Deck 3: The Social Self

Question 1

At his first therapy session Curtis discusses his relationship history. He describes each romantic partner, what the relationship was like, why it ended, and what he took away. This tale that he weaves for his therapist conveys his

A) working self-concept.
B) self-schema.
C) narrated self.
D) reflected self-appraisal.

Answer 1

narrated self.

Question 2

Ji-Min thinks of herself as outgoing, a big sister, a runner, and intelligent. These are aspects of Ji-Min's

A) self-schema.
B) self-appraisal.
C) social-self.
D) self-esteem.

Answer 2

self-schema.

Question 3

Ahmed tends to think of himself as a very creative and confident person. What kind of self-construal is Ahmed demonstrating?

A) an independent self-construal
B) an interdependent self-construal
C) a promotion-focused self-construal
D) a prevention-focused self-construal

Answer 3

an independent self-construal

Question 4

Dan McAdams writes about and does research on the "narrated self," which consists of

A) our personality traits.
B) our independent or interdependent self-construals.
C) the story we tell about our social self.
D) how other people describe our social self.

Question 5

Members of which of the following tend to have interdependent self-construals?

A) New Zealand
B) many African cultures
C) many Northern European cultures
D) the United States

Question 6

Consider the following finding from a study conducted in the United States that asked children to describe themselves: "Forty-four percent of children who were born outside of the United States mentioned this biographical fact when describing themselves, whereas only 7 percent of those born in the United States mentioned their place of birth." This finding best supports the ________ hypothesis.

A) contrasting traits
B) self-perception
C) social comparison
D) distinctiveness

Question 7

According to Cooley's theory of the "looking-glass self," we learn about ourselves through

A) completing different kinds of personality tests.
B) imagining what other people think of us.
C) our parents telling us what we like and dislike, and what we are good at.
D) deep reflection about our behaviors, preferences, and attitudes.

Question 8

Research on gender and the self-concept indicates that compared with men, women are more likely to

A) experience confusion over how they should define themselves.
B) view themselves as unique and different from others.
C) define themselves in terms of social characteristics and relationships.
D) notice their own internal responses, such as increases in physiological arousal.

Question 9

Who is likely to be the most defensive about getting negative feedback on a class paper?

A) Marta, who has unstable high self-esteem
B) Ye-Jun, who has stable high self-esteem
C) Aleksi, who has unstable low self-esteem
D) Maya, who has stable low self-esteem

Question 10

According to Festinger's social comparison theory, people often form judgments about their traits and abilities by comparing themselves with others. According to the theory, this process is most likely to occur when

A) the people around them are judgmental and unkind.
B) people have a clear and detailed self-concept.
C) the people around them have superior traits and abilities.
D) people have no objective standard by which to judge themselves.

Question 11

According to research, self-construals vary within a culture. Which American man below is most likely to have an independent self-construal?

A) John, who is a middle-class teacher
B) George, who is a lower-class factory worker
C) Paul, who is an upper-class businessman
D) Richard, who is a middle-class office manager

Question 12

The part of our self-knowledge that is conscious to us at any given time is called the

A) self-concept.
B) collective self-concept.
C) working self-concept.
D) distinctive self-concept.

Question 13

Frank Sulloway's research on the relationship between birth order and personality shows that

A) younger siblings tend to be more agreeable than older siblings.
B) older siblings tend to be less honest than younger siblings.
C) younger and older siblings are equally open to novel ideas and experiences.
D) older siblings tend to be less achievement oriented than younger siblings.

Question 14

Bill has an older brother named Dan. Both Bill and Dan are physics professors. According to Frank Sulloway's research on birth-order effects, Bill should

A) conduct more research.
B) be more demanding of his students.
C) be more open to "off-the-wall" or "revolutionary" theories.
D) be more physically attractive.

Question 15

Luisa generally feels good about who she is. However, she just received a low grade on her chemistry midterm, so she is currently feeling bad about herself. Luisa has________ and ________.

A) a positive actual self; a negative ought self
B) a negative actual self; a negative ought self
C) high trait self-esteem; low state self-esteem
D) high state self-esteem; low trait self-esteem

Question 16

Self-schemas are

A) wishes and aspirations people have for themselves.
B) objective standards that people use to learn about their own abilities, attitudes, and personality traits.
C) beliefs about the roles, obligations, and duties people assume in groups.
D) knowledge-based summaries of our beliefs and feelings about the self in particular domains.

Question 17

Although Emil generally thinks of himself as both a good student and a good son, while visiting with his mom over the holidays he is thinking more about being a good son. That this good son aspect of his identity is more on his mind when he is with his mom illustrates the idea of

A) the ought self.
B) the actual self.
C) self-schemas.
D) the working self-concept.

