The Self in a Social World

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Self Concept

A person’s answer to the question

“Who am I?”
Self-schema
Beliefs about self that organize
and guide the processing of self-
relevant information.

Our self-schemas – our perceiving

ourselves as athletic, overweight,
smart or whatever- powerfully
affect how we perceive,
remember and evaluate people
and ourselves.
Possible selves
Images of what we dream of or
dread of becoming in the future.

Oprah Winfrey’s imagined

possible selves, including the
dreaded overweight self, the rich
self, and the helpful self,
motivated her to work to achieve
the life she wanted.
Social identity

Your self-concept contains not just

your personal identity but also
your social identity. The social
definition of who you are, of your
race, religion, gender, academic
major, and so forth- implies too, a
definition of who you are.
The roles we play
As we enact a new role – college
student, parent, salesperson- we
initially feel self conscious. Gradually,
however, what begins as a play-acting in
the theater of life is absorbed into our
sense of self. For example: Stanford
prison experiment.

I wasn’t the prettiest girl in the room,

but I learned to carry myself with
confidence. That’s how you make the
best impression – Priyanka Chopra
Spotlight effect
The belief that others are paying
more attention to one’s
appearance and behavior than
they really are.

This means that we tend to see

ourselves at center stage, and so
intuitively overestimate the extent
to which others pay attention to
us.
Illusion of transparency
The illusion that our concealed
emotions leak out and can be
easily seen. We feel our emotions
such as anxiety, irritation,
nervousness is visible to people.

In other words, we overestimate

the visibility of our social blunders
and emotions.
 The spotlight effect and illusion of transparency are but two of many examples of the interplay
between our sense of self and our social world. Here are some examples:

• Social surroundings affect our self-awareness: Noticing one’s difference in a group.

A Pakistani feeling shorter among tall Brits. A Pathan feeling wheatish among the white Canadians.

• Self-interest colors our social judgment: When problem arises in a close relationship
such as marriage, we usually attribute more responsibility to our partners than to ourselves. When things go
well at home or work or play, we see ourselves as more responsible.

• Self-concern motivates our social behavior: In hopes of making a positive

impression, we agonize about our appearance.

• Social relationships help define our self: In varied relationships, we have varying
selves. We may be one self Mom, another with friends, another with teachers. How we think of
ourselves is linked to whom we are in relationship with at the moment.
Social comparisons
Evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by
comparing oneself with others. Others
around us help to define the standard by
which we define ourselves as rich or poor,
smart or dumb, tall or short.

Social comparison explains why students tend

to have a higher academic self-concept if they
attend a school with few exceptionally
capable students and how that self-concept
can be threatened after graduation when a
student who excelled in an average high
school goes on to an academically selective
university.
Success & Failure
Self-concept is fed not only by our roles, our
social identity, and our comparisons but also
by our daily experiences.

After experiencing academic success,

students develop higher appraisals of their
academic ability, which often stimulate them
to work harder and achieve more.

Failure at winning one’s school crush may

result in feeling inadequate as a person and
hence, feeding low esteem.