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PSYCHOLOGY OF ADJUSTMENT

Dr. M. Clark
TOPIC A – THE NATURE OF ADJUSTMENT

 What is Adjustment? (Open discussion)


 Definition: Feldman (1989:37)
 ‘The efforts people make to meet the demands and challenges
placed on them by the world’
 Plays a central role in everybody’s existence

Group exercise: identify the challenges of everyday living


 Note: Although we face unique challenges (because of our
unique genetic background and past experiences) several
common themes exist in everyone’s life.
What are these?

 Feldman identifies 4:
1. the challenge of defining and maintaining one’s individuality in
the world
2. the challenge of maintaining physical and mental health
3. the challenge of forming relationships with others
4. the challenge of living with others in a complex society

Adjustment =
1. meeting the challenges;
2. Developing resilience/ strengths to cope with them
THE ADJUSTMENT PROCESS

 Understand oneself better


 Use better strategies to solve our problems
 Think more clearly about how to adapt to
stressful circumstances or to overcome them
THE CONCEPT OF RESILIENCE

 Appears to be understood cross culturally as the


capacity to resist or bounce back from adversities
 Spanish – la defensa ante le adversidad – defence
against adversity
 French – avoir du ressort – to bounce back
 German – unverwustlichkeit – indestructible
 Italian – capacita di recupero – ability to recover
Clinical definition
 ‘the maintenance of competent functioning despite an
interfering emotionality’ (Garmazy, 1991:466)
 A resilient person is one who exhibits positive adaptation in
circumstances where one might expect, due to atypical levels
of stress, a significant degradation in coping skills to take place
(Matsen and Coatsworth , 1998)
 Grotberg, (1997:7) extends the use to include the community:
‘a universal capacity which allows a person, group or
community to prevent, minimise or overcome the damaging
effects of adversity’
 Related to psychosocial well being
Beck 1992 Risikogesellschaft

 Increased preoccupation with the concept of


‘risk’
Beck 1992 Risikogesellschaft
 Increased preoccupation with the concept of ‘risk’
 In late modernity the world is perceived as a dangerous place in which
we are continuously confronted with risk
 Risk Society is not intended to imply an increase of risk in society, but
rather a society that is organized in response to risks. 'It is a society
increasingly preoccupied with the future (and also with safety), which
generates the notion of risk' (Giddens 1999: 3).
 Risk can be defined in the risk society as a systematic way of dealing
with hazards and insecurities induced and introduced by modernization
itself (Beck 1992: 21).
 Young people seen as the source and the subjects of risk
 Youth in trouble
 Youth as trouble
vulnerability

 Term used to predict vulnerability to –ve life


outcomes eg. School failure, drug abuse,
delinquency & unemployment
From Risk Resilience

 1950’s focus on ASSETS as opposed to


DEFICITS
 1980’s – research emphasis on the concept
of resilience & ideas about prevention &
intervention
Protective factors
 Benard(1991) suggests that resilience is a set of
qualities/protective mechanisms that give rise to
successful adaptation despite presence of high risk
factors
 Linquanti(1992) argues that resilience is that quality
in children who even though exposed to significant
stress do not succumb to school failure, delinuqency
etc.. that they are at greater risk of experiencing
 Rutter(1990) adds that Resilience is not a fixed
attribute – is circumstances change, the risk alters
Research (Werner & Smith(1988,1990) & Garmezy &
Rutter (1983)

 Similar pattern in results – majority of children


develops into healthy successful young adults
despite high risk environments
 Conclude that most children have self righting
tendencies such that competence, confidence can
flourish even in most adverse circumstances.
Profound relationships rather than risk factors have
more meaningful impact on the direction individuals
take.
Risk and resilience

1. Risk factors heighten the probability that


individuals will experience poor outcomes
2. Resilience factors increase the likelihood
that individuals will resist or recover from
exposure to adversity
 The successful management of risk is a
powerful resilience promoting factor in itself
(Rutter, 1994)
 Risks are cumulative
three dimensions

 Risk and resiliency factors both operate in


three dimensions : the individual, the family
and the community
Types of resilience
 3 broad types (Matsen et al, 1990)
 The first type is represented by individuals who succeed, or
who do not succumb to adversity, in spite of their high risk
status for example low birth weight babies.
 The second type refers to individuals who exhibit maturity and
coping strategies in situations of chronic stress, such as
children of drug using or alcoholic parents
 Thirdly, resiliency may be exhibited by individuals who have
suffered extreme trauma for example through disasters, death
of a close relative, abuse and who have recovered and
prospered.
Protective Factors

 combination of three basic constructs: personality,


social milieu and family functioning
 The differing abilities of individuals to cope with
stressful situations can be attributed to a host of
interconnected factors: psychological and
physiological characteristics inherited or acquired the
frequency of stressful events and the geography of
the individuals peers, family and community
supports.
maladjustment

 Challenging the preoccupation with


maladjustment and pathology
 Need to question the idea that stressors are
necessarily damaging (Antonovsky, 1987)
 Resilience develops through the positive use
of stress to improve competencies
(Fydenberg, 1997)
adjustment
 A working definition of adjustment for this unit:
 ‘The psychological process of adapting to, coping with and managing
the problems, challenges and demands of everyday life (Halonen and
Santrock, 1997)
 Examples
 Students develops better study habits after failing exam
 Person redefines life after a separation
 Depressed person begins to face troubles rather than avoid them

Issue is also socio-cultural and therefore involves consideration of:


 Culture
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Lifecycles
For future psychologists and care
workers – VIP !!!!!!

 describe and interpret behaviours carefully


 identify values and challenge assumptions about behaviour
 examine the influence of context and culture on behaviour
 seek multiple points of view and alternative explanations
 appreciate individual and group differences
 practice ethical sensitivity and civility towards others
 engage in self reflection to enhance self knowledge
 focus on adaptation and growth
A STRENGTH BASED PERSPECTIVE

 no matter how dismal the circumstances people have possibilities, resiliencies and
capacities for change and even transformation
 strength based practictioners look for and try to nurture the ‘gleam’ that is often hidden
 continue to focus on strengths rather than liabilities
 helps clients find the self efficacy to make changes
 Seleebey (2002) ‘a versatile practice approach, relying heavily on ingenuity and
creativity….rather than focusing on problems, your eye turns towards possibility’ (p.1)
 key concepts in the strengths lexicon: empowerment of individuals and communities;
membership/ belongingness; resilience, healing and wholeness; dialogue; suspension of
disbelief in what the client says
 Choice
 Providing options
 Allowing clients to manage their own destiny
 Pay attention to the readiness of clients to make changes in the area they have chosen
 Change is seen as a process on a continuum
Interventions

