Self-Understanding:

How We Come to Understand

Ourselves

Florida T. Lao-aten
© 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
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 I. The Nature of the Self

Introduction
How do we gain self-knowledge?
It’s not easy.

We can look inward. But it is not always helpful to do this

since often our thoughts and feelings are confused.

So, we tend to look outward to the social environment for

clues. We learn a great deal about ourselves by observing
how people treat us, and how we treat others.
 The Nature of the Self

Duality of the Self-Concept

Who are we? How did we become the person that
we are?
There are two aspects of the self, 1) the known
(me), and the 2) knower (I).

The known consists of thoughts and beliefs about

ourselves (ie, the self-concept; who we are);
The knower is the processor of information (ie, what
we are becoming).

This is referred to as the duality of the self (William

James).
The Nature of the Self

Definition of the Self-Concept

Today we refer to the “known” aspect of the self as
the self-concept, which is the contents of the self,
i.e., our knowledge of who we are.

We refer to the “knower” aspect as self-awareness,

which is the act of thinking about ourselves.
 The Nature of the Self

The Self-Concept Evolves

Human infants have a rudimentary self-concept,
developing at about age 2 years.
As they grow older the self-concept becomes more
complex.

Studies show that the concept of self evolves from

being concrete and focused on observable
characteristics,
to being more abstract and focused on psychological
characteristics during the course of childhood and
adolescence.
 The Nature of the Self

Other Species have Self-Concepts

Fact:

Humans are not the only species that has a sense of

the self.

Chimps and orangutans also have a rudimentary

self-concept (see studies by Gallup and colleagues).
 The Nature of the Self
Self-Concept Clarity

Some people have a clearer self-concept than others.

Self-concept clarity is defined as the extent to which

knowledge about the self is clearly, or consistently defined.

People who are low in self-concept clarity are more likely to

be neurotic, have low self-esteem, and less likely to be aware
of their internal state.
The Nature of the Self

Functions of the Self

Why do we have multifaceted, complex definition of
self?

Because it serves a number of adaptive functions.

It has a managerial function

It has an organizational function

It has an emotional function
 The Nature of the Self

Functions of the Self

Managerial function: Informing us of our relationship to
the physical and social world, organizing our behaviour,
and helping us to plan for the future.

Organizational function: Acting as a schema that helps us

interpret and recall information about ourselves and the
social world.

Emotional function: helping to determine our emotional

responses.
The Nature of the Self
Cultural Differences in the Definition of Self

In many Western cultures, people have

an independent view of the self-concept,
while in many Asian and other non-
Western cultures, people have an
interdependent view of the self-concept.
The Nature of the Self
Cultural Differences in the Definition of Self

 Independent view of the Self: defining oneself in terms of one’s own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions, and not in
terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people.
 Interdependent view of the Self: defining oneself in terms of one’s relationships to other people; recognizing that one’s
behaviour is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.
The Nature of the Self
Cultural Differences in the Definition of Self
 Fact:
 Studies show that Japanese students have a lower self-concept clarity than do Canadian students, and
 That their self-concept clarity is not as strongly related to self-esteem as it is for Canadians (Campbell et al, 1996).
 Self-concept clarity is likely a Western phenomenon, given that it is based on the premise that the self is a stable configuration of
internal traits that govern behaviour across situations.
 The Nature of the Self
Gender Differences in the Definition of Self

 Research on gender differences is controversial.

 Still, there are differences in the way women and men define themselves.
 Men tend to define themselves in terms of dominance-related traits and women define themselves in terms of nurturance-related traits.
 North American men are more likely to have an independent view of self, whereas women define themselves more in relation to other people (Brewer & Gardner, 1996)
 The Nature of the Self
Gender Differences in the Definition of Self

 Gender differences in self-concept are typically found only among individualistic cultures (eg, Canada, white South Africa, New Zealand).
 In collectivist cultures that emphasize interdependence (eg, China, Ethiopia, black South Africa) men and women are equally likely to hold a
relational/collectivist view of the self.
 The Nature of the Self
Gender Differences in the Definition of Self

 Men in individualistic cultures are not completely lacking in interdependence. Men too, report interdependence as part of their self-concept.
 But, it is a different kind of interdependence than women describe. It is collective interdependence. It is interdependence in relation to social
groups such as sports teams
 The Nature of the Self
Gender Differences in the Definition of Self

