Psychology 2035A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Social Comparison Theory, Fritz Heider, Ellen Langer

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2035A/B
• Professor: Doug Hazlewood

Document Summary

The self is both a cognitive and a social construct, one that emerges in early childhood and unfolds through adolescence. People desire possible selves that enhance their self-esteem, self-perceived effectiveness, and sense of meaning or purpose. Once the self-concept is established, the individual has a tendency to preserve and defend it: they seem to be most susceptible to change when people shift from an important and familiar social setting to an unfamiliar one. Three organized self-perceptions include: actual, ought, and ideal self: the ideal and ought selves serve as personal standards or self-guides that direct behaviour. Self-discrepancy consists of a mismatch between the self-perceptions that make up the actual, ought, and ideal self. When the actual and ideal self are at odds, such instances trigger dejection-related emotions. When the actual and ought self are at odds, such instances trigger agitation-related emotions.