 Harm reduction
– Transtheroetical model of change Prochaska and
DiClemente (1986)
– Attending to readiness to change
 Motivational interviewing
 Narrative therapy
 All view participants as expert with
knowledge, skills and resources in their own
lived experience
TOPIC B - TRANSITIONS

 Short term life change characterized by sharp


discontinuity with the past
 Definite beginnings and endings
 Positive or negative
 Transitions affect us all, up to 10-20 times in our
lifetime after major life-events.
 Coping with change = a fundamental survival issue.
 Voluntary /involuntary – on time/off time (excluding
developmental changes)
adjustment
 Human beings have evolved a remarkable mechanism for adapting to
trauma and changes.
 Small changes = learning. Larger changes = challenge identity and
deeply held hopes or beliefs.
 Transitions enable us to make fundamental changes to how we see
the world and respond creatively to our new reality, good or bad.
 Take 6-12 months or more to work through most people are unaware
of the process.
 Offer crucial opportunities for personal and career development
 But they also involve a hazardous phase that can go wrong.
 Transitional periods are periods of heightened risk
 Transition process offers a template for understanding the stages of
personal change. We cannot avoid this process but we can learn how
to make the best of it for our work and personal life.
Models of Life Transitions and Counselling
Implications

Social interaction model (Schlossberg, 1984)


 Characterises transition in terms of its 1.type, 2.context and
3.impact
 A transition must be examined in regard to:
– The way a person appraises the transition event
– The nature of the transition itself
– The coping resources present at the time of the transition
– The personal characteristics of the person and the environment
 Counselling implications
– Ascertain the balance of current and possible assets and liabilities
– Linked to developmental characteristics of the person e.g. age, identity
and maturity
Predictable Overlapping Stages Model (Brammer, 1991; Kubler Ross,
1969; Hopson, 1981

 Entry experience of confusion and emotional discomfort, along with shock if


loss is unexpected and severe
 Alternates with relief and positive feelings
 A period of stabilised moods is experienced as defence mechanisms are
mobilised
 Stabilisation is short lived as fears for the future and anger at transition emerge
 Self esteem plummets and feelings of sadness, dread and depression take
over
 Length of feeling of depression =perception of the severity of the loss,
availability of coping resources, cultural attitudes
 Letting go and taking hold of new object or relationship – renewal efforts
Implications for counselling
 Determine where people are in this process model after the transition has
begun
 People often recycle through the process
THE TRANSITION CYCLE (Williams, 1999)

 The stages of transition were first recognized in the


60’s in studies of bereavement.
 In the 70’s it was realized that this process may be
triggered by any major life event, good or bad, in
work as well as personal life e.g. in a new job or after
redundancy.
 First shock, provisional adjustment, inner
contradiction, inner crisis, re-construction and
recovery
stages
1. First shock: initial reactions depend upon whether the event was good or bad
2. Provisional adjustment – lasts about 3 to 4 months
3. Inner contradictions between old view of the world and new situation e.g.
feelings of betrayal after redundancy, lost hopes after separation; irritable,
anxious, loss of confidence
4. Inner crisis: personal transition crisis as a result of stress and anxiety;
contradictions may effect deeply held beliefs; loss of sleep, errors of judgement,
loss of strategic thinking; strong urge to quit
5. Re-construction and recovery: enabling factors include – economic security,
emotional support, time for regular exercise and supportive work environment

 Key task – identify and let go of hopes and beliefs that are no longer
appropriate
 Breaking out of transition crisis is cathartic
 Calm, well being and energy
The transition cycle - a template for human responses to
change (Williams, 1999)
Multiple transitions

Multiple transitions can produce a


cumulative deterioration in well being if the
individual is unable to recover before another
change. This is a serious hazard if an
individual quits (or is dismissed from) a job or
life role at the low point of a transition crisis,
or if they encounter an emotional trauma
while learning a new work role. These may
need help.
 Home
 Relationships
 health
extended crisis

An extended crisis can develop when an


individual is unable to come to terms with a
trauma or change. This can last for months
or years.
Issues for transition management and
support

 Individuals differ in vulnerability to transitions


 Transitions often reach a crisis about 6 months after change, +/- 1
month.
 They can have several outcomes depending on circumstances.
 Effects transcend the individual’s life~work boundary into other roles
 They can cause transitions for others: family, friends, colleagues, and
helpers.
 Change involves situational and intrapersonal learning and un-learning
 Transitions involve at least two levels of adaptation - behavioural and
cognitive restructuring. These occur at different phases of the cycle.
Enabling factors in transitions

 A number of conditions appear to enable successful transitions:


 Economic security - surplus resources, no debt, stable income, own
home, low commitments, multiple-income household
 Emotional security - supportive partner, stable childhood, support
networks, openness on emotional and mental health issues
 Health - good physical fitness, prudent lifestyle, quality time for leisure.
 Prior transition skills - positive transition experiences, clear goals
 Supportive work environment - high respect / low control culture,
good team morale, clear role and contract terms, life~work boundaries
respected
 Transition support - briefing, monitoring issues, practical support,
life~career planning, tolerance, dignity, valuing the past, time off before
illness, confidential counselling, freedom/recognition for new ideas
Inhibiting factors in transitions

 Economic insecurity - low income, debt, high financial commitments, fear of


job loss, temporary, ambiguous or onerous employment contract
 Emotional insecurity - no partner, few friends, dependent relatives, secret
grief (lost lover or child), sense of guilt, unresolved issues or regrets, multiple
transitions, anxiety over being diagnosed mentally ill
 Health - chronic or undiagnosed conditions, low fitness, fatigue, lifestyle
 Hostile work environment - work overload, unrealistic demands, insufficient
resources, abuse of life~work boundary e.g. excessive time demands affecting
relationships, leisure, fitness. Low respect/high control culture. No time off
except sickness absence. Discipline for absence. Scapegoating weaker
members by stressed team. Harassment or abuse by aggressive/stressed
manager. Boss changes. Rigid agenda.
 Poor transition management - no support, no preparation for change,
unrealistic time scales. No monitoring of key issues pre-crisis. No opportunity
for fresh insights. Past achievements ignored or rubbished.
Breaking out of transition crisis

 The mind reconstructs itself and adapts to a new reality.


