Question 1

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:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tara feels insecure. You advise her to...

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Self-regulation involves adjusting one's behavior to meet personal standards, goals, or ideals, which is what Angie is doing by trying to match her behavior to an 'ought' or an 'ideal' standard.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

The 'ought' self in self-discrepancy theory refers to how we think we should be, encompassing duties, obligations, and responsibilities.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

Higgins (1987) introduced the concept of self-discrepancies, focusing on the differences between the actual self (how we see ourselves), the ideal self (how we wish to be), and the ought self (how we think we should be). Thus, self-discrepancies are revealed through comparisons of the actual self with both the ideal and the ought selves.

Question 5

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 _________'.

Accepted Answer

The overjustification effect explains how external rewards (in this case, money) can decrease a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task they previously enjoyed for its own sake, like Jenny's knitting.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Integrated self-schemas help in moderating mood swings and context effects on mood because they allow for a more nuanced self-view, blending both positive and negative aspects. This contrasts with compartmentalised self-schemas, where specific events can trigger extreme shifts in mood by activating either a very positive or very negative self-schema.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

Festinger's social comparison theory posits that in the absence of objective measures, individuals learn about themselves by comparing themselves with others. This helps them evaluate their own opinions and abilities when objective standards are not available.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

Bem's self-perception theory suggests that individuals come to understand their own attitudes and characteristics by observing their own behavior and the circumstances in which this behavior occurs, leading to internal attributions about themselves.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

The overjustification effect suggests that external incentives like rewards can sometimes reduce a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task. However, setting performance goals and rewarding good performance can improve task performance by providing clear objectives and incentives, aligning with the principles of operant conditioning rather than diminishing intrinsic motivation.

Question 10

BIRGing is:

Accepted Answer

BIRGing stands for "Basking In Reflected Glory," which is a social psychology concept where individuals associate themselves with successful others to improve their own self-esteem, often through name-dropping or emphasizing personal connections to those who are successful.

Question 11

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:

Accepted Answer

The overjustification effect typically occurs when external incentives decrease a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task. However, May's actions (working overtime, skipping breaks) despite no external rewards (payrise, promotion) suggest an intrinsic motivation to work, which doesn't align with the outcomes described in options A, B, or C that are associated with the overjustification effect.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Higgins' self-discrepancy theory distinguishes between three kinds of self-schemas: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self, focusing on the emotional consequences of discrepancies between these selves.

Question 13

Festinger's theory of social comparison implies that people:

Accepted Answer

Festinger's theory of social comparison suggests that individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others, especially to those who are similar to them, to gain a sense of accuracy or validation.

Question 14

Regulatory focus theory:

Accepted Answer

Regulatory focus theory indeed differentiates between a promotion focus, which is about achieving positive outcomes and aspirations, and a prevention focus, which is concerned with avoiding negative outcomes and fulfilling duties and obligations. This theory is about how people approach their goals and tasks, influencing their sense of self and behavior.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that individuals develop their internal attributes, attitudes, and beliefs by observing their own behavior and the circumstances under which that behavior occurs. Mary's view aligns with this theory, as it posits that we gain self-knowledge by making self-attributions based on our actions and behaviors.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

BIRGing stands for "Basking in Reflected Glory," which involves associating oneself with successful others to enhance one's own image.

Question 17

People are self-schematic on dimensions:

Accepted Answer

People are self-schematic on dimensions that are important to them, on which they think they are extreme, and on which they are certain the opposite does not hold. This encompasses all the options provided, making D the correct choice.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

Self-guides can represent both the ideal self as well as the 'ought' self, and are associated with promotional goals that people strive for.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Self-discrepancy theory identifies three types of self-schemas: the actual self, the ought self, and the ideal self.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

Tom's statement aligns with the concept of self-schemas, which are cognitive representations of our experiences, traits, and abilities, organized in a way that information about the self is stored in specific, context-related nodes or categories.

Quiz 4: Self and Identity