psych

the sum total of beliefs that people have about themselves

makes up self-concept; beleifs about oneselef that guide processing of self-relevant information

1. autobiographical memories
2. perceptions of our own behavior
3. introspection
4. influences of other people
5. culturla influences on the selfconcept

report more events from the recent than the past except for reminiscence peak and transistional firsts
ESSENTIAL FOR SELF-CONCEPT
-can distort past to self-inflate

able to remember information better if its relevant to you

people can learn about themselves by watching own behavior

when internal cues are difficult to interpret they gain insight by observing own behavior

originates infactors within a person
-do it b/c makes feel good

originates in factors outside the person

self-knowledge through looking inward at one's own thoughts and feelings

people tend to describe themselves in ways that set them apart from others in their immediate vicinity
-the self is relative

when uncertain about our abilities or opinions we evaluate self through comparisons with similar others

need a physiological response
need to make a cognitive interpretation that explains the source of the arousal

individualism vs. collectivism

self-esteem is defined by the match or mismatch b/t how we see ourselves and how we want to see ourselves

tendency to hold ourselves in high regard

1. self-serving cognitions
2. self handicapping
3. basking in the glory of others
4. downward social comparisons

people take credit for success and distance themselves from failure
-most people are unrealistically optimistic

behaviors designed to sabotage one's own performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure

raise our self-esteem when we bask in reflected glory by associating with others who are successful

distance ourselves from others who fail or are of low status

self-esteem is at stake we tend to make comparisons with others who are worse off

process by which we try to sohape what others think of us and what we think of ourselves

our efforts toshape others impressions in specific ways to gain influence, power, sympathy, or approval
ingratiation: desire to get along with others and be well liked
self promotion: desire to get ahead and gain respect for one's competence

desire to have others perceive us as we truly perceive ourselves

locating cause for an event/behavior

the process by which we make attributions

information-processing rulesof thumb

1. availability heuristic
2. false consensus effect
3. fundamental attribution error
4. actor/observer effect

tendency to estimate the likelihood that an event will occur by how easily instances of it come to mind