 Includes a process of cognitive restructuring.
 Initially inhibited by cognitive dissonance defenses (e.g. denial).
 Facilitated by valuing the past and still viable beliefs before letting go
of obsolete concepts, expectations and behaviors.
 There can be a rapid, spontaneous breakout from the crisis phase - a
defining moment or catharsis that triggers this process.
 Once begun the restructuring or recovery process can occur within a
few weeks.
 It liberates creativity, confidence, optimism, a search for new meanings
and a Gestalt type quest for a fully integrated view of the new reality.
Transition psychology: integrating theory and practice

 these observations suggest several ways of integrating existing theories:


 Distinguishing responses to positive and negative events (honeymoon vs.
denial).
 Briefings about the new situation and transition skills facilitate change.
 There may be at least two levels of adaptation to change - behavioural
adaptation and cognitive restructuring.
 Transitions are a developmental task with educational, clinical and counselling
applications. Transition psychology needs to span all these areas to be better
understood and applied.
 The process of cognitive reconstruction can be highly disruptive to the
individual’s peace of mind, competence, performance and relationships.
Bridges’ term ‘neutral phase’ seems inappropriate. This is a potential crisis
phase, a priority period for transition management and support.
 Transitions transcend the individual’s life~work boundary. A career crisis can
have serious ramifications for family members. And personal life transitions can
disrupt work performance. Transition management programmes need to take
account of these interactions. Schlossberg’s 4S approach (situation, support,
self and strategies) is most relevant to this.
Coping with transition (Brammer and Abrego, 1981)

 The length of time required for satisfactory resolution


of a transition depends on a number of mediating
factors:
 The meaning the transition has for the person
 The extent to which the person is aware of and
expresses feelings re transition
 Previous experiences with transitions and learning
form them
 Availability of support systems
 Counselling
 Personal coping skills
TOPIC C – ADJUSTMENT AND THE LIFE CYCLE

 Erik Erikson presents a comprehensive


account of the life cycle
A. Epigenetic

 each stage – new ego quality


 increasing adjustment to complex
environment
 each ego quality that emerges at each
succeeding stage of life depends and builds
on qualities developed in earlier stage
B. Psychosocial

 ego quality emerges in response to both


1. the inner ground plan (psycho)
2. the social environment (social)
 crisis
 ego must establish and maintain itself against the challenge it
confronts
 turning points
 both potential and vulnerability greatly increased
 e.g. stage 4 industry vs. inferiority – during the early school
years, children are especially quick to master new skills, yet
they are also susceptible to feeling inferior if they fail
C. Process

 ‘What the child acquires at a given stage is a certain


ratio between the positive and the negative, which, if
the balance is towards the positive, will help him to
meet later crises with a better chance for unimpaired
total development (1959:61)
 the personality needs to increasingly resolve new
conflicts e.g. our trust in ourselves may be
challenged repeatedly
 we need some negative qualities to survive
D. The Stages

 Trust Vs mistrust - hope


 Autonomy vs. doubt – will power
 Initiative vs. guilt - purpose
 Industry vs. inferiority - competence
 Identity vs. role confusion - fideity
 Intimacy vs. isolation - love
 Generativity vs. stagnation - care
 Integrity vs. despair - wisdom
Some major changes throughout life

 Leaving school
 transition may be gradual or abrupt
 working often nothing in common with school life
 different set of attitudes needed – e.g. discipline and authority – consequences of norm violation
 financial independence imp source of self esteem
 cultural influences on transition to adulthood

unemployment/redundancy
 feelings of loss of control
 Brown (1954) people have a strong need for status and useful function
 Two stage reaction to unemployment
 active
 depression and demoralisation

marriage
 adjustment to marriage often means an adjustment to every area of ones life (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)
 first year more difficult – after first year able to express differences
 ore sensitive to emotional needs of partner
Life changes
Parenthood
 marital breakdown less likely to occur if parenthood is not immediate
 conflict between expectations and reality
Bereavement
 Parkes (1972) 3 stages of grief
 numbness
 ‘pining’ strong sense of person’s absence
 depressed and listless – peaks 5 to 14 days after bereavement – often accompanied by
guilt – irritable and quarrelsome
 delayed reactions to bereavement = psychiatric symptoms
 normally readjustment and coping by the end of the year
 different reactions depend on
 1. being able to express emotion
 being prepared for the event
 Adjustment depends on the severity of stress caused by the event
 The Holmes and Rahe Stressful Life Events Scale
Holmes and Rahe
 Life Events Death of spouse100 Divorce73 Martial
separation65 Jail term63 Death of close family member63
Personal injury or illness53 Marriage50 Fired at work47 Marital
reconciliation45 Retirement45 Change in health of a family
member44 Pregnancy40 Sex Difficulties39 Gain of new family
member39 Business readjustment39 Change in financial
state38 Death of close friend37 Change to different line of
work36 Change in number of arguments with spouse35
Mortgage over $100,00031 Foreclosure of mortgage or loan30
Change in responsibilities at work29
Holmes & Rahe (1967). Holmes-Rahe life changes scale. Journal of
Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 11, pp. 213-218.

 Life EventsSon or daughter leaving home29 Trouble with in-


laws29 Outstanding personal achievement28 Wife begins or
stops work26 Begin or end school26 Change in living
conditions25 Revision in personal habits24 Trouble with boss23
Change in work hours or conditions20 Change in residence20
Change in schools20 Change in recreation19 Change in
church activities19 Change in social activities18 Mortgage or
loan less than $30,00017 Change in sleeping habits16 Change
in number of family get-togethers15 Change in eating habits15
Vacation13 Christmas alone12 Minor violations of the law12
Late modernity

 Growing up in a different world than that experienced by previous


generations
 Changes significant enough to merit a reconceptualisation of human
transitions and social reproduction
 Old model of social reproduction termed in trajectories – metaphor of
train journeys
 Closure of railways car journeys
 Impression of having control over the timing and routing of their
journeys but still constrained by a variety of structural variables
 Individualisation
 Young people embark on journeys into adulthood which involve a wide
variety of routes, many of which appear to have uncertain outcomes
TOPIC D – ADJUSTMENT AND THE SELF

DIMENSIONS OF THE SELF


 Self concept – the cognitive component
 Self esteem – the affective component
 Self presentation – the behavioural component

Nb: the self is heavily influenced by social factors


 Discussion: Why is the study of the self important to
the issue of adjustment?
 Important part of our existence
 Motivating force in life
The trajectory of the self

 The self is seen as a reflexive project for which the individual is


responsible
 The self forms a trajectory of development from the past to the
anticipated future.
 Congruent with concept of career
 The person’s awareness of a past sequence of events associated with
a particuler identity, deemed significant by him and others and which is
seen to extend into the future
 Emphasises the subjective point of view of the actor in relation to the
path one’s life is taking
 Subjective – the way the individual feels about himself
 Objective – turning pints in the person’s life that are significant to the
development of lifestyle
 Self identity as a coherent phenomenon- presumes a
narrative
 The individual appropriates his past by sifting
through it in the light of what is anticipated in the
future
 The reflexivity of the self extends to the body
 Self actualisation is understood as a balance
between opportunity and risk
 The life course is seen as a series of passages
 From Janette Rainwater Cited in Giddens
Growing up in late modernity

