, binge-eating, suicide, Netflix binge, etc are methods of “Stop thinking about it” (Baumeister, 1991).
• In North America, some minority groups score higher on average on self-esteem.
• Ought self is the traits you feel you should have, would help you meet duties and responsibilities.
• When people do think about themselves, it tends to be negative.
• Actual self is a representation of the traits/attributes that you believe you actually possess.
• People tend to think about themselves less than they think they do.