Chapter 5: The
Social Self
Study Smarter:
Student Website

http://www.wwnorton.com/socialpsych
Chapter Reviews
Diagnostic Quizzes
Vocabulary Flashcards
Apply It! Exercises
Is Self-Awareness Uniquely
Human?
Mirror Self-Recognition (video clip)
 The “rouge test”:
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Outline
1.
Origins of the self
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2.
Environmental influences
Heredity
Self-evaluation and self-esteem
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Self-enhancement
Self-acceptance
The origins of the self
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Environmental:
Culture—individualism vs. collectivism
 Family—birth order
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Genetic heritability
Birth Order and Personality
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Effect of birth order on personality first noted by Alfred
Adler, student of Freud
Sibling rivalries more than sexual conflict, shape
personality
First borns: receive attention & resources, later
“dethroned” by later borns
Later borns: receive less attention & resources, jealous
of privileges of first borns
Birth Order and Personality
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First borns: preservers of the order
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Later borns: destroyers of the order
Birth Order and Personality
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First borns:
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Dominant/assertive, conformist, conscientious
Supporters of status quo
overrepresented among Prime Ministers, US Prez, US
Senate, prominent scientists
Later borns:
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rebellious, creative, manipulative, open to new ideas
Supporters of revolutionary movements
overrepresented among creative artists, scientists with
novel views, political revolutionaries
Birth Order and Personality
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Pro vs anti-establishment achievements for first
vs. later borns
Birth Order and Personality
Similar pattern with daughters
 Statistical pattern, with many exceptions –not
destiny (one of many factors)
 Criticism: Unclear exactly how b-o has its effect
 Frank Sulloway’s book, Born to Rebel
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Two kinds of evidence for
heritability of personality
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Adoption studies
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Compare one’s personality to adopted
parents (low) vs. biological parents (high)
Twin studies
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Compare personality of identical twins
(100%) vs. fraternal twins (50%)
Heritability of Personality Traits
Critique of heritability studies
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Robust evidence of some heritability, but:
How Does Personality Affect
Behaviour?
Little evidence of cross-situational stability
of behaviour
 But good evidence of reliable situationspecific personality in IF-THEN form
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(Mischel & Shoda, 1995)
Mary: In situation x more shy, in situation y
less shy, etc.
 Rajiv: In situation x less agreeable, in
situation y more agreeable, etc.
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Person-Situation Interactions, Mischel &
Shoda, 1995
Mary
Shyness
Rajiv
Izumi
Roberto
When
rejected
With new
people
When praised
The Multiple Origins of Self
and Personality
“Nature proposes, culture disposes”
 Heritable biases to act in certain ways
 Family, peers, larger culture shape,
elaborate, change these biases
 No one factor is deterministic—
orchestra metaphor
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Self-Evaluation
Varieties of Self-Esteem
self-esteem –
trait self-esteem –
state self-esteem –
*implicit self-esteem -
Self-esteem
Self-esteem as self-acceptance, valuing
oneself (including one’s shortcomings)
without conditions attached
 Self-esteem as self-enhancement: seeing
oneself in a positive light; exaggerating
one’s favorable attributes, minimizing
unfavorable ones
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Self-enhancement Strategies
Strategic social comparison
 Unrealistic optimism
 Exaggerated sense of control
 Better than average effect
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Consequences of high selfenhancement and self-esteem
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Very low self-esteem is
Risk factor for depression, anxiety, and drug
abuse
(in Western cultures at least)
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Consequences of high selfenhancement and self-esteem
But very high self-esteem (esp. manifested as
self-enhancement):
More difficulty accepting criticism
 Overconfidence derails self-improvement
 When ego is threatened, aggression and
putting others down
 Narcissism and inflated egos—social
difficulties, esp. when ego is threatened
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Fragile vs secure high selfesteem
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Fragile high self-esteem:
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Contingent self-esteem
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Inconsistent self-esteem
Fragile vs secure high selfesteem
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Secure high self-esteem: is unconditional
acceptance of an individual by another person
or oneself
Unconditional positive regard (Rogers, Maslow)
 Self-acceptance--the healthiest form of self
esteem
 Encouraged in many wisdom traditions
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Summary
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The self is shaped by
Culture (individualism-collectivism)
 Family (birth order)
 Heritability
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Personality as person x situation interaction
 Self-esteem
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Self-acceptance vs self-enhancement
 Strategies of self-enhancement
 Fragile vs. secure high self-esteem
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