Deck 4: Self and Identity

Question 1

The concepts of self and identity:

A) allow humans to predict what others think.
B) allow humans to predict what others do.
C) provide humans with guidelines about how they should behave.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Question 2

The theory of symbolic interactionism maintains that:

A) individuals interact with other group members often when they are not there.
B) people exchange symbols through both words and non-verbal cues.
C) close interactions with others are symbolic, not real.
D) groups establish their unique symbols to interact with other groups.

Answer 2

people exchange symbols through both words and non-verbal cues.

Question 3

If a researcher wanted to study self and identity, she would essentially be studying:

A) components of behaviour.
B) mental fictions.
C) operational definitions.
D) cognitive constructs influencing how we perceive socially and interact with others.

Answer 3

cognitive constructs influencing how we perceive socially and interact with others.

Question 4

With regard to self and identity, Freud's psychoanalytic theory:

A) argued that the self was only a conscious construct.
B) did not even mention the self.
C) argued that the self could only be accessed through the unconscious.
D) allowed the self to dominate the Id.

Question 5

What did Shrauger and Schoeneman (1979) and Tice (1992) find out about the idea of the 'looking-glass self'?

A) People do not tend to see themselves as others see them, but instead as they think others see them
B) It should not have been termed 'the looking-glass self' but 'the mirror-image self'
C) They confirmed that people always see themselves as others see them
D) Nothing, Shrauger and Shoeneman (1979) and Tice (1992) did not do research into the idea of the 'looking-glass self'

Question 6

If a society of people traded symbols through words and non-verbal cues, they would be categorised as using:

A) Fechnerian psychophysics.
B) symbolic interactionism.
C) homo symbolicus.
D) operant behaviourism.

Question 7

Historical evidence indicates that in medieval society one's identity:

A) was determined by the social order.
B) did not exist.
C) was under the control of an absolute monarchy.
D) fluctuated cyclically from time to time.

Question 8

The idea that we form a concept of ourselves from how we think others see us is:

A) based on the legend of Narcissus.
B) called the 'looking-glass self'.
C) derived from Freudian psychology.
D) known as self-monitoring.

Question 9

Major historical processes, such as secularisation and industrialisation, were:

A) factors that created a group mind.
B) factors that led to the emergence of the individual self.
C) nineteenth-century developments in European urban society.
D) factors that set back the development of self-regulated psychological systems.

Question 10

When Allport (1924) famously argued that the psychology of groups is really essentially psychology of individuals:

A) it was difficult for the study of the collective self to thrive.
B) the study of the collective self became one of the major topics in psychology.
C) other disciplines that focussed on collectivities were incorporated into psychology.
D) other social phenomena such as language, religion, customs and myth became incorporated into the study of the self.

Question 11

Dan is a politician and has a high public self-awareness. Individuals like Dan:

A) worry about their public image.
B) are concerned with outgroup politics.
C) like to be in the spotlight.
D) have a high level of community responsibility.

Question 12

Modern empirical studies of self-awareness demonstrate that:

A) the Id is all washed up.
B) we mostly dream about ourselves.
C) the ego developed shortly before the id.
D) None of the above

Question 13

Sherif's (1936) research on how norms emerge from interaction and are internalised to influence behaviour draws directly from:

A) Freud's psychoanalytic theories of the self.
B) the idea that there is an individual self that is grounded in group life.
C) 16th century industrialisation.
D) the idea that there is a collective self that is grounded in group life.

Question 14

Is the self an individual or a collective phenomenon? Those who advocate an individual self have tended to prevail because:

A) of considerable empirical evidence for the individualistic stance.
B) they are critical of sociological theorising.
C) they have mostly conceptualised groups as made up of individuals.
D) All of the above

Question 15

Liz is acutely and objectively self-aware. Therefore she:

A) becomes easily deindividuated.
B) compares herself how she is with how she would like to be.
C) has no illusions about who she is.
D) constantly compares herself with 'similar others'.

Question 16

The expression the 'looking-glass self' refers to a concept of self that is:

A) learned through observation.
B) narcissistic.
C) developed through introspection.
D) based on our idea of the way others see us.

Question 17

Industrialisation stimulated the emergence of the individual self by:

A) viewing individuals as units of production with portable identities.
B) increasing the marriage rate.
C) providing people with regular employment.
D) giving people machines to work with.

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the factors that enable human beings to construct and nurture a limitless more or less truthful notion of the self and identity?

A) The Internet and social media
B) Reflexive thought
C) Cognitive constructs
D) Thought and behaviour

Question 19

In Freudian theory the self was viewed as:

A) a quantifiable concept.
B) accessible only through cognitive-behavioural therapy.
C) accessible only through procedures such as hypnosis and psychotherapy.
D) having developed from the Superego.