 Roberts 1995 – well used metaphor of car and train journeys


 Upside – as sense of excitement and the thrill of new
possibilities, deconstruction of old certainties – possibilities for
rethinking relationships, for overthrowing old prejudices and for
‘individualisation feeling free of the old constraining structures
of thought and action
 Downside – exposure to the fragmentation of the cultural
environment and to new risks
 In the absence of a bedrock of certainty and predictability
anxiety and fear of loss of control are heightened
SELF CONCEPT

 The sum total of an individual’s beliefs about


his of her personal attributes
 Resurgence of interest in the self

1. Vital mediator in the maintenance of


modifications of behaviour
2. Important adaptive value
 Gallup’s experiments
How does the self concept develop

1. reflected appraisal – looking glass self (Cooley,


1902)
 self as a social construction (Mead, 1934)
 the ability to take the role of the other
 factors influence reflected appraisals
– who gives the evaluations
– on what dimensions
– under what circumstances


how often
2. social comparison – social comparison theory
(Festinger, 1954)
 two factor theory of emotion (Schachter and Singer
(1962)
3. introspection/autobiographical memory
4. perception of our own behaviour
Schema

 simple and holistic representation of the social world


– act as relatively enduring templates for the
interpretation of stimuli
 function as selective mechanisms that determine
 a. whether information is attended to;
 b. how it is structured
 c. how much importance is attached to it
 d. what happens to it subsequently
 extremely resistant
Self Schemata

 the cognitive molecules of the self concept (Markus, 1977)


 guide the processing of self relevant information
 recall our life experiences according to personally relevant themes
 a substantial amount of information processed is about the self
 SS represent the way the self is differentiated and articulated in
memory
 A basis for future judgements, decisions and predictions about the self
 Self definitions influence behaviour – self fulfilling prophesy
 Individuals will use information about their own behaviour to make an
inference about the self only when it does not run counter to a
prevailing generalisation about the self
 Can be viewed as implicit theory to interpret past and direct future
behaviour
 Important adaptive value
Self-Schemas

 Attempts to organize, summarize, or explain one's own


behavior in a particular domain result in the formation of
cognitive structures about the self or self-schemata.
 Self-schemata are cognitive generalizations about the self,
derived from past experience, that organize and guide the
processing of the self-related information contained in an
individual's social experience.
 self-schemata facilitate the processing of information about the
self, contain easily retrievable behavioral evidence, provide a
basis for the confident self-prediction of behavior on schema-
related dimensions, and make individuals resistant to
counterschematic information.
Self-Construals

 the interaction between culture and the self.


 People in different cultures have strikingly different construals of the
self, of others, and of the interdependence of the two.
 These understandings can influence, and, in many cases determine,
the very nature of individual experience, including cognition, emotion,
and motivation.
 Many Asian cultures have distinct conceptions of individuality that
insist on the fundamental relatedness of individuals to each other. The
emphasis is on attending to others, fitting in, and harmonious
interdependence with them.
 Conversely, American culture neither assumes nor values such an
explicit connectedness among individuals. Individuals seek to maintain
their independence from others by attending to the self and by
discovering and expressing their unique inner attributes.
Aspects of identity

 Identities are plural


 Every person has a range of identities, according to
how they see themselves (and how others see them)
in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and so
on. This means that seeing an individual in terms of
one aspect of their identity – as a black person, for
example, rather than as (say) a black working-class
woman who is also a social worker, a mother and a
school governor – is inevitably reductive and
misleading.
Identities are dynamic

 The identities people assume, and the


relative importance they attach to them,
change over time because of both personal
change in their lives and change in the
external world (for example, as a result of
changing ideas about disability).
Consequently, identity should not be seen as
something ‘fixed’ within people.
Identities have different and changing meanings

 Aspects of identity may have different meanings at


different times in people's lives, and the meanings
that they attribute to aspects of their identity (for
example, ethnicity) may be different from the
meaning it has for others (for example, being black
may be a source of pride for you, but the basis of
someone else's negative stereotyping).
Identities are contextual and interactional

 Different identities assume greater or less


importance, and play different roles, in different
contexts and settings, and in interactions with
different people. Different aspects of people’s identity
may come to the fore in the workplace and in the
home, for example, while people might emphasise
different aspects of themselves to different people
(and different people may see different identities
when they meet them).
Identities are negotiated

 In constructing their identities, people can


only draw on terms that are available in
society at that time, which have meanings
and associations attached. However, people
may attribute different meanings and
importance to those labels. This means
people always negotiate their identities, in
the context of the different meanings
attached to them.
Key points

 Social identities, whether based on ethnicity,


gender, disability or other factors, should be
seen as:
 plural
 dynamic
 contextual
 negotiated
 produced in social and interactional contexts.
Reflecting on identity

 Activity 3
 You should allow 0 hour(s), 20 minute(s). How would you describe your identity or
identities? What kind of words would you use to describe yourself in terms of:
 gender
 ethnicity
 age
 class?
 You may also want to describe other aspects of your identity that are important to you,
such as nationality or regional identity, sexuality, religious or political beliefs, occupation or
voluntary roles, family roles, interests and abilities, and so on. Use as many or as few
terms as you like.When you have made some notes in answer to this question, think about
the following questions.
 Which of these identities (one or more) is / are the most important to you at this point in
your life – and has this changed overtime?
 Would you have described your identity / identities differently 10 or 20 years ago? In what
way?
Possible Selves

 Possible selves represent individuals' ideas of what they might


become, what they would like to become, and what they are
afraid of becoming, and thus provide a conceptual link between
cognition and motivation.
 As the cognitive components of hopes, fears, goals, and
threats, possible selves give the specific self-relevant form,
meaning, organization, and direction to these dynamics.
 This concept of possible selves takes existing self-knowledge
research one step further by developing ideas about how these
possible selves influence the stability and malleability of the
self, the unity of the self, self-distortion, and the relationship
between the self-concept and behavior.
SELF ESTEEM

 The affectively charged component of the self


consisting of a person’s positive and negative self
evaluations (Coopersmith, 1967)
– Not a single trait (Harter’s research)
– Numerous self schemas
– People evaluate some parts of the self more favourably or
more clearly (Fleming & Courtney, 1984)
 Linked to people’s approach to life
 The vicious cycle of low self esteem
 Low self esteem
 Self blame ~ Negative Expectations

 Failure low effort/


Highanxiety
Self discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1989)