Question 18

Barbara just received a B on her test. She learns that one of her friends got an A on the same test, and another friend got a C. Later that night, Barbara tells her roommate that she did "really well" relative to other people in the class. According to social comparison theory, Barbara appears to have engaged in ________ comparison.

A) upward
B) downward
C) promotional
D) prevention

Question 19

________ is useful in developing our self-concept, but it can lead us to lose some self-esteem, at least temporarily.

A) Upward comparison
B) Downward comparison
C) Self-affirmation
D) Self-aggrandizement

Question 20

The quote "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" reflects which type of self-construal?

A) independent
B) interdependent
C) communal
D) distinctiveness

Question 21

People strive for stable and accurate beliefs about the self. This motivation is emphasized by ________ theory.

A) self-verification
B) self-determination
C) self-validation
D) self-presentation

Question 22

According to the contingencies of the self-worth account of self-esteem (Crocker and Wolfe, 2001), a person's self-evaluations

A) are stable across situations and time.
B) depend on success and failure in important life domains.
C) are learned through principles of classical conditioning.
D) are a direct result of parenting styles.

Question 23

Recall that Steve Heine and colleagues compared how Canadian and Japanese students responded to positive or negative feedback after taking a creativity test. After the feedback, participants took a second creativity test. Results showed that

A) overall, the Japanese tended to score better on both creativity tests.
B) regardless of feedback type, the Japanese tended to score worse on the second creativity test (relative to the Canadians).
C) Canadians worked longer on the second creativity test after receiving positive feedback than after receiving negative feedback.
D) the Japanese worked longer on the second creativity test after receiving positive feedback than after receiving negative feedback.

Question 24

Sara's best friend just told her that she does not want to hang out any more. Sara's self-esteem plummets. She then calls three other good friends to see if they want to get dinner together. They say yes and Sara feels better about herself. Sara's feelings and behaviors reflect which psychological theory?

A) the self-evaluation maintenance model
B) the self-verification theory
C) the self-discrepancy theory
D) the sociometer hypothesis

Question 25

Researchers have studied whether college students' beliefs about their academic talents relate to self-esteem and well-being in college. Results show that students who ________ at the start of college experienced ________ in self-esteem and well-being over the following four years.

A) had self-enhancing beliefs; declines
B) did not have self-enhancing beliefs; declines
C) experienced self-discrepancies; declines
D) experienced self-discrepancies; increases

Question 26

When our college football team wins, we are more likely to wear our school's colors the following Monday and to use the pronoun we when describing the game-winning touchdown or goal. According to Abraham Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model, these behaviors illustrate how the process of ________ can be used to boost our self-esteem.

A) reflection
B) social comparison
C) positive reference
D) public self-consciousness

Question 27

Which of the following statements about culture and self-esteem is the most accurate?

A) People from Western cultures are more likely to say or do things to enhance other people's self-esteem (relative to people from Asian cultures).
B) The Japanese praise each other for their achievements more often than Americans do.
C) People from Asian cultures generally feel worse about themselves than people from Western cultures.
D) Americans utter many more self-complimentary statements during conversations (relative to Japanese individuals).

Question 28

Research shows that state self-esteem can be influenced by

A) odors.
B) complex weather patterns.
C) ambient light levels.
D) momentary mood states.

Question 29

According to Baumeister and his colleagues, high self-esteem has a dark side. These researchers have argued that

A) people with very high self-esteem are particularly sensitive to insults, which could then lead to violence.
B) most people with high self-esteem are psychopaths who lack the ability to empathize with others.
C) people with high self-esteem are more likely to become alcoholics.
D) few people with high self-esteem have the modesty and humility needed to sustain satisfying close personal relationships.

Question 30

Gene is given a questionnaire that has statements like these printed on it: "I take a positive view of myself" and "I feel that I have a number of good qualities." He is asked to indicate how much he agrees with these kinds of statements. This questionnaire is meant to measure Gene's

A) self-consciousness.
B) identity cues.
C) self-esteem.
D) self-discrepancies.

Question 31

According to self-verification theory, people with negative self-views tend to remember ________ feedback more. In contrast, people with positive self-views tend to remember ________ feedback more.

A) negative; positive
B) positive; negative
C) inaccurate; accurate
D) accurate; inaccurate

Question 32

Adina has low self-esteem. She always feels uncomfortable in social situations. According to research on self-verification theory, with whom would Adina most likely choose to be friends?

