Psychology 2035A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Ego Depletion, Reference Group, Social Comparison Theory

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2035A/B
• Professor: Matthew Maxwell-Smith

Document Summary

An actual self- (qualities people think they possess) An ideal self- (qualities people would like to have) An ought self- (qualities people think they should possess: self-discrepancies mismatches between the actual, ideal, and/or ought selves, these can cause various effects: When the actual self falls short of the ideal self, we feel dejected and sad. When the actual self falls short of the ought self, we feel irritable and guilty: people cope with self-discrepancies by: Changing their behavior to bring it more in line with the ideal, or ought selves. Blunting self-awareness by: avoiding situations that increase self-awareness, or, by using alcohol. If we want to improve, we choose reference groups of superior qualities, upward social comparison, but. If we want to bolster self-esteem, we choose inferior groups, downward social comparison. : observations of our own behavior are subjective and distorted in a positive direction, feedback from others is important in balancing our own observations.