 In summary,
 Men desire intimate relations as much as women do, but it’s a different kind of relationship,
 -ie, women focus more on intimacy and cooperation with a small number of close others,
 -ie whereas men focus more on power and status with a larger number of others.
 The Nature of the Self
Gender Differences in the Definition of Self

Mendescribe themselves in terms of high dominance/low nurturance traits (eg, assured-dominant), and
Women define themselves in terms of low-dominance/high nurturance traits (eg, warm-agreeable).
II. Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Intuitively, we recognize that introspection is one basis
of self-knowledge,
although people do not spend as much time as one would
think introspecting,

And when they do, they may not always understand the
reasons for their thoughts and behaviour.

Introspection is the process whereby people look inward

and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives.
Knowing Ourselves through Introspection

Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory

What
 happens when we suddenly focus on ourselves, our attitudes, traits, etc.?
We
 think we are more transparent to others, not just to ourselves.
-eg,
 When we identify our traits, we assume that others also can easily identify these traits. This is especially the case for those high in collectivism.
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory

Also,
 when we focus on ourselves, we compare our current behaviour against internal standards and values, according to
self-awareness theory.
This can lead to positive or negative thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory: Negative Thoughts

Introspection
 can lead to negative thoughts because it is painful, and makes us feel anxious and angry when we don’t live up to
our internal standards.
-eg,
 a discrepancy between our behaviour (eg, lying) and our moral standards (eg, lying is unacceptable).
When
 this happens people are often motivated to avoid thinking negative thoughts about themselves by engaging in distracting
activities (e.g., watching TV, reading a book), or escaping (e.g., getting drunk, or in the extreme case committing suicide).
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection

Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory: Positive Thoughts

Introspection may lead to positive thoughts, feelings and behaviour,

asin the case of satisfaction at achieving a life goal (receiving a university
degree), or experiencing a major success (eg, winning an Olympic gold medal).
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory: Rumination & Reflection

Whether
 self-awareness has positive or negative effects also depends on the kind of self-awareness
one is experiencing: rumination or reflection.
Rumination
 is an involuntary, neurotic form of self-focus associated with threat or uncertainty.
Reflection
 is an emotionally positive form of self-focus that involves an openness to self-exploration
and an intellectual curiosity about the self.
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory: Rumination & Reflection

Whether we engage in reflection or rumination has important implications for how we handle
negative life events .
When self-awareness takes the form of reflection people are open to exploring their negative
feelings and often develop strategies for alleviating these feelings (eg, cheer themselves up by
remembering positive events in their life);
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory: Rumination & Reflection

When people engage in rumination they are not able to cheer themselves up;
insteadthey dredge up memories that match their bad mood (eg, failures,
unhappy times, unpleasant interactions with family and friends)
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection
Judging Why We Feel the Way We Do: Causal Theories

Another
 kind of self-knowledge which is difficult to obtain, even when we are self-aware, is
knowing why we feel the way we do.
When
 asked why we feel a certain way, we do come up with an explanation (causal theories ),
but the reasons offered are not always correct.
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection

Judging Why We Feel the Way We Do: Causal Theories

Causal theories are theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and
behaviours; often we learn such theories from our culture (eg, absence
makes the heart grow fonder)
Knowing Ourselves through
Introspection

Judging Why We Feel the Way We Do: Causal Theories

Summarizing, introspecting about our past actions and current thoughts does not
always yield the right answer about why we feel the way we do,
partly because of our reliance on causal theories when explaining our behaviour.
III. Knowing Ourselves through
Observation of Our Own
Behaviour
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Inferring Who We Are from How We Behave: Self-Perception Theory

Another source of self-knowledge is observations of our own behaviour

described by self-perception theory.
Self-perception theory- we find out how we feel by observing what we do.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Inferring Who We Are from How We Behave: Self-Perception Theory

self-perception
 theory argues that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous,
we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs.
-ie,
 It should be noted that we infer our inner feelings from behaviour only when we are not sure
how we feel.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Inferring Who We Are from How We Behave: Self-Perception Theory

Secondly, people judge whether their behaviour truly reflects how they feel, or
whether it was the situation that made them act that way, when determining
what their attitude and feelings are (see country music example).
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Whether
 are behaviour is motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic factors has far-reaching implications.
Intrinsic
 motivation is the desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it, or find it interesting.
Extrinsic
 motivation is the desire to engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Studies
 show that when people are intrinsically motivated to do something—
sports, academics, politics, or remain in a relationship—
they are more likely to enjoy the activity and are more likely to persist in it.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect

