PSYC 333 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Temple University Press, Prime Power, Wrinkle
7 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture'2:'Who'am'I?'
(Jan.'11)'
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Bibliography:'
-Ross,' Lee.' “Introduction”' from' The' Person' and' the' Situation:' Perspectives' of' Social'
Psychology/'Lee'Ross,'Richard'E.'Nisbett.'Philadelphia:'Temple'University'Press,'1991.''
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Introduction':'Who'am'I?'
1.'Write'down'5'characteristics'you'would'use'to'describe'yourself'to'the'person'sitting'
next'to'you'in'class.'
2.'Now'think'of'being'home'for'the'holiday'and'being'introduced'to'your'sibling’s'new'
romantic'partner'–'list'5'characteristics'to'describe'yourself'to'this'person.''
3.' Now' think' about' being' out' on' a' Friday' evening' with' friends' at' a' party' and' you’re'
introduced' to' a' friend' of' a' friend' -' list' 5' characteristics' to' describe' yourself' to' this'
person.'
=>'It'illustrates'that'in'many'ways'the$self$in$context-dependent.'More'specifically'we'
often'tend'to'describe'our'self'in'ways'we'are'unique.''
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We' are' multiple$ selves:'“A# man# has# a# many# social# selves# as# there# are# individuals# who#
recognize#him#and#carry#an#image#of#him#in#their#mind.”'(William'James,'1892)'
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Which'self'am'I'now?'
-Phenomenal$self'(Jones'&Gerard,'1967)'
It' is' that' small' portion' of' (self)' knowledge' that' is' the' current' focus' of' awareness' at' a'
specific'moment'in'time.''
-Spontaneous$self-concept'(McGuire,'1984):'it'is'based'on'distinctiveness'theory'
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Plan:'
I.'Distinctiveness'theory'
' A.'Example'1:'Atypical'attributes'
' B.'Example'2:'Ethnicity'
' C.'Example'3:'Gender'
' D.'Example'4'(Cota'&'Dion,'1986)'
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II.'Accessibility'
' A.'Dynamic'Self-Concept'(Markus'&'Wurf,'1987)'
' B.'Activation'potential'of'available'knowledge'(Higgins,'1996)'
' C.'Accessibility'is'a'function'of'frequency'of'activation'and'recency'of'activation''
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III.'Contextual'activation'
' A.'Contextual'activation'(Fazion,'Effrein,'Falender,'1981,'JPSP)'
'B.'Contextual'activation'II'(Bargh,'Chen'&'Burrows,'1996)'
' ' 1.'Study'1:'Rude'vs.'Polite''
' ' 2.'Study'2:'Elderly'prime'
'C.'Contextual'activation'III'(Duguid'&'Goncalo,'2012)'
' D.'Contextual'activation'IV'(Bartz,'Et'Al.,'2015)'
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IV.'Self-Schemata'(Markus,'1977)'
' A.'Schema'
' B.'Experience:'schematic'and'aschematic'traits'
'C.'What'characteristics'are'likely'to'be'incorporated'into'the'self-schemata?'
' ' 1.'Study'1:'Distinctiveness'(self-comparison)''
' ' 2.'Study'2:'Particularly'salient'form'of'distinctiveness?'
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I.'Distinctiveness'theory'
A'person' notices'her' or'his' distinctive'traits' and'personal' characteristics'more' readily'
because' of' the' greater' informational' richness' and' value' for' discriminating' self' from'
others.''
Ex:' it' is' not' very'useful' to' describe' yourself' as' a' McGill' student' in' a' class' of' McGill'
students.''
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A.'Example'1:'Atypical'attributes'
6th'graders'complete'the'“Who'am'I?”'task.'
Students' atypical' in' age,' hair' color,' eye' color,' weight' and' birthplace' mention' these'
attributes' more' than' those' with' typical' characteristics' (McGuire' and' Padawer-Singer,'
1976)'
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B.'Example'2:'Ethnicity'
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C.'Example'3:'Gender'
Gender:'function'of'household'sex'composition'(McGuire,'McGuire'&'Winton,'1979).'
26%' of' minority' sex' in' classroom' mentioned'gender,' 11%' of' majority' (McGuire' &'
Singer,'1976)'
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We’re'different'selves'in'different'situations.'
It'is'spontaneous,'not'strategic:' what'spontaneously'comes'to'mind' when'we'describe'
ourselves'is'driven'(partly)'by'the'situational'context.'
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D.'Example'4'(Cota'&'Dion,'1986)'
They'create'ad'hoc'3-person'groups'in'the'lab:'
-all'males'
-all'females'
-1'male,'2'female'(distinctiveness'condition)'
-1'female,'2'males'(distinctiveness'condition)'
Who'describes'themselves'by'gender'?''
34%'(distinctiveness'condition)'vs.'16%'
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II.'Accessibility'
A.'Dynamic'Self-Concept'(Markus'&'Wurf,'1987)'
-Self' is' a' collection' of' representations/schemas/beliefs' about' the' self:' some' are'
core/strongly'held,'other'peripheral,'some'contradictory.''
-“Working$ self-concept”'is' that' set' of' representations' that' is$ accessible'at' any' one'
moment.'
-Core'self'conceptions'are'imbedded'in'a'context'of'more'tentative'self-conceptions'that'
are'tied$to$prevailing$circumstances.'
-Metaphor'of'“The'Spotlight”:'self'as'a'large'field'of'ideas'and'information.''
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B.'Activation'potential'of'available'knowledge'(Higgins,'1996)'
The'self'as'an'associative'network'
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“Mother”'and'“teacher”'are'essential'characteristics'of'Jennifer.'The'fact'of'being'English'
or' to' have' followed' some' art' courses' is' more' peripheral.' =>' We' have' lot' of'
characteristics'but'some'are'more'important'than'other'depending'on'the'frequency'and'
of'the'recency'of'activation.''
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Document Summary
Introduction from the person and the situation: perspectives of social. => it illustrates that in many ways the self in context-dependent. More specifically we often tend to describe our self in ways we are unique. We are multiple selves: a man has a many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their mind. (william james, 1892) It is that small portion of (self) knowledge that is the current focus of awareness at a specific moment in time. Spontaneous self-concept (mcguire, 1984): it is based on distinctiveness theory. A person notices her or his distinctive traits and personal characteristics more readily because of the greater informational richness and value for discriminating self from others. Ex: it is not very useful to describe yourself as a mcgill student in a class of mcgill students: example 1: atypical attributes. 6th graders complete the who am i? task.
