Social Psychology
The Self
How is Social Psychology Different
From Philosophy/Psychology?
• Defining Characteristic: Scientific Method
– Refers to a set of techniques used to:
• Investigate specific psychological phenomena
• Acquire new knowledge
• Correct and/or integrate previous knowledge
Scientific Method
• This method of inquiry is based on:
– Gathering observable, empirical, and measurable
evidence
– Collection of data through observation and/or
experimentation
– Formulation and testing of hypotheses
• Allows research to be replicated by other
scientists (i.e., reliability)
Quantitative Research Methods in
Psychology
• Quantitative Methods:
– Experiments: used to demonstrates cause
and effect relationships between variables
– Questionnaires: used to describe
relationships between variables (typically
correlations)
Experiments
• Defining Features:
– Independent variable: variable that is manipulated in order to
cause some change in the dependent variable
– Dependent variable: variable that is measured; is hypothesized
to be affected by changes in the independent variable
– Random assignment: procedure used to assign participants to
experimental or control conditions
• Is used to minimize individual differences and help assure us that
groups are similar prior to treatment
Questionnaires (Psychology)
• Defining features:
– Use of closed and/or open ended questions
– Use of Likert type scales (sometimes)
• Measure attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs in
relationship to some social object or phenomena
Research Methods in Social
Psychology
• Qualitative Methods
– Naturalistic Observation
– Interviews
– Ethnography
Naturalistic Observation
• Defining features:
– Systematically observing participants in their natural
environment
– Construction of “field notes” which are then subjected to analysis
• Advantages: allows researcher to observe actual
behavior in an unobtrusive manner
• Disadvantages: is difficult to determine exact cause of
behavior because there is lack of control over outside
variables
Social Psychological Interviews
• Defining features:
– Use of closed and/or open ended questions that the researcher
asks participants directly
– Can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured
• Advantages: Allows participants to answer questions on
their own terms (no predefined response categories) and
provide elaboration when responses are ambiguous
• Disadvantages: is time consuming and responses can
be difficult to analyze
What is the Self?
• Self: A symbol using being who can reflect
on their behavior (Franzoi, 2009)
• Symbols: refer to objects, pictures, words,
sounds, or markings that represent
something else by association
– e.g., language, national flag, the cross (from
Christianity), swastika
What is the Self?
• Different perspectives:
– Symbolic Interactionism (Mead, 1934;
Goffman, 1959)
• Emphasizes interactions between people
• Use of symbols in communication and interaction
• Interpretation as part of action (i.e., stimulusinterpretation-response)
• The self is constructed with others through
communication and interaction
What is the Self?
• Different perspectives:
– The Looking Glass Self (Cooley, 1902)
– Three main components (Yeung et al, 2003):
• 1) We imagine how we appear to others
• 2) We imagine the judgement of that appearance
• 3) We develop our self through the judgement of others
Self Presentation
• Strategic self-presentation
– The process of constructing and presenting the self in
order to shape other people’s impressions and
achieve ulterior goals (as cited in Franzoi, 2009)
• Also referred to as “impression management”
(Goffman, 1959)
Self Presentation and Impression
Management (Goffman, 1959)
• Dramaturgy: uses theatrical performance as a
metaphor to describe self-presentation
strategies
– Assumes that the self is fluid and is (re)produced in
every interaction
– Manner in which self will be presented is dependent
upon
• cultural values
• Norms and expectations
• definition of the situation
Definition of the Situation
– Concept derived from symbolic interactionism (e.g.,
W.I. Thomas, Goffman)
– Refers to a consensual agreement between
individuals on the characteristics of a given situation
– Agreement entails specific expectations about how to
behave in that social context
– Appropriate behavior predicated on the roles implied
by the definition of the situation
Roles and Definition of the
Situation
• Front stage behavior
– Where both the actor and audience are present (i.e.,
is a performance)
– Actions are visible to the audience
– Goal is to convince audience of actor’s personal
characteristics and intentions
• e.g., waiter in a restaurant acts differently in front of
customers than when in the kitchen
Roles and Definition of the
Situation
• Back stage behavior
– No audience is present
– Actor’s behavior is not visible (to the audience)
– “Breaking Character”: when backstage performance
is interrupted by someone not meant to see it
• e.g., servant is mocking employer while with other servants,
and the employer’s husband enters the room and observes
behavior
Self Schemas
• “Refers to a cognitive structure that represents
how you think about yourself in a particular
domain, and how you organize your experiences
in that domain” (Franzoi, 2009, p. 68)
• Self schemas are culturally and historically
specific (i.e., they will vary from one culture to
another, and by historical period)
Self Schemas
• Social contexts affect which self schemas are
activated at particular times
• Examples:
– Self schemas regarding being a “good student” are
likely to be activated in the classroom
– Self schemas regarding being “sexy” are likely to be
activated in singles bars
– Self schemas regarding being a “musician” are likely
to be activated when at a concert
“If you believe something to be real, it will be
real in its consequences”
-W.I. Thomas