Question 20

Dressing in a costume tends to reduce one's level of self-awareness. A reduced level of self-awareness:

A) is a consequence of success.
B) is a key component in deindividuation.
C) can make a person feel good.
D) leads to an intensification of emotions.

Question 21

Tara feels insecure. You advise her to refrain from comparing herself with people who she thinks are 'superior'. Your advice is a key point in:

A) Higgins' self-discrepancy theory.
B) Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model.
C) Festinger's social comparison theory.
D) Bem's self-perception theory.

Question 22

Angie tries to match her behaviour to an 'ought' or an 'ideal' standard. Angie is engaging in:

A) downward social comparison.
B) self-regulation.
C) self-discrepancy.
D) framing.

Question 23

According to self-discrepancy theory, how we think we should be refers to:

A) the 'ought' self.
B) the actual self.
C) the superego self.
D) the ideal self.

Question 24

According to Higgins (1987), self-discrepancies are revealed through:

A) Introspection.
B) comparison of actual with ideal self.
C) comparison of actual with 'ought' self.
D) Both B and C

Question 25

Jenny loves knitting and most of her friends now own a beautifully knitted jumper. But now she is selling her jumpers through a craft shop and, although she makes quite a lot of money for each jumper, she can't seem to get motivated anymore. 'Ha!' you say, 'social psychology tells us that she would have loved knitting earlier because _________'.

A) of a change in her personality
B) she was BIRGing back then
C) she hadn't got bored at that time
D) of the overjustification effect

Question 26

Why are self-schemas that are more integrated, rather than rigidly compartmentalised, preferable?

A) If some self-schemas are very negative and some are very positive, events may cause extreme mood swings according to whether a positive or negative self-schema is primed
B) With integrated self-schemas, context effects on mood will be more extreme
C) Compartmentalised self-schemas lead to greater context effects on mood
D) Both A and C

Question 27

According to Festinger, when people have no objective measure from which to learn about themselves, they learn about themselves by:

A) comparing themselves with others.
B) putting their past behind them.
C) playing up their strengths rather than their weaknesses.
D) ignoring the comments of others and looking to the future.

Question 28

Bem's self-perception theory maintains that people construct an impression of their own personality by:

A) deciding that their locus of control is external.
B) separating their actual self from their ideal and 'ought' selves.
C) attributing their behaviour internally.
D) averaging out all of their social comparisons.

Question 29

According to the overjustification effect, performance on a task may be improved by:

A) yelling at someone until they complete the task.
B) setting performance goals, and rewarding for good performance.
C) appealing to a person's ideal self.
D) giving many rewards for completing the task.

Question 30

BIRGing is:

A) the use of name-dropping to get others to think well of you.
B) saying what you think-a kind of psychological burping.
C) an acronym for Bringing in Research Grants.
D) a key part of the GRIT method of conflict resolution.

Question 31

Even though May has had no payrise, no promotion, and can't see either happening in the near future, she has been working overtime, even skipping tea and lunch breaks. According to the overjustification effect, she will most likely:

A) enjoy the job less.
B) become less efficient.
C) avoid future challenges in her job.
D) None of the above

Question 32

The theory that distinguishes between three kinds of self-schemas is:

A) Festinger's social comparison theory.
B) Higgins' self-discrepancy theory.
C) Bem's self-perception theory.
D) Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model.

Question 33

Festinger's theory of social comparison implies that people:

A) learn from their errors by asking others what they think.
B) compare the qualities of various groups before choosing one to join.
C) check their perceptions and attitudes against others who are similar to them.
D) counteract potential criticism by undermining their 'enemies'.

Question 34

Regulatory focus theory:

A) is the theory that our sense of self is regulated between our 'good' days and our 'bad' days.
B) is the theory that we infer our own attitudes from our own behaviour.
C) differentiates between a promotion focus and a prevention focus when constructing a sense of self.
D) defines our sense of self as being closely connected to how we think others see us.

Question 35

Mary's view is that we gain self-knowledge by making self-attributions. She has clearly been influenced by ________ theory.

A) self-perception
B) social comparison
C) self-discrepancy
D) 'looking-glass'

Question 36

Manipulating others to have a good impression of you by name-dropping is:

A) accounted for by self-enhancement theory.
B) referred to as BIRGing.
C) how 'impression management' is defined.
D) a feature of social comparison theory.

Question 37

People are self-schematic on dimensions:

A) that are important to them.
B) on which they think they are extreme.
C) on which they are certain the opposite does not hold.
D) All of the above

Question 38

According to self-discrepancy theory, 'self-guides':

A) can represent both the ideal self as well as the 'ought' self.
B) refer to prevention goals that people strive to avoid.
C) are associated with promotional goals that people strive for.
D) All of the above

Question 39

According to self-discrepancy theory, there are three kinds of:

A) actual-schemas.
B) ought-schemas.
C) self-schemas.
D) ideal-schemas.

