self presentation

Question 1

self presentation theory

Answer 1

we convey information about ourselves in a specific way so as to control how others see us
- normal and common
- anticipated reactions of people influence what is being presented

Question 2

how do we want others to see us

Answer 2

generally want to be likeable
- satisfies our need to belong
- can lead us to self enhance when interacting with others

Question 3

is self presentation always self enhancing?

Answer 3

social intelligence task -public or private results

found that people self present differently depending on whether others can verify their claims or not
- we self enhance when we can to create a positive impression
- we present the truth when an inaccurate self presentation can be discovered and detrimental

means that self presentaion isn’t always self enhancing - sometimes being modest or accurate is more likeable

Question 4

are we more likely to self enhance with friends or strangers?

Answer 4

less likely to self enhance with friends and more likely to self enhance with strangers

• going against this is effortful - study showed this by testing memory
• had people answer qs in front of a friend or stranger and asked them either to self enhance or be modest - found that afterwards, people had worse memory for the combos that didn’t line up (modest-stranger, enhancing - friend) - suggests that these interactions were less automatic and more effortful

Question 5

is self presentation strategic or automatic?

Answer 5

often automatic and what is automatically self presented depends on the situation/interaction partner

Question 6

detrimental effects of self presentation

Answer 6

can lead us to behave in ways that are inauthentic with our identity/conflict with important goals or behave in risky/unhealthy ways because we want others to
like us

• women at princeton 70s study - self presented differently whether or not they thought an attractive guy was traditional/untraditional when it came to gender roles

Question 7

self verification

Answer 7

we want other people to see us the way we see ourselves

Question 8

why do we seek self verification

Answer 8

1. it fulfills our need for coherence
   - provides a source of continuity and coherence to experience
   - others confirming our self views further stabilizes these self views
2. ensures smooth social interactions
   - stable self views = stable behaviour = we are more predictable to others

Question 9

symbolic self completion theory

Answer 9

receiving feedback that is inconsistent with an important self view/important goal feels threatening - we compensate for this threat by engaging in a task that confirms and substantiates the threatened self view

Question 10

symbolic self completion study

Answer 10

male journalism students - manipulated them using fake test feedback either to confirm or threaten their ideas of themselves as journalists

found that ps whose identity felt threatened were less likely to conform their behaviour(ie. be modest about their journalism skills) in order to make themselves more likeable to an attractive female

the fact that these ps were confident/self enhanced about their journalism skills even when they knew it would make them unlikeable to someone they wanted to impress suggests that we engage in self completion when our identity feels threatened, and that this urge can overcome other motivations to be likeable

Question 11

how do we self verify?

Answer 11

confirmation bias
- selective attention and memory for feedback that confirms our self concept
- if feedback is ambiguous, interpreting it in a way that confirms our self concept

constructing a social environment that confirms our self concept
- directly telling others what we are like
-displaying identity cues “acting the part”
- selecting interacting partners that confirm self concept

Question 12

self verification vs self enhancement

Answer 12

we tend to choose self verification over self enhancement

• can be seen in experiments with people with low self esteem
  when given the option between interacting with people who
• have a negative view of them (self verification)
• have a positive view of them (self enhancement)

they will choose the first

Question 13

what are the implications of our desire for self verification?

Answer 13

explains while we’ll tolerate not being liked by others - if we feel like we are being seen for the real us-

explains why some people are in unhealthy relationships - they know it is unhealthy, but feels familiar and therefore more authentic