THE EMOTIONAL

AND SOCIAL SELF

James Christian Espayos, MSP, RPm.

 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
• Gain an appreciation of the importance of emotion in human
life.
• Explain how social psychology has defined self-awareness and
the self-concept.
• Appreciate its importance to one-self
Lesson 1. The Emotional Self
The Function of Emotions
• Emotions Communicate to and
Influence Others.
• We communicate our emotions to other
with verbal and nonverbal (facial
expressions, body gestures or postures)
language.
The Function of Emotions
2. Emotions Organize and Motivate Action
• Emotions prepare for and motivate action.
• There is an action urge connected to specific
emotions that is hard- wired.
• “Hard- wired” means it is an automatic,
built- in part of our behavior.
The Function of Emotions
3. Emotions Can be Self- validating
• Emotions can give us information about a
situation or event.
• Sometimes signals about a situation will be
picked unconsciously, and then we may have
an emotional reaction, but not be sure what set
off the reaction.
9 Simple Tips to Help You Manage Your
Emotions
• Use your emotions and bodily responses to
recognize when you are stressed.
• Write down your thoughts and feelings
about what is stressing you.
• Control whatever aspect of the stress that
you can
• Don’t make mountains out of molehills.
9 Simple Tips to Help You Manage Your
Emotions
• Redefine the Problem
• Develop behaviors that distract you from
stress.
• Reach out to a friend or family member.
• Exercise Regularly
• Meditate and Relax
Lesson 2. The Social Self
What is the “Self?”
The Scientific Study of Self-Awareness
• A 1977 study of well-known 2- to 3-week-old infants imitating
a mouth opening, a finger moving, or a tongue appearing
between the lips
• By 1989, the same research team had predicted imitation among
infants who were less than 72 hours old (including a 42-minute-
old infant).
• Four-month-old infants reliably display a more distinct sense of
self by smiling more and looking longer at pictures of others
related to looking at pictures of themselves
• Infants mirror the expressions of adults while becoming
conscious of themselves as independent beings.
What is the “Self?”
Defining and Measuring the Self-Concept
The self-concept is the personal summary of who we
believe we are
• Social comparison theory
• Social identity theory
• Self-schema theory
 Social Comparison Theory
• suggests that we use social comparisons to construct
our self-concept, especially when we have no other
objective standard available to us.
• For example, if you are walking by yourself on the
beach, you may not even be thinking about your
physical appearance. But when someone much more
attractive walks by, the uncomplimentary social
comparison can deliver a small shock to your
previously contented self-concept.
 Social Comparison Theory
• Upward Social Comparisons - we relate ourselves to
someone who is better than us.
• Downward Social Comparisons - This occurs when
we compare ourselves to someone who is worse
than we are.
 Social Identity Theory
The self is composed of two general categories:
• (1) personal characteristics (serious, funny, grumpy,
tall, or rich), and
• (2) social role characteristics (son, mother,
musician, Catholic, or accountant).
 Self-Schema Theory
• A schema in general is a cognitive and memory
structure for organizing the world
• Self-schemas convert the raw material from cultural
social comparisons into the building blocks of our
self-concept
• also called “the architecture of personality.”
How do we know the Self is Social?
Here are three strands of evidence representing that the
self is social:
• Our Self-Perceptions Depend On The Behaviors
We Display To Others,
• Self-Discrepancy Theory Defines How Different
Components Of The Self Are Influenced By
Others, And
• Our Sense Of Self Often Comprises Other People.
How do we know the Self is Social?
Self-Perception Theory
• proposes that we get help answering the question, “Who
am I?” by making implications about ourselves based on
observing our own behaviors.
• theory suggests that we form our self-concept in very
similar ways.
• the idea that our self-concept forms by observing our
own behaviors in a social world
How do we know the Self is Social?
Self-Discrepancy Theory
• The Actual Self - simply who we think we are,
right now.
• The Ideal Self - the person we would like to
become in the future.
• The Ought Self - what we think other people
expect of us.
How do we know the Self is Social?
Self-Expansion Theory
• It is the idea that all of us have a basic motivation
to grow, improve, and enhance our self-concept
• We all want to extent our greatest potential.
• specifically recommends that one common way
we attempt to “expand” our self-concept is through
close social relationships.
Why Do We Present Different Selves In
Different Situations?
• People perform in slightly different ways for family,
friends, peers, supervisors, professors, and store
clerks. This tendency is called self-presentation
theory or impression management.
• These are ways that we correct the self to gain
social influence by the impressions that we make on
others.
Why Do We Present Different Selves In
Different Situations?
There are specific tactics associated with impression
management.
• Ingratiation - This short-term impression
management tactic is intended to increase liking and
attraction by complimenting the other person and
seeming to admire him or her.
• Self-Promotion - is another short-term impression
management tactic that customs positive statements
about the self to convey competence.
Why Do We Present Different Selves In
Different Situations?
There are specific tactics associated with impression
management.
• Conspicuous Consumption - try to influence the
impression they sort on others by spending money
on flashy or high-status items, such as expensive
homes, cars, clothes, and jewelry
• Self-Monitoring - recommends awareness that we
have a complicated self that needs monitoring.
⚬ Low Self-Monitors. Some people turn the same way no
matter where they are or who is around them
⚬ High Self-Monitors. They change how they act all the
time, liable on the situation.
Is the Truth Always the Self’s Friend?
Optimal Margin Theory
• Optimal margin theory recommends a slight
to moderate range of healthy distortions of
reality.
• A little bit of self-deception can make us
feel good but too much alteration of reality
causes problems.
Is the Truth Always the Self’s Friend?
Self-Serving Cognitive Biases
• Biased Views of Our Own Traits
• Biased Views of Our Own Behaviors
• Biased Views of Feedback About the Self
What is Self-Esteem and How Can We
Measure It?
Defining Self-Esteem
• our subjective, personal evaluation of our self-concept
• When we assess that self-concept and choose that it is
good, bad, worthwhile, worthless, or any other type of
judgment, that’s self-esteem.
Collective Self-Esteem
• our assessment of the value of the social groups in which
we are members.
• It is defined as “that aspect of an individual’s self-concept
which comes from his knowledge of his membership in a
social group (or groups) together with the value and
emotional significance attached to that membership”.
Thank You!