– The theory linking the perception of discrepancies


between a person’s self concept and various self
guides to specific negative emotional states
– Actual self = self concept
 Self guides = standard to which you strive
Self Awareness theory:

 the theory that self focused attention leads


people to notice self discrepancies, thereby
motivating an escape from self awareness or
a change in behaviour
 ‘Shape up’ or ‘ship out’
 drug use
suicide (Baumiester, 1990)
 the ultimate escape from self awareness
 people contemplate suicide when
– they come to realise that they are falling short of personal
standards
– they blame themselves for the failure
– focus too much attention on the self
– suffer negative affect such a s depression
– think in rigid short sighted terms to cope with the anguish
– shed the inhibitions that normally stop people from hurting
themselves
 Suicide more likely when high expectations are followed by
disappointment
 Suicide notes
SELF ENHANCEMENT

 4 main methods
1. biased self serving cognitions
– take credit for success and distance themselves from failure
(Schlenker et al, 1990)
- Unrealistically optimistic (Kunda, 1987)
2. Self handicapping – behaviour designed to sabotage one’s own
performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure
(Berglas and Jones, 1978)
 Two benefits (a) a defensive excuse in case you fail
 (b) Enhanced credit of you succeed
3. Reflection – BIRGing
4. Downward comparison
SELF PRESENTATION

 the behavioural component


 the strategies people use to shape what
others think of them
Goffman

 Dramaturgical approach – life is like a theatre


in which we act out certain lines and assume
a certain face – social identity
Two types of self presentation

1. Strategic self presentation


2. Self verification
Strategic self presentation
efforts to shape other people’s impressions in specific way
 Focus – Baumiester (1982)
 Two motives for self presentation
 Audience pleasing
 we have a need for approval
 we want people to behave in certain ways
 Self construction
 ideal image
 situated identities
 internalisation
Focus – Jones (1990)

 Model of social life – behaviourist/ other people as sources of


reward
 Basic motive – power augmentation – the aim of IM is to
increase power in a relationship by manipulating the impression
the other has of he self
 Self Presentation Strategies
 Ingratiation – conformity, flattery
 intimidation
 self promotion
 exemplification
 supplication
Self verification

 the desire to have others perceive us as we


genuinely perceive ourselves
 Swann (1987) people are highly motivated to
verify their existing self concept in the eyes
of others
Characteristics of Identity Management

 multiple identities
 collaborative
 deliberate or unconscious
 individual differences – high or low self
monitors (Snyder, 1979)
high self monitors

– concerned with social appropriateness of self


presentations
– attentive to what others are doing as a guide to
their own self presentations
– able to control their self expressions
– willing to control these to deceive others
– inconsistent in their behaviour from one situation
to another
Low self monitors

 not concerned with what other people think it is


appropriate to do
 attentive to inner self; not concerned with what
others are doing
 not concerned with controlling their self expressions
 not willing to control these in social situations
 consistent in their behaviour from one situation to
another
Why manage impressions?

 Social rules
 to accomplish personal goals
DISCUSSION:

 Is it better to be a high or a low self monitor?


Is one orientation inherently more adaptive
than the other?
Topic focus:
 Self presentation can be hazardous to your health
 Leary et al (1997) : several patterns of behaviour increase the risk of
illness and injury arise from people’s concern of how they appear to
others
 Concern with social image can increase the risk of cancer, HIV
infection and addiction
 Condom use and the risk of AIDS
– one primary reason people fail to use condoms is self presentational
– concerned how they will be perceived if they obtain condoms or discuss
condoms
– women find it more embarrassing to buy condoms than other forms of
contraception (associated with casual sex, STD’s or promiscuity)
– appear too calculating
– gay men – Gold et al (1991) – unwillingness to take the risk
– high self esteem = self presentational confidence= low need for social
approval = more effective contraceptive use
Sunbathing and skin cancer

– People tend to judge tanned people more


positively than untanned people (Borland and
Gason, 1982)
– Tanning behaviour motivated by the despite to
make better impressions = massages that
emphasise the negative effects of tanning on
appearance rather then health
Nutrition, Weight and Eating Disorders

 +ve and –ve effects


Alcohol, Tobacco and Illicit Drug Use

– Initiated and maintained in part as a self presentational process


– Adolescents and young adults often believe, sometimes correctly,
that the use of alcohol and other drugs can facilitate their social
image and peer acceptance (Kandel, 1980)
– Drug use can serve self presentation goals in at least 5 ways
 a means of conveying desired image
 conveying autonomy and rebelliousness
 socially insecure people use alcohol and drugs to reduce their own
anxiety or because they think it will
 as self handicapping strategies
 some substances may be used because they have secondary effects
on a persons image
SELF EFFICACY

 people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels


of performance that exercise influence over events that effect their
lives
 refers to a person’s judgment of his or her capability to organize and
execute a course of action required to attain a designated type of
performance (Bandura: 1977, 1986)
 involves one’s beliefs about accomplishing a task (Schunk, 1995)
 how people behave and perform can be better predicted by their own
beliefs about their capabilities than by what they are actually capable
of accomplishing
 determine how people feel, think , motivate themselves and behave
 motivation effects individual’s choice of activity, amount of effort and
persistence generated
Cont’
 those with high self efficacy for accomplishing a task
– participate more readily
– work harder,
– persist longer when encounter difficulties
– perform at a higher level (Lent et al 1994; Bandura, 1986;
Morris et al 1995)
– challenges rather than threats
– attribute failure to insufficient effort or knowledge
– reduces stress and vulnerability to depression
SOURCES OF SELF EFFICACY

 mastery experiences
 vicarious experiences provided by social
models
 social persuasion
 somatic and emotional states
Enactive Mastery Experiences

 authentic evidence of whether one can muster what it takes to


succeed
 successes build robust sense of efficacy
 failures undermine it, especially if failures occur before a sense of
efficacy is firmly established (timing is important)
 Experience in overcoming obstacles through perseverant effort.
 The extent to which people alter their efficacy through performance
depends on
– Preconception of capability
– Perceived task difficulty
– Effort
– Amount of external aid
– Circumstances under which they perform
– Temporal pattern of successes and failures
– Way experiences are cognized and reconstructed in memory
Vicarious experience

 Modeling is an effective way to raise efficacy


 People often appraise their capabilities in relation to the attainment of
others similar others vs. different others
 Subject to the laws of observational learning
– Attentional processes – determine what is selectively observed\
– Retention process – transforming and structuring information about events
for memory representation production processes – translation of
conceptions into appropriate courses of action
– Motivational processes
 Modeled performances to alter efficacy focus on
– Predictability – e.g. models repeatedly engage in threatening activities to
demonstrate how feared objects and people are most likely to behave in
different situations.
– Reduces stress and increases preparedness for coping with stress
– Controllability
– Model demonstrates highly effective strategies for handling threats
Verbal Persuasion