Question 40

When Tom says that 'information about the self is stored in context-specific nodes':

A) he is talking nonsense.
B) the topic in question is the ideal self.
C) you agree, but point out that Skinner said it first.
D) Tom's framework relates to self-schemas.

Question 41

A researcher who wants to study social identity theory would NOT be interested in studying which of the following?

A) Prejudice and stereotyping
B) Intergroup relations
C) Social categorisation and social comparison
D) Groupthink

Question 42

Justin's goal is to acquire accurate and valid information about himself. Which of the following motives is Justin seeking?

A) Self-enhancement
B) Self-affirmation
C) Self-righteousness
D) Self-assessment

Question 43

Millie is a member of a youth group. She is proud of this and feels she is a better person as a result. She is a living example of:

A) self-perception theory.
B) the self-evaluation maintenance model.
C) the overjustification effect.
D) how self-categorisation theory works.

Question 44

One way to maintain a reasonably integrated picture of who we are is to apply:

A) Freud's psychodynamic theory.
B) the actor-observer effect.
C) the overjustification effect.
D) to take self-help classes.

Question 45

If Melissa wanted to gauge her skill as a new ice skater, according to the social comparison theory, who would she compare herself to?

A) Olympic ice skaters
B) Her ice skate instructor
C) Her friend who has skated for a year
D) Other novice ice-skaters

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a major motive that influences self-construction?

A) Self-assessment
B) Self-enhancement
C) Self-discrepancy
D) Self-verification

Question 47

Ulrike from Austria meets Manuel from Ecuador. She can't wait to go on a date with him-he will be a wonderful Salsa dancer, romantic, and eat exotic food. He is very excited-she will be an incredible skier, drink schnapps, and listen to Mozart's music. Their great expectations are based on:

A) astrology.
B) self-categorisation.
C) prototypes.
D) wishful thinking.

Question 48

Brewer (2001) has described 'relational social identities'. These define:

A) the real me in terms of my close relatives.
B) unique aspects of the person.
C) self through particular others in a group setting.
D) properties of a membership group.

Question 49

The minimal group paradigm:

A) identified participants as either individuals or categorised as group members.
B) deals with the smallest possible group-the dyad.
C) refers to relationships between very small groups.
D) Both B and C

Question 50

In seeking self-conceptual coherence, people:

A) often become schizophrenic.
B) usually develop affective bipolar disorder.
C) habitually turn to psychotherapy.
D) often attempt to keep a variety of selves in perspective.

Question 51

According to Brewer and Gardner (1996), part of our self-concept consists of dyadic relationships that assimilate our self to significant others. This part is called the:

A) collective self.
B) social self.
C) relational self.
D) individual self.

Question 52

'Personal identity' refers to the self in terms of:

A) unique interpersonal relationships.
B) the relational self.
C) unique attributes.
D) Both A and C

Question 53

At a girls' summer camp Maria has just been assigned to a group called the 'Rosebuds', one of six separate groups that will interact from time to time at the camp. It is likely that if she needs to make a decision about allocating rewards, she will:

A) want all other children to be Rosebuds.
B) not care what group any girl might be in.
C) wilt and go limp, as a Rosebud would.
D) discriminate against children who are not Rosebuds.

Question 54

The class of identity that defines the self in terms of group memberships is:

A) group identity.
B) personal identity.
C) social identity.
D) individual identity.

Question 55

While on holiday at a popular resort, Peter almost bumps into a middle-aged couple looking at the local map mounted on a street sideboard. 'Tourists', he mumbles as he weaves past them. At the very least, his reaction:

A) indicates how we use categories that come easily to mind.
B) is obviously wrong.
C) reflects Peter's naïve approach to judging others.
D) is based on previous experience.

Question 56

Rosa has settled shortly after her arrival from the Philippines. When interacting with the neighbours she is likely to:

A) make earnest attempts to have them view her Philippine identity in a positive light.
B) accentuate her foreign accent.
C) act to confirm her neighbours' expectations based on stereotypes to please them.
D) make an attempt to pass as a local.

Question 57

Which of these refers to self-concept in a relatively collective sense?

A) Ideal self
B) Personal identity
C) Looking-glass self
D) Social identity

Question 58

With reference to self-concept, which of the following is NOT correct? People:

A) with a highly fragmented self, e.g., through amnesia, can have trouble in functioning effectively.
B) need a degree of self-conceptual integration and coherence.
C) use a variety of strategies to construct a coherent sense of self.
D) None of the above is incorrect

Question 59

According to the metacontrast principle, category prototypes are used to accentuate ________ within groups and ________ between groups.