A) Kevin, who told her she's the coolest girl he knows
B) Mitchell, who told her she's kind of awkward
C) Raymond, who is high in self-monitoring
D) Lars, who is low in self-monitoring

Question 33

When is the "better-than-average" effect most likely to occur?

A) when people use objective, concrete measures of performance to assess their abilities
B) when people assess their abilities on ambiguous traits that can be construed in different ways
C) when men are rating their performance compared with women
D) when people are rating themselves on negative traits

Question 34

Although doing his job well is an important aspect of Jim's self-concept, he is just not good at his job. Correspondingly, he is starting to feel bad about himself. According to ________ , Jim will feel better about himself if he gets a new job that he is good at.

A) self-verification theory
B) sociometer hypothesis of self-esteem
C) principle of self-handicapping
D) contingencies of the self-worth account of self-esteem

Question 35

According to the sociometer hypothesis,

A) self-esteem is an internal, subjective index of the extent to which people feel included or excluded by others.
B) people are social animals who thrive on conflict and dominating others.
C) people use reflection and social comparison processes to maintain a positive self-image.
D) people strive for accurate beliefs about the self in order to form adaptive judgments and decisions.

Question 36

Different theories make different predictions about the source of a person's self-esteem. For example, sociometer theory argues that self-esteem depends on ________, whereas the contingencies of self-worth account argues that self-esteem depends on ________.

A) social acceptances versus social rejection; success versus failure in important life domains
B) success versus failure in important life domains; social acceptance versus social rejection
C) being independent; maintaining social harmony
D) maintaining social harmony; being independent

Question 37

One implication of Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model is that

A) we are biased to believe that our friends' self-concepts are similar to our own.
B) we can expect our good friends to help us succeed at anything because all of our successes reflect well on them.
C) we should choose friends whom we outperform in domains relevant to our self-concept but who are talented in domains that are not relevant to the self.
D) our friends' competencies (or lack thereof) do not influence our self-concept.

Question 38

Research supporting self-verification theory has shown that people

A) selectively attend to information that is consistent with their self-views.
B) want to be seen as mysterious and, therefore, hide their true selves from others.
C) tend to form relationships with others who view them in positive ways.
D) tend to remember positive feedback more than negative feedback.

Question 39

________ holds that people are motivated to view themselves in a favorable light and that they do so through reflection and social comparison.

A) Self-discrepancy theory
B) The self-evaluation maintenance model
C) Self-verification theory
D) The five-factor model

Question 40

The "better-than-average" effect refers to the finding that people

A) tend to assume others are better than themselves at difficult tasks.
B) tend to think that they are above average.
C) who are better than average are happier.
D) who are better than average are actually more modest about their abilities.

Question 41

Recall that Berglas and Jones (1978) led male participants to believe that they were going to either succeed or have difficulty on an upcoming test. Next, participants were given the chance to ingest either a performance-enhancing drug or a performance-inhibiting drug. Who preferred the performance-inhibiting drug?

A) All participants did, regardless of their beliefs about success or difficulty.
B) No participants did, regardless of their beliefs about success or difficulty.
C) participants who thought they would succeed on the test
D) participants who thought they would have difficulty on the test

Question 42

The general process by which we control others' beliefs about us is called

A) self-handicapping.
B) impression management.
C) self-monitoring.
D) private self-consciousness.

Question 43

Looking ten years ahead, Lola dreams of being a celebrated writer. According to self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), Lola is reflecting on her ________ self.

A) unattainable
B) ought
C) actual
D) ideal

Question 44

The processes by which people initiate, alter, and control their behavior in the pursuit of their goals is called

A) self-discrepancy.
B) self-enhancement.
C) self-verification.
D) self-regulation.

Question 45

Amber and Courtney are sisters. Amber is the oldest and Courtney is the youngest. According to Frank Sulloway's research on birth order, how might Amber's and Courtney's personalities differ? Describe the evolutionary principle that underlies these differences.

Question 46

Travis is trying to lose weight but loves eating chips. He avoids the chip aisle whenever he is at the grocery store. However, at his friend's holiday party, there is a big bowl of chips on the table. According to Ayelet Fishbach's research on automatic self-control, what is likely to happen when Travis notices the bowl of chips at the party?

A) He decides to avoid eating cookies instead of chips.
B) He realizes he loves chips too much to stop eating them.
C) He starts to think about his goal of losing weight.
D) He does not think about his goal of losing weight.

Question 47

Jim has been trying to lose weight and spent all day ignoring the bowl of candy bars on his coworker's desk. When Jim gets home that evening, he feels exhausted and eats an entire container of ice cream. According to the researchers Baumeister, Vohs, and Tice, Jim is probably experiencing

A) food cravings.
B) ego depletion.
C) ego strength.
D) prevention focus.

