Source https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/452/452_chapter_07.pdf PDF [[452_chapter_07.pdf]] Some introduction reading from University of Washington Psychology Class. My takeaway: People want to be acknowledged by others and self, to be recognised. people want to leave an impression in others. This is driven by conscious or unconscious motivations (thinking of #psychodynamic ). People come out with justification or excuses when they do not live up to their ideal self. --- ## About Self-Presentation **There is two side of Self. Internal (the private experience), and external side (Social.)** - The self-concept seems like a very private phenomenon. After all, people’s thoughts about themselves are hidden and are often highly personal. Yet the self-concept is also very much a social phenomenon. It has social roots (e.g., reflected appraisals, social comparison), it includes social identities and roles, and it guides our perception of others and our behavior in social settings. **Definition of Self-Presentation** - Self-presentational behavior is any behavior intended to create, modify, or maintain an impression of ourselves in the minds of others.1 According to this definition, whenever we are attempting to lead people to think of us in a particular way, we are engaging in self-presentation. **Self-Presentation behavior is very pervasive. It's essentially how much we are influenced by what we think others think about us. We modify ourselves to be seen by others** - Self-presentation is not only a prevalent aspect of our lives, it is also a very important one. Our success at leading others to believe we possess various characteristics has a profound influence on our outcomes in life (Hogan & Briggs, 1986). Who we marry, who our friends are, whether we get ahead at work, and many other outcomes depend, to a great extent, on our ability to convince people that we are worthy of their love, their friendship, their trust, and their respect. Undoubtedly, this need to create a positive impression is one reason that people spend billions of dollars a year on cosmetics and other personal-appearance products. Self-presentational concerns also lead people to engage in behaviors that enhance their appearance to others but simultaneously jeopardize their own physical well-being (e.g., overexposure to the sun; excessive dieting) (Leary, Tchividijian, & Kraxberger, 1994). Self-presentational concerns can even underlie self- destructive behaviors, such as cigarette smoking and substance abuse (Sharp & Getz, 1996). ## Section 1: The nature of Self-presentation behavior ### Why do people engage in self-presentation? 1. Facilitate Social Interaction 2. Gain Material and Social Rewards 3. Self-Construction ### How and when do they do it? 1. Situational Variables that influence impression motivation 2. Social Acuity 3. Behavioral Skills ### Individual Differences in Self-Presentation 1. Self-monitoring 2. Public Self-Consciousness ## Section 2: Creating Desired Impressions 1. What impressions do people try to create? 1. Intimidation 2. Exemplification 3. Supplication 2. What constitutes a desirable impression? 1. The role of accountability 2. Audience reactions to self-presentational claims 3. Self-promotion versus self-protection 3. Identity Predicaments 1. Account giving 2. Preemptive Excuse Making 3. Self-handicapping behavior 4. Identity-Repair Tactics ### Section 3: Connection between public behavior and private self-conceptions. 1. Role Internalisation 2. Carry-over effects in self-presentation 1. Theoretical Explanations 2. Empirical Findings 3. Symbolic Self-Completion Theory 1. Social Validation of Identities 2. Seeking Symbolic Self-Completion Self-Presentation and Social Behavior 1. Self-presentation and Self-enhancement 2. Sincerity and Authenticity versus Pretense and Deceit 1. The Risks of Presenting a False Impression 2. A desire for social validation ---- **Chapter Summary** “All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare tells us, “and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts” (As You Like It, act II, scene VII). And so it is. Much of our time is spent in the company of others, and much of this time we are playing a role. In this chapter we explored the connection between these public displays and private self-conceptions. We began by considering the nature of self- presentation—the functions it serves and the manner in which people go about trying to create an impression of themselves in the minds of other people. We also noted that people differ in regard to how actively they monitor and regulate their public behavior. We then looked more closely at the kinds of impressions people typically try to convey. Here we noted that, in order to be successful, self-presentations must be believed. We then discussed various tactics individuals use when their self- presentational attempts go awry. *==Curious, how do people decide what kind of impressions they want to create?==* In the third part of the chapter, we examined the association between public behavior and the way people privately think about themselves. For a variety of reasons, people often come to view themselves in ways that are consistent with the persona they publicly display. Finally, we explored the extent to which behavior in social situations can be accounted for in self-presentational terms, paying particular attention to self- enhancement biases and the extent to which people are genuine or insincere in their public behavior. We noted that people’s positive self-presentations are generally believed, and that outright dissimulation and deceit are the exceptions rather than the rule in people’s day-to-day lives. - Self-presentation is any behavior that is intended to create, modify, or maintain an impression of ourselves in the minds of other people. - Self-presentation serves three important functions: (1)it helps facilitate social interaction; (2)it enables individuals to attain material and social rewards; and (3)it helps people privately construct desired identities. - There are three components of successful self-presentation. First, individuals must be motivated to create a particular impression in the minds of other people. Second, they must possess the cognitive ability to know what particular behaviors will give rise to that impression. Finally, they must be able (and willing) to enact the desired behaviors. - People differ in their self-presentational styles. High self-monitors enjoy being different people in different situations, and they possess the cognitive and behavioral skills needed to adapt their behavior to match the requirements of the situation. In contrast, low self-monitors value congruence between their actions and their underlying attitudes and are less apt to tailor their behavior to match the requirements of the situation. - Five common self-presentational strategies were identified: (1)ingratiation (we strive to get other people to like us); (2)self-promotion (we attempt to convince other people of our competence); (3)intimidation (we try to lead others to believe we are tough and ruthless); (4)exemplification (we aim to create the impression that we are morally virtuous and righteous); and (5)supplication (we seek to convince others that we are weak and helpless). - Successful self-presentation involves a balance between beneficiality (presenting the most beneficial image for the situation) and believability (making sure the image is believed by others). Aware of these factors, individuals generally modify their behavior to match an audience’s knowledge and expectations. - Accountability is one factor that strongly influences believability. The more accountable people are for their actions, the more likely they are to present themselves in ways that match relevant facts. - People call upon a variety of strategies when they fail to make a desired impression. These include accounts (people attempt to reinterpret, excuse, or justify their actions) and image repair tactics, such as compensating for a bad impression in one area by inflating the positivity of alternative qualities. - People are often audiences for their own behavior. In seeking to convince others that they possess particular qualities, they often wind up convincing themselves. Sometimes this process is a rather passive one (as when the roles we play filter down to affect the way we see ourselves), and sometimes it is a very active one (as when we purposefully set out to create a private identity by publicly behaving in a particular fashion). - People often seek to convince others that they possess positive qualities. For the most part, these attempts genuinely reflect the way people privately think about themselves, rather than representing insincere attempts to deceive or mislead.