What is self-presentation?
the manipulation of others perceptions of you, creating desirable impressions
What are the 3 important functions in self presentation?
- helps facilitate social interaction
- enables individuals to attain material and social rewards
- helps people privately construct desired identities
What is self-concept? and what is its 3 components?
refers to our private sense of self and helps to build our identity.
3 components=
1. ideal self - the person you want to be
2. self-image - how you see yourself
3. self-worth - how much you like/accept/value yourself
How is self-presentation managed differently on social media than face to face contact?
social media provides individuals with the opportunity to:
- strategically construct the image they want to represent themselves
- aid in the construction of self-concept
whereas face to face provides only limited opportunities to employ social influence
how do images posted on social media demonstrate and validate self-concept? and what is external validation?
validation of self-concept is achieved:
-by users carefully crafting their online presence by posting images that show only the most enviable moments and picture-perfect photos
-that reflect the idealised concept of beauty and success,
external validation comes from likes and reinforces this, enhancing self-esteem
What are high self-monitors? And how do they act in relation to social media?
- worry about their image and how they present themselves to others,
- change their behaviour based on others and social cues to fit in/be accepted.
- higher inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour
- more likely to engage in strategic use of social media to validate self-concept
What are low self-monitors? And how do they act in relation to social media?
-worry about genuineness, even if it sets them apart from others,
- guided by true beliefs/feeling in any social situation having fewer but closer friends,
- consistency between attitudes and behaviour
- less engagement on social media and refrain from using it as a means of validation and self-presentation.
How does social media have both positive and negative effects on mental health?
positive - increases self-esteem as it builds self concept and can stay socially connected
negative - can develop narcissism and lack of validation can reinforce negative self-concept developing anxiety, depression and low self-esteem
What is impression management and how does it relate to self-presentation?
- involves changing/controlling our impressions to suit different people/situations,
-linked given our motivation to manipulate the impression others have of us
What are the 3 contributing factors important in impression formation regarding the process of distinctive information?
- the primacy effect
- the recency effect
- schema
What is the primacy effect?
refers to the phenomenon where information received at the beginning carries more weight than the information that follows, (first impressions)
What is the recency effect?
refers to the phenomenon where the most recent information received carries mor weight than information received prior,
(e.g. those described with positive traits, followed by negative traits are evaluated negative and vice versa)
What is Schema?
refers to our internal template of what we know and what to expect in any given situation, it informs our thinking, and how we interpret and categorise information to access it quickly
What are the ethical concerns with the use of social media?
informed consent - user’s data is accessed and analysed without informed consent
privacy - users give up their privacy for the feeling of community, which is very dangerous
risk of harm - to mental health and self-esteem
anonymity - users are not anonymous within data collection