 Pressure efficacy information is often conveyed in


the evaluative feedback given
– Evaluative feedback highlighting personal capabilities
raises efficacy beliefs
– Ability feedback in the early stages has especially notable
effect on efficacy
– Feedback that performance improves through effort
– Depends on
 who the persuader is
 their credibility and knowledge
Physiological Arousal

 people also rely on their somatic and emotional states in jugging their
capabilities
 interpret their stress reactions and tension as signs of vulnerability to
poor performance
 in activities involving strength and stamina people judge their fatigue
aches and pains as signs of physical debility
 mood states can bias attention and affect how events are interpreted,
cognitively organized and retrieved from memory
 intense moods exert stronger influence than weak ones
 negative mood activates thoughts of past failings
 positive mood activates thoughts of past accomplishments
 mood can bias how much efficacy is derived from experiences
 success under positive mood spawns high levels
 Failures under negative moods breeds low sense of efficacy.
Strategies to enhance self efficacy

 determine and emulate positive role models


 use cognitive strategies
 reflect on previous success
 interpret pre anxiety as a sign of enthusiasm
and readiness rather than fear
 be well prepared/have fun
TOPIC E – SOCIAL THINKING AND SOCIAL
INFLUENCE

 Social cognition – the study of how people perceive,


remember and interpret information about
themselves and others
 DISCUSSION: How is social thinking related to
adjustment?
Focus on:
 stereotypes
 prejudice
 stigma
Social Cognition

 cognition is automatic
 categorisation as a basic cognitive process
schemata – a cognitive structure that represents knowledge about
a concept or type of stimulus, including its attributes (Fiske ad Taylor,
1991)
 simple and holistic cognitive representations of the social world acts
relatively enduring templates for interpretation of stimuli
 physical constructs
 role constructs
 interaction constructs
 psychological constructs – person schemata
 self schemata – actual, ideal and ought selves
 content free schemata
Consequences of schemata

 once we have selected an organising


scheme to classify people we use that
scheme to make generalisations about
members of the groups who fit our categories
 this leads to stereotyping – widely shared
generalisations of members of a social group
Stereotypes:

 Beliefs that associate groups of people with certain


traits
 3 main questions
 How do stereotypes form?
 What keeps them alive when so often they prove to
be wrong?
 How are they used to evaluate individuals?
 Two related processes
– categorisation
– out-group homogeneity bias
How do stereotypes survive?

 illusory correlations
 sub categorisations
 contrast effect – the tendency to perceive
stimuli that differ from expectations as being
even more different than they really are
Conclusion

 Stereotypes – widely shared generalisations about members of


a social group
– a product of the natural categorisation process
– highly simplified
– derogatory
– categorical differentiation
– people show readiness to stereotype
– slow to change
– acquired at a young age
– become more pronounced when conflicts arise
 How can we stop stereotypes thinking?
 Personal information
 Cognitive ability
EXPLAINING PREJUDICE

 4 main approaches
1. Prejudice as errors in thinking: social
cognitive approaches
 Prejudice as errors in thinking:
 Analogy of computer – the individual makes sense of a multitude of social information
encountered
 Simplifying the task
 Complexity of information and limited cognitive capacities
 Generate ‘general categories’ relating to self and other
 Overload is prevented
 Categorization – advantageous cognitive process
 ‘Faulty categorizations’ = stereotypes
 Stereotypic schemata/scripts bias encoding of new knowledge about individual or
group member – people pay more attention to activities that confirm their preformed
beliefs
 Within the social cognitive tradition, prejudiced activities are viewed as the unfortunate
by product of limitations on our rational mental organization
 Remediation strategies = book keeping effect
 People gradually change their accounts of certain groups
 Contact hypothesis
Criticisms

 Individualistic orientation
 Does not explain why 1. Only some people
are prejudiced and 2. Why against some
social groups
 Decontextualised accounts
 Remediation strategies (Wetherell and
Potter, 1992)
2. Prejudice as personality traits: psychodynamic approaches (Adorno et al,
1950)

– Adorno interested in psychological processes shared by those attracted


to antidemocratic, conservative ideologies
– Complex theory: impact of conscious and unconscious activity,
parenting practices, social circumstances on the development of the
personality
 Experience of dualistic world – one part over idealized- the other structured
by excessive negativity
 Strict but inconsistent parental discipline produces children who learn readily
to obey authority but who fear expressing their own needs and feelings
 Masochistic
 Learn importance of obedience – superego
 Judge themselves according to high social standards
 Harsh parenting also produces resentment
 Defense of projection
 Explains how ideologies can psychologically engage certain individuals in
certain socio-economic situations
 Combines internal mechanisms and social context
authoritarian personality
 A certain type of personality –
 Origins – harsh childhood experiences
 Features:
 Being conformist conventional
 Locked into stereotypical thinking
 Organized and obedient
 Respect perceived strength
 Dislike perceived weakness
 Intolerance of ambiguity
 Defer to authority
3.Prejudice and group membership

 The effects of group membership on the


psychology of individuals
 Realistic Group Conflict theory (Sherif and
sheriff, 1969) -The positioning of groups in
relation to resources or goods e.g. boys
summer camp experiments
 Tajfel social identity theory – minimal group
experiments
4. Social constructionist accounts of prejudice

