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Module 5 - Social Self
Module 5 - Social Self
5. SOCIAL SELF
Overview
This module will talk about human beings as complex creatures that
generally attempt to view themselves positively. As they attempt to do
so, they are heavily influenced by the social forces that surround them.
With this, we will discuss in detail all the social aspects of the self by
exploring the ways how social situations and concepts influence our
self-concept and self-esteem.
Study Guide
● You can complete this module at your own phase. It means you
can take every part to study depending on your capability to do
so.
● This module starts with a brief overview about what the topic is
all about. It will also tell you the learning outcomes we would want
you to accomplish after completing this module. The presentation
of topic has complete resources you can check for further readings
and clarifications.
● Requirements involve learning activities and assessment which
are available on the last part of the module. Take time to study
each lesson carefully to apply these new learnings appropriately
Learning Outcomes
• Explain the concept of social identity and why it is important to the self.
• Discuss theories and concepts that explain the social self.
• Describe how self-evaluation maintenance theory helps to explain how
we react when other people’s behaviors threaten our sense of self.
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Topic Presentation
SOCIAL IDENTITY
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1. CATEGORIZATION
We categorize objects for us to understand and identify them. In the
same way, we categorize people (including ourselves) in order to
understand our social environment. We use social categories to affirm
which category we fit in within the society.
Categorization helps us to function in a normal manner as it gives us
cues on the appropriate behavior we should portray when dealing with
other people within the social context. As a student, we will be
respectful towards our teachers as authority figures while we may not
give the same level of respect to our colleagues and peer groups.
Categorization is the foundation of how we learn to respond to people
according to how we categorize them and ourselves too.
2. SOCIAL IDENTIFICATION
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How can we take a look on the looking glass self when applied to a
person? It occurs in three steps:
1. An individual in a social situation imagines how they appear
to others.
2. That individual imagines others’ judgment of that appearance.
3. The individual develops feelings about and responds to those
perceived judgments.
LABELING THEORY
One of the concepts that explain one’s
social self is Labeling theory. It
pertains to instances where an
individual accepts a label that was
given to him by someone else after
they have performed a certain action
that deemed inappropriate for a
specific social situation. A person can
be called ‘stupid’ for not being able to
do something expected from him. Over
time, this person will internalize and accept this label and assimilates
himself in the behavior—telling and showing everyone that he is one.
If we are repeatedly labeled and evaluated by others, self-labeling may
occur. Such labels will reach our self-concept no matter how untrue
these labels could be. And the effects of these labels depend mostly on
the nature of the label attributed to us. In these situations, those who
self-label may experience internalized prejudice on how we treat
ourselves. We can be too harsh on ourselves by internalizing much of
these labels without thinking that these are just labels that can still be
worked on.
Oftentimes, our behavior towards ourselves is far more honest and
critical than our behavior towards others and this is where the problem
lies. Too much internalized prejudice may lead to a more negative self-
concept and psychological adjustments.
SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY
Social comparison occurs as the last stage of the social identity theory
and as a concept, it happens when we learn about our abilities, skills,
appropriateness and validity of our opinions, and about our relative
social status by comparing our own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
with those of others.
It arises on dimensions where there are no correct answers or objective
standards to rely on. Therefore, we rely on others’ beliefs for
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Example: If you really love the game, you will keep practicing so you
can improve and beat your groupmates.
By using these strategies, we will be able to regain our self-concept and
esteem little by little which can be shattered through continuous
comparisons. However, some people cannot cope up easily on such
comparisons which could affect how they present themselves to other
people.
SELF PRESENTATION
This is the tendency to present a positive self-image to others with the
goal of increasing our social status. It is a basic and natural part of our
everyday lives for we all wanted to be seen positively by everyone. The
only question regarding our self-presentation is its degree of honesty.
Are we portraying who we really are or are we portraying something else
to gain validation and approval from more people?
The sociologist Erving Goffman (1959) developed an influential theory
of self-presentation and described it as a mainly honest process, where
people need to present the parts of them required by the social role that
they are playing in a given situation. If everyone plays their part
according to the accepted social standards, then the social situation
will run smoothly and they can avoid embarrassment.
However, other theorists have viewed self-presentation as a more
strategic endeavor, which may involve not always portraying ourselves
in genuine ways because people tend to continuously seek validation
from others. The more they are validated from the false sense of self,
the more they deviate from the supposedly honest process of self-
presentation.
There are different self-presentation strategies used by people so they
can elicit different emotions from a variety of people they interact with.
No matter who uses self-presentation, the tendency to overdo it is
possible.
Ingratiation is to create liking by using flattery or charm. You may tend
to keep showing charm or to keep giving flattery remarks so that people
would like you more. Unfortunately, overdoing it can make people
dislike you for trying too hard to be liked.
Intimidation is to create fear by showing that you can be aggressive.
People who intimidate others wanted to stir fear among other people by
giving cues that he can show aggression either actively or passively.
Exemplification is to create guilt by showing that you are a better
person than the other. People who overuse the exemplification by
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References
Bazarova, N. N., Taft, J. G., Choi, Y., & Cosley, D. (2013). Managing
impressions and relationships on Facebook: Self-presentational and
relational concerns revealed through the analysis of language
style. Journal Of Language And Social Psychology, 32(2), 121-141.
doi:10.1177/0261927X12456384
Buunk, A. P., & Gibbons, F. X. (2007). Social comparison: The end of a
theory and the emergence of a field. Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes, 102(1), 3–21.
Buunk, B. P., Zurriaga, R., Peiró, J. M., Nauta, A., & Gosalvez, I. (2005).
Social comparisons at work as related to a cooperative social climate
and to individual differences in social comparison orientation. Applied
Psychology: An International Review, 54(1), 61-80. doi:10.1111/j.1464-
0597.2005.00196.x
Deaux, K., Reid, A., Mizrahi, K., & Ethier, K. A. (1995). Parameters of
social identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(2),
280–291.
Festinger, L. U. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human
Relations, 7, 117-140. doi: 10.1177/001872675400700202
Galinsky, A. D., Wang, C. S., Whitson, J. A., Anicich, E. M., Hugenberg,
K., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2013). The reappropriation of stigmatizing
labels: The reciprocal relationship between power and self-
labeling. Psychological Science, 24(10), 2020-2029.
doi:10.1177/0956797613482943
König, C. J., Hafsteinsson, L. G., Jansen, A., & Stadelmann, E. H.
(2011). Applicants’ self‐presentational behavior across cultures: Less
self‐presentation in Switzerland and Iceland than in the United
States. International Journal Of Selection And Assessment,19(4), 331-
339.
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