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Social Self

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Chapter 3 – The Social Self

NATURE OF THE SOCIAL SELF * Begins with William James and his book “The Principles of Psychology” (1890) * Coined term “social me” to refer to the parts of self-knowledge that are derived from social relationships (Ex. You w/ soccer buddies vs. you w/ romantic partner) * Three primary components of the self * Individual self – Person’s beliefs about his or her unique personal traits, abilities, preferences, tastes, talents, etc (Ex. What sets you apart) * Relational self – Sense of oneself in specific relationships (Ex. Black sheep) * Collective self – A person’s identity as a member of the groups to which he or she belongs (Ex. Irish Canadian, Libertarian) * Also includes beliefs about the roles, duties, and obligations we assume. * Prominence of different self-beliefs varies according to a person’s culture of origin. * Americans describe themselves in terms of personal attributes (individualist) * Japanese defined themselves in terms of relationships (collectivist)

ORIGINS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE * Family and Other Socialization Agents * Symbolic interactionist notion that we come to know ourselves through imagining what others think of us (Cooley 1902 – looking glass self) * Reflected self-appraisals – Our beliefs about others’ appraisals of us * We internalize what we think others appraise us, not how they actually do * Medial prefrontal cortex heightened during self-referential cognition * Adolescents but not adults spontaneously relied reflected appraisals when supporting their self-view. * Situationism and the Social Self * Greatest determinant of social self shifts to what is relevant or appropriate in the current situation * Working self concept – Subset of self knowledge that is brought to mind in a

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