 Social constructionists take issue with


psychological accounts of human behaviour,
criticising them for making universal
generalisations and for having too great a
focus on the individual. By contrast, a social
constructionist approach sees behaviour as
shaped by social context, and by issues of
power and knowledge.
 A critical social approach, rather than looking for the
origins of apparent differences within individuals or
groups, focuses instead on the ways in which
differences are ‘produced’ in a social context and as
a result of social processes. If essentialists view
difference as a ‘something’ that resides inside people
and influences the ways they interact, those adopting
a more social model regard difference as a process
by which people are ‘differentiated’, or constructed
as different.
Foucault
 Turning to apparent ‘differences’ based on ethnicity, gender or
disability, a Foucaldian approach would argue that such
differences are socially constructed. Different societies
categorise and classify people in particular ways – for example
as ‘black’ or ‘Asian’ or ‘women’ or ‘disabled’ – and then use
those categories to explain so-called differences between
them. Social constructionists would argue that ‘you find what
you’re looking for’, and that if you imposed a different set of
labels, you might find other differences – or similarities.
Moreover, as explored further in Section 4, constructions of
difference are never innocent or neutral. The ways in which
people are categorised – ‘gendered’ or ‘racialised’, for example
– tends to reflect the interests of those doing the categorising,
who usually have the greater power.
 The construction of people in terms of their
supposed ‘differences’ from an imagined ‘norm’ or
‘majority’ tends to involve making sweeping
generalisations about people on the basis of
categories such as their ethnicity or gender.
Individual differences, as well as similarities across
groups, are lost as people are seen primarily as
disabled, or ‘elderly’, or gay, for example. Decisions
about individual needs, such as those relating to
health and social care services, are then based on
widely shared assumptions about people belonging
to that group.
 Often, these generalisations about groups – or stereotypes –
are negative, since they reflect the differential power between
those in the ‘majority’ and those categorised as ‘minorities’ or
‘different’. So, for example, women may be defined as less
rational than men, or black people as less intelligent than white
people: in these instances, men and white people respectively
are characterised as the ‘norm’. These negative stereotypes
both reflect existing inequalities – patterns of sexism and
racism in society – and at the same time help to perpetuate
them, for example by denying women and black people access
to jobs that require a ‘cool head’ or complex intellectual skills. In
other words, stereotyping people as ‘different’ can lead to
discrimination.
 So attributing fixed ‘differences’ to people is
not a neutral process but one that both
reflects and reproduces inequalities of power
and status.
 The next activity is an opportunity to reflect
on your own experience of prejudice and
discrimination.
activity
 think of an experience when an aspect of your
identity (for example, in terms of ethnicity, gender,
disability, class, sexuality or age) resulted in you:
 being discriminated against or badly treated by
comparison with others
 being treated more advantageously than others in a
similar position
 being placed in a position of power over others.
The Heterosexual Questionnaire

 Attributed to Martin Rochlin, Ph.D.


January 1977
 (unpublished and not copyrighted)
 Most LGBT people are put, all too frequently, into situations
where they have to defend their sexuality. This places a
considerable burden on people who resent feeling they need to
justify or explain their sexual lifestyle. To help non-LGBT people
understand how it feels to be placed in such a situation, the
following questionnaire was devised, which is based on
“heterophobic” premises, rather than homophobic premises,
which exist chronically in our society.
 1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?
 2. When and how did you first decide you were a heterosexual?
 3. Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same
sex?
 4. Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?
 5. Isn't it possible that all you need is a good gay lover?
 6. Heterosexuals have histories of failure in gay relationships. Do you think you may have
turned to heterosexuality out of fear of rejection?
 7. If you've never slept with a person of the same sex, how do you know that you wouldn't
prefer that?
 8. If heterosexuality is normal, why are a disproportionate number of mental patients
heterosexual?
 9. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies? How did they react?
 10. Your heterosexuality doesn't offend me so long as you don't try to force it on me. Why
do you people feel compelled to seduce others into your sexual orientation?
 11. If you should choose to nurture children, would you want them to be heterosexual,
knowing the problems they would face?
 12. The great majority of child molesters are heterosexuals. Do you really consider it safe
to expose your children to heterosexual teachers?
 13. Why do you insist on being so obvious, and making a public spectacle of your
heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet?
 14. How can you ever hope to become a whole person if you limit yourself to a
compulsive, exclusive, heterosexual object choice, and remain unwilling to explore and
develop your normal, healthy, God-given homosexual potential?
 15. Heterosexuals are noted for assigning themselves and each other narrowly restricted,
stereotyped sex-roles. Why do you cling to such unhealthy role playing?
 16. How can you enjoy a fully satisfying sexual experience or deep emotional rapport with
a person of the opposite sex, when the obvious, biological, and temperamental differences
between you are so vast? How can a man understand what pleases a woman sexually, or
vice versa?
 17. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?
 18. With all the societal support marriage receives, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are
there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?
 19. Shouldn't you ask the fringe straight types, like swingers, Hell's
Angels, and Jesus freaks, to conform more? Wouldn't that improve
your image?
 20. How could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual,
considering the menace of overpopulation?
 21. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have
been developed with which you might be able to change if you really
want to. Have you considered trying aversion therapy?
 22. Do heterosexuals hate or distrust others of the same sex? Is that
what makes them heterosexual?
 23. Why are heterosexuals so promiscuous?
 24. Could you really trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective and
unbiased? Don't you fear he/she might be inclined to influence you in
the direction of her/his own feelings?
STIGMA

 Definition – elusive concept – term readily


applied to any ‘disreputable’ person, group,
activity, occupation or location
 Kaudo (1975): ‘the term stigma can be used
to refer to any attribute that is deeply
discrediting and incongruous with our
stereotype of what a given type of individual
should be.’
 Literal usage – mark or stain
 ‘inferior’
 deviance
 Cohen (1967) – various Reponses to deviance
 indifferent
 welcome
 punitive
 progressive
 Goffman (1969) – 3 different types of stigma
– physical
– conduct
– tribal
 May be carried in two ways:
 discredited
 discreditable
Types of Discredited Discreditable
stigma
Physical Paraplegic in Woman
wheelchair undergone
mastectomy
Conduct Well known ‘secret’
criminal homosexual
Tribal Negro Jew
BLAME

 Conduct stigma – personally responsible


 Relational phenomenon
STIGMA RECOGNITION

 self recognition
 reactions of others
STIGMATISATION

– Master status
– Social position
– Official versus informal labelling
Felt stigma

 :
 Adverse comments
 Inhibited or oversympathetic reactions
 May be rare or continuous
Reactions to stigma

 Embarrassment
 Shame
 Response – 1. accept 2. reject

Stigma management
 Passing
 Covering
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

 Three types of Intelligence (Ruisel, 1992)


 abstract intelligence
 concrete intelligence
 social intelligence
 Weschler (1988) defined intelligence as “the
aggregate or global capacity of the individual
to act purposively, to think rationally and to
deal effectively with its environment”
 non-intellective as well as intellective
elements
 non cognitive aspects of intelligence
important for survival and success
– Thorndike (1920: 228), defined social intelligence
as "the ability to understand and manage men
and women, boys and girls -- to act wisely in
human relations."
– Gardner (19??) includes inter- and intrapersonal
intelligences in his theory of multiple intelligence.
These two intelligences comprise social
intelligence. He defines them as follows:
 Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand
other people: what motivates them, how they work,
how to work cooperatively with them. Successful
salespeople, politicians, teachers, clinicians, and
religious leaders are all likely to be individuals with
high degrees of interpersonal intelligence.
 Intrapersonal intelligence ... is a correlative ability,
turned inward. It is a capacity to form an accurate,
veridical model of oneself and to be able to use that
model to operate effectively in life.
 Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, "is a type
of social intelligence that involves the ability to
monitor one's own and others' emotions, to
discriminate among them, and to use the information
to guide one's thinking and actions" (Mayer &
Salovey, 1993: 433).
 According to Salovey & Mayer (1990), EI subsumes
Gardner's inter- and intrapersonal intelligences, and
involves abilities that may be categorized into five
domains:
 Self-awareness:
 Observing yourself and recognizing a feeling as it happens.
 Managing emotions:
 Handling feelings so that they are appropriate; realizing what is behind a
feeling; finding ways to handle fears and anxieties, anger, and sadness.
 Motivating oneself:
 Channelling emotions in the service of a goal; emotional self control; delaying
gratification and stifling impulses.
 Empathy:
 Sensitivity to others' feelings and concerns and taking their perspective;
appreciating the differences in how people feel about things.
 Handling relationships:
 Managing emotions in others; social competence and social skills.
Development of the EI Model and the Emotional
Competence Inventory

