knowing oneself

• Self-Concept


  Considered as a "map" or "mental picture"
• Self-Concept


  A relatively stable set of perceptions one holds to oneself
• Components of Self-Esteem

  • COGNITIVE
  • AFFECTIVE
  • BEHAVIORAL
• SELF-CONCEPT


  • More highly structured and difficult to change
  • A portion may not actually be included in the self
  • Area that represents the part of ourselves we invent
• Components of Self-Concept

  • Self-Image
  • Self-Esteem
• Contexts and Self-Concept

  • Culture
  • Relationship
  • Gender
  • Individual
• Interpersonal Relationships

  • In school programs designed to “enhance positive self-perceptions” result of such programs is that children fail to learn respect for others
  • In ego-threatening situations, people with inflated self-esteem are liked significantly less than people with lower self-esteem
  • Unrealistically inflated self-appraisal can precipitate a culture of bullying characterized by persistent teasing, name-calling, or social exclusion
• Self


  Considered as "Territory"
• Sources of Self-Concept

  • Biology & Genetics
  • Self-Evaluations
  • Social Roles
  • Social Comparison
  • Feedback From Others
  • Cultural
• Components of Self-Image

  • Cultural Context
  • Relationship Context
• Characteristics of Self-Concept

  • Inherently subjective
  • Multifaced
  • Dynamic
  • Influenced by self-disclosure
• SELF


  • Very fluid and in a state of constant change
  • There is more to self than is included within the self-concept
  • Area that represents our untapped potential
• Academic Performance


  • The APS task force found that artificially inflating students’ self-esteem can decrease grades
  • Receiving passing grades that don’t actually reflect academic performance in K–12 classes can cause college students to become offended, demoralized, or angry when they don’t achieve the grades they believe they deserve
• SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY


  A process where we develop expectations of people or events, express those expectations verbally and/or nonverbally, others adjust their behavior to match our messages
• Low Self-Esteem vs. High Self-Esteem

  • Low: depression
  • High: happiness & satisfaction
• Purposes of Self-Disclosure for strangers

  1. Reciprocity

  2. Impression formation
• Self-fulfilling prophecy


  1. We develop expectations of people or events

  2. We express those expectations verbally and/or nonverbally

  3. Others adjust their behavior to match our verbal and/or nonverbal messages

  4. Our expectations become reality

  5. The confirmation of our expectation strengthens our original belief
• Risks of Self-Disclosure

  • Others may not accept what we reveal or may like us less or reject us
  • Others might use information we have disclosed against us
  • Self-disclosure can hurt others
  • Online disclosures lack security
• Cyberself & Self-Disclosure

  Every status update and tweet we post is a disclosure that provides information about who we are, what we value, how we are feeling, and where we are going
• Cyberself & Self-Comparisons

  The tendency towards social comparison on Facebook seems to be especially important for females, mediating the effects of self-esteem
• Young women with a positive self-esteem use Facebook as an additional means to maintain their social network
• Cyberself

  • Social network sites (SNS) like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter have created new outlets for people to create an online extension of themselves
• Purposes of Self-Disclosure for friends

  1. Relationship maintenance and enhancement

  2. Self-clarification
• Benefits of Self-Disclosure

  • Increased self-knowledge
  • Self-disclosure can be cathartic
  • Self-disclosure may provide affirmation and new perspectives on who we are and what we have done
  • Self-disclosure can be ethical
  • Self-disclosure often results in reciprocal and improved communication
• Cyberself & Self-Comparisons

  People do not feel inferior when comparing themselves to people they know well because they were not fooled by their self-portrayals, but they are more prone to believe that strangers do live better lives and comparisons with them are more depressing
• Types of individuals

  • Males
  • Females
• Young women with low self-esteem have a high tendency to social comparison and express themselves on Facebook to improve their self-esteem
• Cyberself & Self-Esteem

  People with low self-esteem tend to post more negative information, and people are less likely to respond to downbeat messages
• Guidelines for Self-Disclosure


  1. Is the other person important to you?

  2. Is the risk of disclosing reasonable?

  3. Is self-disclosure appropriate?

  4. Is the disclosure reciprocated?

  5. Will the effect be constructive?
• Pygmalion effect

  psychological phenomenon in which high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area and low expectations lead to worse.
• Galatea effect

  When expectations function as self-fulfilling prophecies with positive consequences.