PSC 161 Chapter 5: PSC161- Brown, ch 5 notes
The Self from a Cognitive Perspective
● Cognitive psychology is concerned with
○ 1. Attentional processes (what we notice)
○ 2. Interpretations (how we interpret & explain what we notice)
○ 3. Memory (what we remember )
● The representation of self - knowledge
○ Cognitive psychologists assume knowledge of the world is organized in cognitive
structures
■ Organized in a hierarchical fashion
■ General concepts are at top of hierarchy
● Specific info at lower parts of hierarchy
■
○ Self - complexity: ways a person thinks about themself ???
■ High in self- complexity
● People who think of themselves in many different ways
■ Low in self - complexity
● People who think of themselves in few ways
■ Measuring self - complexity
● People given cards with traits on them
● They group the cards into piles that describe themselves in
various situations
● High self - complexity score = lots of groups & less overlap among
groups
■ Linville argues that differences in self - complexity affect people’s
responses to positive & negative events
● Less complex = more extreme responses to pos & neg events
○ Ex: lawyer
■ Whole life revolves around law. If you win you’re
ecstatic, but if you lose you are devastated
○ Do NOT have another identity to fall back on
● Multiple identities can be helpful
○ Other identities can help cushion a blow (like lawyer losing
case)
○ Multiple identities generally healthy
● Multiple identities can sometimes be problematic
○ We can NOT be all things we want to be
■ Examples of Self - Concepts that are high in self - complexity & low in self
- complexity
●
■ Study by Donahue, Robins, Roberts, & John
● College students described themselves in 5 social roles
● Findings
○ High self - concept differentiation was associated with
depression, neuroticism, & low self - esteem
○ Suggests that multiple identities are beneficial only if they
are well integrated with one another
● Self - concept Certainty & Importance
○ Self - concept certainty
■ We hold some views of ourselves with great certainty
● Ex: we can be sure we are outgoing & positive that we are not
mechanically inclined
■ Other views can be ill defined
● Can be subject to uncertainty
● Ex: not sure if you’re intuitive
■ Self - views w/ great certainty are less likely to change than self - views
with uncertainty
■ The more certain one feels about their self - views, the better they feel
about themself
○ Self - concept & its importance
■ Some self - views are central, others are peripheral or not important
■ The importance of an identity varies as a function of goal relevance
■ High importance
● Tend to be identities that are instrumental to our goals & ambitions
■ Low importance
● Tend to be unrelated to our goals & ambitions
■ Importance of social identities vary
● Ex: one may think of themself in terms of family
● Ex: another may think in terms of work
● Different social identities influence people’s emotional lives
Document Summary
Interpretations (how we interpret & explain what we notice) Cognitive psychologists assume knowledge of the world is organized in cognitive structures. General concepts are at top of hierarchy. Specific info at lower parts of hierarchy. People who think of themselves in many different ways. People who think of themselves in few ways. People given cards with traits on them. They group the cards into piles that describe themselves in various situations. High self - complexity score = lots of groups & less overlap among groups. Linville argues that differences in self - complexity affect people"s responses to positive & negative events. Less complex = more extreme responses to pos & neg events. If you win you"re ecstatic, but if you lose you are devastated. Do not have another identity to fall back on. Other identities can help cushion a blow (like lawyer losing case) We can not be all things we want to be.