Question 48

Jim tends to act in accordance with his internal inclinations, impulses, and dispositions. Also, he is not very attuned to the social context in which he finds himself. Thus, Jim would score ________ on a measure of ________.

A) high; self-handicapping
B) low; self-handicapping
C) high; self-monitoring
D) low; self-monitoring

Question 49

Tiara is worried about bad things happening. She tries not to do poorly in her classes and avoids getting into fights with her boyfriend. Tiara is ________ focused.

A) prevention
B) promotion
C) ought
D) ideal

Question 50

Candice is not doing very well in her art class but wishes she was a great artist. According to research on self-presentation, when she goes on social networking sites, what is she likely to convey about her artistic abilities?

A) that she is, in fact, a good artist
B) that she is not very good at art
C) that she is not interested in art at all
D) that her best friend is an artist

Question 51

The "Who Are You?" task asks students to write down things that describe who they are. Interesting cultural differences emerge in how students respond. Generate five responses that are characteristic of someone from an independent culture and five responses that are characteristic of someone from an interdependent culture. Then, describe how these responses differ.

Question 52

Describe Crocker and Wolfe's contingencies of self-worth account of self-esteem and Leary's sociometer hypothesis. According to each theory, what is the source of an individual's level of self-esteem?

Question 53

How are self-monitoring and self-handicapping related?

A) They are both forms of social comparison.
B) They are both forms of impression management.
C) They are both forms of self-affirmation.
D) They are both forms of self-verification.

Question 54

Experimental evidence on self-discrepancy theory shows that being induced to think that your actual self resembles your ________ self increases ________.

A) ideal; anxiety
B) ought; guilt
C) ought; sensitivity to negative outcomes
D) ideal; sensitivity to positive outcomes

Question 55

Goffman's idea of face refers to

A) our self-schemas.
B) our self-esteem.
C) how other people think about us.
D) who we want others to think we are.

Question 56

Matthew Galliot and his colleagues asked participants to engage in an initial self-control task, such as suppressing their emotions. Next, participants drank Kool-Aid sweetened with either sugar or an artificial sweetener. How did the drink affect participants' performance on a later self-control task?

A) Participants who drank the artificial sweetener drink did better on the second self-control task.
B) Both groups of participants did poorly on the second self-control task.
C) Participants who drank the sugar drink did better on the second self-control task.
D) Both groups of participants did well on the second self-control task.

Question 57

Ryan begins his twenty-page sociology paper at about 5 p.m. on the night before the paper is due. At around 6 p.m., Gary requests a favor that would take several hours. Ryan grants the favor and ends up leaving himself just a few hours to complete the paper. Later, when friends ask Ryan about his paper grade, he says, "I got a D because I was helping Gary all night instead of writing." This scenario exemplifies a self-presentation process called

A) self-handicapping.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) overjustification.
D) self-promotion.

Question 58

Describe differences in self-esteem across independent and interdependent cultures.

Question 59

Describe social comparison theory. When will one engage in upward versus downward comparison?

Question 60

Recall Tory Higgins's argument that people compare their "actual selves" with other "selves" and that these comparisons have important motivational implications. Which of the following is NOT among the selves to which Higgins refers?

A) optimal
B) ideal
C) ought
D) actual

Question 61

Define impression management and explain how self-monitoring and self-handicapping are related to this concept.

Question 62

Describe potential costs of engaging in self-presentation. That is, how could attempts to maintain the favorable impression of others negatively impact our health or well-being? Give two examples.

Question 63

Provide two pieces of evidence that challenge the idea that people always strive to maintain or increase the positivity of their self-views (hint-consider self-verification theory).

Question 64

Imagine that you are a social psychologist and a parent comes to you because he is worried that his child has low self-esteem. Based on your reading, design an intervention to boost the child's self-esteem. Describe the research/theory that supports your proposed plan.

Question 65

Challenge the idea that one's level of self-esteem (high versus low) is the only aspect of self-esteem that relates to well-being or outcomes.

Question 66

According to Taylor and Brown, positive illusions about the self are associated with higher levels of happiness and well-being. Describe two pieces of evidence in support of this prediction, as well as one piece of evidence that challenges it.

Question 67

Explain the concept of ego depletion, and give two examples of situations in which this could occur.

Question 68

Explain self-discrepancy theory and the various "selves" to which this theory refers. Then discuss how discrepant "selves" could influence an individual's well-being.

Question 69

Describe Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model. Show how this model is relevant to understanding whom we choose as friends.

Question 70

Compare automatic and deliberate (controlled) forms of self-regulation.