What
 happens when people receive extrinsic rewards for performing activities that they
are intrinsically motivated to perform?
Research
 shows that replacing intrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivation makes people
lose interest in the activity they initially enjoyed. This is called the overjustification effect.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour

Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect

What happens when people receive extrinsic rewards for performing activities that they are
intrinsically motivated to perform?
Research shows that replacing intrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivation makes people
lose interest in the activity they initially enjoyed. This is called the overjustification effect.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour

Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect

The overjustification effect has been found in numerous laboratory and
field studies, with several kinds of rewards, activities, and age groups.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect

But the overjustification effect isn’t inevitable. Recent research reveals that there are
conditions under which the overjustification effect does not occur.
i) Rewards will undermine interest only if initial interest in the task is high.
Ii) Only task-contingent rewards lead to the over-justification effect; performance-
contingent rewards do not.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour
Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect
Task-contingent rewards are rewards that are given for
doing the task regardless of how well it’s done.
 Performance-contingent rewards are rewards that are
dependent upon how well the task is done.
Knowing Ourselves through Observations
of Our Own Behaviour

Being Rewarded Too Much: The Overjustification Effect

Conditions under which the overjustification effect does
not occur
Children can be taught to avoid the damaging effects of
rewards by focusing on the intrinsic value of the behaviour
IV. Understanding Our
Emotions:
The Two-Factor Theory of
Emotion
 Understanding Our Emotions

Two-Factor Theory

We have learned that people often use observations

of their behaviour to determine what they think and
what kind of a person they are.

Does the same process operate for determining the

kind of emotion we are experiencing?

Yes, according to Schachter

 Understanding Our Emotions

Two-Factor Theory

Schachter proposed a theory of emotion that states that

we infer what our emotions are by observing and then
trying to figure out what is causing this arousal.

It is called a two-factor theory of emotion because first

we must experience physiological arousal, and second
we must seek an appropriate explanation or label for it.
Understanding Our Emotions

Two- Factor Theory

Studies support the 2-factor theory
This study showed that how people
identify their emotions is somewhat
arbitrary in that they depend on what
the most plausible explanation for their
arousal happens to be, e.g., anger,
euphoria.
Understanding Our Emotions

Two-Factor Theory
Sometimes the most plausible explanation is
not the right explanation, and people end up
experiencing a mistaken emotion.

The people who became angry, or euphoric in the

Schachter and Singer study did so because they felt
aroused and thought this arousal was due to the
obnoxious questionnaire, or the happy-go-lucky
behaviour of the accomplice.
The real cause was the epinephrine.
Understanding Our Emotions- Mis
attribution of Arousal

To what extent do Schachter and Singer’s results

generalize to real life?

Studies have demonstrated that misattribution of

arousal does occur.
Misattribution of arousal is the process whereby
people make mistaken inferences about what is
causing them to feel the way they do.
V. Knowing Ourselves Through
Self-Schemas
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas

We organize our self-knowledge in much the same

way that we organize our knowledge about the
external world—into schemas.

Self-schemas are organized knowledge structures

about ourselves, based on past experience, which
help us understand, explain, and predict our own
behaviour.

Self-schemas influence how we interpret new things

that happen to us.
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas
Autobiographical Memory

 Self-schemas help us organize our pasts, by influencing what we remember about ourselves—our autobiographical
memories.
 There is evidence that our memories can be reconstructive; we view the past not as it really was but in ways consistent
with our current theories and schemas
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas
Autobiographical Memory: Influencing Factors

 Self-schemas help us organize our pasts, by influencing what we remember about ourselves—our autobiographical
memories.
 There is evidence that our memories can be reconstructive; we view the past not as it really was but in ways consistent
with our current theories and schemas.
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas
Autobiographical Memory: Influencing Factors

 The way in which we are asked questions about ourselves can influence which memories we
access, and our present view of ourselves
 -eg, People asked if they were happy rather than unhappy viewed themselves as more happy.
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas
Autobiographical Memory: Influencing Factors

 Schemas about how stable our feelings and attitudes are also impact on the ways in which we remember our past.
 -ie, we expect some feelings (eg, moods) will fluctuate over time, but others (eg, attitudes about social issues
__abortion), we expect will be relatively stable.
Knowing Ourselves through
Self-Schemas

Autobiographical Memory: Influencing Factors

 But research has shown that these schemas are
not always correct, leading to distortions in
memory.
 -ie, attitudes toward social issues sometimes do
change, but because our schema says they do not,
this leads to an underestimate of the amount of
change that occurs.
VI. Knowing Ourselves through
Social Interaction
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction

Another way we come to know ourselves is through

social interaction.