 Building upon and integrating a great deal of research, Goleman (1998)


presented a model of emotional intelligence with twenty-five competencies
arrayed in five clusters
 They were:
 a) The Self-awareness Cluster included Emotional Awareness; Accurate
Self-assessment; and Self-confidence;
 b) The Self-regulation Cluster included Self-control, Trustworthiness,
Conscientiousness, Adaptability, and Innovation;
 c) The Motivation Cluster included Achievement Drive, Commitment,
Initiative, and Optimism;
 d) The Empathy Cluster included Understanding Others, Developing
Others, Service Orientation, Leveraging Diversity, and Political Awareness;
 e) The Social Skills Cluster included Influence, Communication, Conflict
Management, Leadership, Change Catalyst, Building Bonds, Collaboration and
Cooperation, and Team Capabilities.
ASSESSMENT

 Work Profile Questionnaire – EI version


 Mayer –Salovey- Caruso Emotional
Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)
 BarON Emotional Quotient Inventory – EQ-i
 Emotional competence Inventory 360
 Emotional Intelligence appraisal
CORRELATES OF EMOTINAL INTELLIGENCE

Employment
 IQ by itself not very good predictor of job performance
 Hunter and Hunter (1984) IQ accounts for about 25% of the performance
 Being able to handle frustration, control emotions and get along with other people
 Bachman (1991) – most effective leaders in the US navy were warmer, more outgoing,
emotionally expressive and sociable

Age
 Gets better with age (Stein, 1996)
 Peaks in late 40’s and early 50’s Using Bar-on-Eq-i
 Accounted for most of the variance
 Independence
 Social responsibility
 Reality testing
 Problem solving
 optimism
Gender

– women stronger interpersonal skills


– men stronger sense of self and ability to deal with stress
– subcomponents where women scored higher than men
 interpersonal relationships
 empathy
 social responsibility
– subcomponents where men scored higher
 - stress tolerance
 - self regard
SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING

 A field of psychology that attempts to


understand people’s evaluations of their lives
 Need to understand not only undesirable
clinical states but differences between people
in terms of positive levels of long term well
being
DEFINING SUBJECTIVE WELL BELING (SWB)

 “SWB refers to how people evaluate their lives and


includes variables such as life satisfaction and
marital satisfaction, lack of depression and anxiety
and positive moods and emotions” (Deiner, Suh and
Oishi, 1997)
 SWB emphasizes an individual’s own assessment of
his or her own life – not the judgement of experts
 Includes satisfaction (both in general and satisfaction
in individual domains), pleasant affect and low
negative affect
 High SWB – a person is said to have high SWB if he
or she experiences life satisfaction and frequent joy
and only infrequently experiences unpleasant
emotions such as sadness or anger
 People have a level of SWB even if they do not
consciously think about it
 SWB is defined in terms of the internal experience of
the respondent
 The field focuses on longer term states and not just
momentary moods
THEORIES OF SWB

 Situational influences
 Context theories
 Social comparison
 Adaptation
Structure:
 What are the major components under the umbrella
of SWB, and how do they relate to one another?
 Four components
– positive affect
– negative affect
– satisfaction
– domain satisfaction
 Figure 1: a hierarchical model of happiness
Frequency vs intensity:
 Is it the frequency, duration or intensity of good
feelings and cognitions that compose SWB?
 Discussion: Is the person who emperiences intense
positive emotios better off than the person who is
only mildly happy most of the time, or is the
frequency with which an individual experiences
positive emotions the most important factor in
determining overall affective well being.
Temporal sequence and stages:

 The picture of SWB changes depending on


whether one examines moments or loner
time frames such as lifetimes
 Figure : A temporal stage model of subjective
well being
Stability and consistency
 : Is there enough temporal stability in people’s feelings and consistency across situations
to consider SWB a personality characteristic|? Or is SWB entirely situational?
 SWB variables exhibit some degree of
stability across time
 The stability of well being measures does not mean that these measures are insensitive to
changing life circumstances
 Look within persons across situations
 TEMPERAMENT AND SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING
 Optimism, self esteem and extraversion = traits possessed by happy people
 Pleasant and unpleasant affect appear to be related to extraversion and neuroticism
respectively
 Agreeableness and conscientiousness
 Openness
 Self esteem co varies with SWB
 Optimism – positive illusions
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

 Weakly correlated
 Some do consistently predict SWB
 Married people more SWB then never been
married, divorced or separated (Lee et al,
1991)
 Income seems to influence SWB at lower
levels where physical needs are at stake
Affect vs Cognition
 : SWB includes both affecyive evaluations of one’s life (eg pleasant
feelings, enjoyment etc) but also a cognitive evaluation (eg
satisfaction, meaning etc) Which is most important?
 How we perceive and think about the world determines our SWB
 Cognitive theories of well being
– Attributional theory of depression (Beck 1967)
– Dampen or amplify ones emotions (Larsen, Deiner and Croponzano, 1987)
– Optimism
– Coping styles (McCrae and Costa (1986)
– Religion (Ellison 1991)
– Goal orientation (Emmons 1992)
The functioning mood system:
 Even happy people experience unpleasant emotions and
happiness is not equated with uninterrupted joy. Adaptive
emotions include being able to react to events and not being
stuck in happy or sad moods
 The functionality of negative emotions
 Happiness is not to be equated with mania or uninterrupted
ecstacuy
 Very rare for people to be happy all the time
 Even happy people have pleasant and unpleasant moods
 chronic unrelieved negative emotion is undesirable and
unhealthy
TRADEOFFS

 people want their happy feelings to be


justified
 people are willing at times to sacrifice
momentary positive affect
MEASURING SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING

 self report surveys – respondent is privileged


position
 Pavot and Deiner (1993) Satisfaction with Life Scale
 Watson et al (1988) PANAS
 Response biases
 Memory biases
 Defensiveness
 May be supplemented with other measures
 Several methods in tandem
CROSS CULTURAL FINDINGS

 Poorer vs. wealthier countries


 Individualism vs. collectivism

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