Self-Discovery

Self-Knowledge and Attitudes
Different people think differently about themselves. Some think very positively about themselves while others
consider themselves in a more negative light. Where do these self-perceptions come from? How do you
develop the view you have of yourself? Is it because of how you were raised or from what your parents told you
as a child? Is your self-view due to the view your peers, teachers, coworkers, or close friends have of you? And
is your self-perception fixed and permanent or can you change it?
This week, you examine how you come to know yourself. You consider how you develop your attitudes about
the objects, issues, people, and other aspects of life. You also look at what it takes to change your attitudes
and the attitudes of others, should you want or need to persuade or should you want to resist persuasion.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze messaging intended to form or change attitudes
Analyze sources of self-knowledge
Apply social comparison theory to specific situations
Identify and apply concepts, principles, and processes related to self-knowledge, cognitive dissonance, and
Required Readings
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Chapter 5, “The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a Social Context”
Chapter 6, “Cognitive Dissonance and the Need to Protect Our Self-Esteem” (pp. 149-151; 155-166)
Chapter 7, “Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts and Feelings”
The National Archives. (n.d.). Powers of persuasion: Poster art from World War II. Retrieved from
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_intro.html
Required Media
Annenberg Learner. (2001). The self [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/the-self/
Document: Annenberg Learner. (2001). The self (Transcript of Media).
View the excerpt on self-concept and self-efficacy found at minutes 6:03–10:36 of the video (lines 39–73 of
transcript)
Optional Resources
Document: Week 4 Study Guide (PDF)
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
“Social Psychology in Action 2: Social Psychology and Health” (pp. 461-478)
Berger, J., Meredith, M., & Wheeler, S. C. (2008). Contextual priming: Where people vote affects how they
vote. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 105(26), 8846–8849.
Rydell, R. J., Sherman, S. J., Boucher, K. L., & Macy, J. T. (2012). The role of motivational and persuasive
message factors in changing implicit attitudes toward smoking. Basic & Applied Social Psychology, 34(1), 1–7.
Snyder, M. (1974). Self monitoring scale [Interactive measurement instrument]. Retrieved from
http://personality-testing.info/tests/SMS/
This is a 25-item, 2-minute Interactive version of the Self Monitoring Scale. (This is part of a current research
project and so scores will be recorded, used, and possibly shared with other researchers. Any information that
could reasonably be used to identify you will not be shared.)
Raskin, R., & Terry, H. (1988). Narcissistic personality inventory [Interactive measurement instrument].
Retrieved from http://personality-testing.info/tests/NPI.php
This site provides a self-report measure of narcissism and feedback about one’s score.
Cuddy, A. (2012, June). Your body language shapes who you are [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en
This video demonstrates the concept of power posing. The relevant part of Cuddy’s TED Talk is from 09:37 to
the end. The entire video is approximately 21 minutes.
Assignment: Self-Discovery
In order to understand those around you and society as a whole, it is important to understand or know yourself,
that is, to have self-knowledge. Self-knowledge includes many aspects of the self and is developed with input
from many sources. Development of your self-knowledge is influenced by your family and those around you,
how you were raised, environment and culture, and the countless experiences you have in your life.
As a simple example, if your parents and teachers consistently told you that you were good with numbers, you
probably felt confident that you could succeed in math. If you then succeeded in math courses in school and
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selected a career in which you could apply your math skills, your self-concept related to math probably would
be positive.
In this week’s Assignment, you explore the many different areas that make up self-knowledge, using yourself
as an example. By better understanding yourself (self-knowledge), you can better understand others.
To prepare:
Read Chapter 5 in your course text, Social Psychology, and thoughtfully complete the following inventories:
Measurement of Independence and Interdependence (p. 123)
Private Self-Consciousness Scale (p. 127)
Read pages 149-151 and 155-166 of Chapter 6 in your course text, Social Psychology.
View the video excerpt on self-concept and self-efficacy found at minutes 6:03–10:36 of the video “The Self”
(lines 39–73 of transcript).
Think about specific sources of your self-knowledge including feedback from others, your self-perception, your
social identity, and your culture.
Think about one aspect of your life. For example, think about yourself in the role of a student, a spouse, a
parent, an employee, or some other role. How would you apply each element of social comparison theory to an
aspect of your own life?
Recall a time in which you engaged in self-justification and consider how it reduced your cognitive dissonance.
The Assignment (2–4 pages):
Discuss something important you learned about yourself and how you learned it through introspection or
through self-perception.
Do you have an interdependent view of yourself, an independent view of yourself, or both? What is your
culture(s), and how does your culture(s) contribute to this view? Provide one example of how this view
influences your behavior or your beliefs. Your example may include, but is not limited to: (a) how your
interdependent or independent self-view influences what kinds of things make you feel especially proud, (b)
how your interdependent or independent self-view influences what kinds of things make you feel especially
embarrassed, and (c) how your interdependent or independent self-view influences the way you interact with
others.
Then, select one specific aspect of your life, such as your role as a student, a spouse, a parent, an employee,
or some other role, and apply the social comparison theory to this role.
Briefly discuss a time you engaged in one of the following types of self-justification: Justification of effort,
external justification, internal justification, or justification of a good deed. What was the source of your cognitive
dissonance and how did this self-justification reduce that dissonance?