We shape our self-concept according to how others

view us. This is referred to as the looking-glass self.

The looking-glass self is the idea that we see

ourselves through the eyes of other people and
incorporate their perceptions of us into our self-
concept.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
The Looking-Glass Self
The idea that our sense of self derives from our
interactions with other people – either present or
imagines –has been supported in number of experiments.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
The Looking-Glass Self
 In summary, who we are is determined, at least partly, by the
internal audience we have in mind.
 -ie, if we are reminded of a significant person (eg, the Pope) in
our lives who seems critical or disapproving, we will see ourselves
as possessing negative traits (eg, immoral, incompetent);
 -ie, if we have a supportive, approving internal audience (eg,
mother) in mind, we will view ourselves in more positive terms.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
Social Comparison Theory
 We also come to know ourselves through comparison with other people, known as social comparison theory.
 Social
comparison theory holds that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves
to other people.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
Social Comparison Theory

The theory revolves around two important questions:

When do we engage in social comparison?
With whom do we choose to compare ourselves?
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction

Social Comparison Theory

 The answer to the first question: we compare ourselves to
others when there is no objective standard for us to use as
a measure, or when we experience uncertainty about
ourselves in a particular area.
 The answer to the second question: we compare ourselves
to similar others when we wish an accurate image of
ourselves.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
Social Comparison Theory: Downward comparison
 But, constructing an accurate image of ourselves is only one
reason we engage in social comparison.
 Sometimes we use downward social comparison to protect, or
enhance our self-image, make us feel good.
 Downward social comparison is the process whereby we compare
ourselves to people who are worse than we are in a particular trait
or ability.
Knowing Ourselves through Social Interaction
Social Comparison Theory: Downward comparison
 Studiesshow that people do engage in downward social
comparison when they want to feel better about themselves .
And, we can get a self-esteem boost by comparing our current
performance (eg, superior university grades) with out own
inferior past performance (eg, average high school grades)
Thisis still downward social comparison, but the comparison
standard is our past self instead of another person.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction

Social Comparison Theory: Upward comparison

 We also sometimes engage in upward social comparison as
a potential source of inspiration.
 Upward social comparison is the process whereby we
compare ourselves to people who are better than we are
in a particular trait or ability.
Knowing Ourselves through Social
Interaction
Social Comparison Theory: Upward comparison
 Whether or not upward social comparison acts as an inspiration
depends upon the sense of self that is being activated
 When we focus on our actual, or usual self, exposure to
outstanding others (superstar) inspires us to generate higher
hopes and aspirations for ourselves.
 When we focus on our best, or ideal self, it can be depressing
that someone else has already surpassed our highest hopes
and dreams.
VII. Impression Management:
All the World’s A Stage
 Impression Management

Once we know ourselves, we often attempt to manage

the self we present to others through the processes of
self-presentation and impression management.

Self-presentation is the attempt to present who we

are, or who we want people to believe we are, through
our words, nonverbal behaviours, and actions.

Impression management is our conscious or

unconscious orchestration of a carefully designed
presentation of self so as to create a certain impression
that fits our goals or needs in a social interaction.
Impression Management

It is easier for some people than others to create a desired impression.

-e.g., shy people have difficulty with impression management.
They believe that they are not good at inter-personal interactions and therefore expect to be (and are) rejected by others.
As they become more comfortable with the setting, and less shy, they are more accepted by others .
Impression Management
There are cultural differences in the way impression management is conducted.
In
 Eastern cultures this takes the form of ‘saving face’ and ‘avoiding public embarrassment’ (e.g., renting guests for a wedding or funeral in Japan).
In
 Western cultures outward appearance is manipulated to create a good impression, e.g., Preston Manning underwent a cosmetic overhaul in hope of
creating a more prime-ministerial image.
End of discussion…..