facial expressions and movements can alter rather than merely reflect what we feel.
Self-reports are commonly used in social psychology research but may be biased, because some people tend toward extreme responding, are more likely to agree than disagree, and/or are affected by other factors like context and question wording. Surveys are advantageous because they are relatively cheap, easy to construct, and facilitate gathering large quantities of data quickly. However, if researchers are interested uncovering cause and effect, then they should opt for controlled experimentation.
People are intrinsically motivated when they engage in the activity for its own sake but are extrinsically motivated when they do so for reasons other than for its own sake. Overjustification occurs when external rewards undermine our intrinsic motivation. Self-esteem or our evaluation of how we are doing is closely linked to the quality of our relationships with other people or the extent to which they like and accept us—which is called the sociometer hypothesis.
Strategic self-presentation can serve self-enhancement, and people differ in the extent to which they self-monitor or carefully regulate the impressions they make. Self-evaluation maintenance explains how we make comparisons only when those comparisons are likely to boost our self-esteem. Strategies that we use to self-enhance include comparing ourselves to people who are doing better or worse, making self-serving judgments, ingratiating ourselves to others, self-promotion, and self-handicapping. People often feel like others are paying more attention to them than they in fact are, that others can “see” how they feel and that they are unbiased and better than most people: They may self-handicap by creating obstacles to performing well on task.
Self-regulation is another key component of the self and may be compromised because our willpower is a limited resource and may be thwarted when people ironically end up doing the opposite of what they intended.
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Key Terms
Acquiescence Bias, 123
Actual Self, 114
Better-Than-Average Effect, 132
Bias Blind Spot, 134
Context Effects, 124
Counterfactual Thinking, 131
Downward Social Comparison, 130
Extremity Bias, 123
Extrinsic Motivation, 121
Facial Feedback Hypothesis, 121
False Consensus Effect, 131
False Uniqueness Effect, 132
Ideal Self, 114
Illusion of Transparency, 135
Impression Management, 134
Ingratiation, 136
Interpersonal Self, 134
Intrinsic Motivation, 121
Introspection, 116
Ironic Process of Mental Control, 143
Ought Self, 114
Overjustification Effect, 121
Response Effects, 123
Schemas, 113
Self, 111
Self-Concept, 113
Self-Discrepancy Theory, 114
Self-Esteem, 125
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model (SEM), 128
Self-Handicapping, 139
Self-Monitoring, 134
Self-Perception Theory, 119
Self-Promotion, 130
Self-Protection, 130
Self-Regulation, 141
Self-Report, 122
Self-Schema, 113
Self-Serving Attributional Bias, 133
Self-Verification, 145
Social Comparison, 128
Sociometer Hypothesis, 126
Spotlight Effect, 135
Surveys, 125
Theory of Social Comparison Processes, 128
Upward Social Comparison, 130
Willpower, 141
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Think Further!
What is the self? Does the definition in this chapter make sense to you? Are there any problems or disadvantages to defining it this way?
Define and give examples of self-concept, self-esteem, the interpersonal self, and the executive self.
Define and then sketch out your actual, ideal, and ought selves. What feelings are typically triggered by wide discrepancies between the selves? Do you experience any of these feelings?
Compare and contrast introspection and self-perception as ways of learning about the self. If you could only use one strategy to understand who you are, which would you choose and why?
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using self-reports to investigate social psychological phenomena? If you decided to use self-reports for a research project, how would you determine whether or not your participants were demonstrating response effects?
Willpower is often described as analogous to a muscle that can be strengthened with practice. Explain what this means. Pick an activity over which you wish you had more control. How might you practice to strengthen your willpower here?
Suggested Readings
Baumeister, R. F. (1987). How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 163–176.
Bem, D. J. (1967). Self-perception: An alternative interpretation of cognitive dissonance phenomena. Psychological Review, 74, 183–200.
Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Kwang, T., & Swann, W. B. (2010). Do people embrace praise even when they feel unworthy? A review of critical tests of self-enhancement versus self-verification. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 263–280.
Lee, H. I., Leung, A. K. y., & Kim, Y. H. (2014). Unpacking East–West differences in the extent of self-enhancement from the perspective of face versus dignity culture. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8, 314–327.
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