A) ingroup norms; outgroup norms
B) similarities; differences
C) mean scores; standard deviations
D) None of the above

Question 60

In Fazio, Effrein and Falender's (1981) study, researchers asked loaded questions of people about themselves. They found that participants:

A) make invalid self-descriptions.
B) answer questions differently depending on the time of day.
C) describe themselves differently in different situations.
D) cover up with questions of this type.

Question 61

Melissa tends to overestimate her good points and her control of events. She is also unrealistically optimistic. Sedikides and Gregg (2003) call this:

A) the looking-glass self.
B) the self-enhancing triad.
C) symbolic interactionism.
D) the psychodynamic self.

Question 62

Sandra has just received a bad result in her language paper. After telling her parents, she points to her achievement in a recent swimming competition. Steele (1988) calls this strategy:

A) self-affirmation.
B) achievement motivation.
C) BIRGing.
D) self-verification.

Question 63

Studies of African American children carried out before and after the Second World War showed that:

A) African American children had lower self-esteem than White children.
B) African American children were more positive towards White children than African American children.
C) White children were more positive towards White children than African American children.
D) All of the above

Question 64

In the context of disadvantaged groups, which strategy can young people employ to maintain positive self-esteem? They can:

A) congregate in specifically designated areas (ghettos).
B) assimilate.
C) keep to themselves.
D) identify ethnic characteristics that they perceive in a positive way.

Question 65

Wally is a sales person in a large kitchen utensil shop. He wants everyone to praise his work-including the boss, co-workers, and customers. But he can't stand criticism. Wally's ways of responding are:

A) techniques for manipulating the perceptions of others.
B) ways of dealing with problems at home.
C) strategies for ensuring that his self-concept remains positive.
D) sure signs that he needs a holiday.

Question 66

A researchers who wanted to specifically research the concepts of self-enhancement, self-verification, and self-assessment would be studying?

A) Illusions of self-control
B) Self-motives
C) Self-serving biases
D) Egocentric strategies

Question 67

When compared with people with high trait self-esteem, those with low trait self-esteem:

A) have more complex selves.
B) come from rural areas.
C) show confusion in their self-concept.
D) are usually younger.

Question 68

The need for positive self-esteem:

A) is found only in very special people.
B) has been tracked across cultures.
C) is an impossible dream.
D) leads to depression.

Question 69

Research indicates that pre-adolescent children from an ethnic minority who prefer to be members of the ethnic majority:

A) will change their opinions with age.
B) will develop debilitating cognitive dissonance.
C) will turn to deindividuation to help themselves cope.
D) will want to be more self-aware.

Question 70

Which of the following is NOT a major threat to a person's self-esteem?

A) Failing in what you try to achieve
B) Experiencing several stressing events
C) Having a number of relatively discrete selves
D) Being aware of important inconsistencies or discrepancies about yourself

Question 71

What did Baumeister, Smart and Boden (1996) find about the relation between self-esteem and violence?

A) Violence was associated with high self-esteem
B) Violence and self-esteem were not related
C) Violence was associated with low self-esteem
D) None of the above

Question 72

According to Sedikides (1993), which self-motive was the strongest?

A) Self-verification
B) Self-affirmation
C) Self-assessment
D) Self-enhancement

Question 73

A friend describes you as 'unusual' to a new member of the bowling club. You would be maintaining a positive self-image if you:

A) hoped that no one else would find out.
B) worried yourself sick and vowed not to be 'unusual' in the future.
C) defined 'unusual' as a cool thing to be.
D) restored equity by telling the new member that your friend was 'a handful'.

Question 74

________ groups are very creative at avoiding negative self-esteem consequences of their group memberships.

A) Introverted
B) Stigmatised
C) Cohesive
D) Dissonant

Question 75

According to Sedikides (1993), which self-motive was the weakest?

A) Self-verification
B) Self-affirmation
C) Self-assessment
D) Self-enhancement

Question 76

Greenberg and colleagues suggested that one reason why people pursue self-esteem is to:

A) avoid social rejection.
B) overcome their fear of death.
C) succeed in their careers.
D) protect the ego from the superego.

Question 77

According to terror management theory:

A) people need to pull themselves together in this complex world.
B) most terrorists manage fear very well.
C) self-esteem is a defence against inevitable death.
D) natural disasters create the greatest of all fears.

Question 78

Leary and colleagues suggest that people pursue self-esteem because:

A) it helps us succeed in our careers, which define who we are.
B) we are fearful of our inevitable mortality.
C) there are associated health risks if we don't.
D) it is a good indication of our social acceptance and belonging.

Question 79

Jerry tends to overestimate how good a writer he is. Jerry is engaging in:

A) self-verification.
B) the metacontrast principle.
C) the self-excelling effect.
D) the above-average effect.

Question 80

Greenberg and colleagues suggestion that people pursue self-esteem to overcome their fear of death is part of their:

A) pursuit of happiness.
B) gloomy self theory.
C) terror management theory.
D) terrain management theory.