Content Summary
The social setting in which an individual has been raised and surrounds themselves
significantly impacts the individual's cognitions, emotions, and behavioral expressions. That
influence begins at the earliest stages of life. As children, our identities are rooted and shaped by
our caregivers and siblings. As we age, our sense of self is shaped by previous and current
relationships. This will significantly impact how we view ourselves and the world around us
(Kassin et al., 2020).
Summary Points
Self-concept
Self-concept is a cognitive framework that shapes how a person interprets and processes
self-related information, forming the basis of their sense of self. It is influenced by various
factors, including introspection, self-perception, others' views of oneself, autobiographical
memories, culture, and social comparisons. Through introspection, individuals develop self-
awareness and examine their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of
themselves. They also learn about themselves through Bem’s Self-Perception theory, which
involves analyzing their own behavior in specific settings and circumstances (Kassin et al.,
2020). Festinger suggested that people have an inherent need to maintain a secure, authentic
sense of self, and they often compare themselves to others to gain insight. This comparison
influences their self-perception, motivations, and behavioral responses (Crusius, et al., 2022).
Self-esteem is the assessment one holds of oneself. Individuals’ self-esteem is influenced
by others and self-awareness, especially if they focus on self-discrepancies. Self-esteem is
maintained through various self-enhancing mechanisms such as downward social comparisons
(Kassin et al., 2020). Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others have millions
of users. Social media serves as a tool for large-scale self-presentation by sharing highlights of
one's life. People tend to portray themselves in a positive light due to self-serving motives like
seeking validation (Kassin et al., 2020). Additionally, social media platforms facilitate social
comparisons. Researchers conducted a study to explore the relationship between social media
use and well-being among adolescents around fifteen years old. The study found that when used
passively, social media had a positive impact on 46%, a negative impact on 10%, and no impact
on 44% of adolescents (Ine et al., 2020).
Social Perception
Social perception is the process of individuals understanding each other through people,
situations, and behavioral expressions. When observing others, individuals judge physical
appearance, especially faces and facial expressions. A person's knowledge and experiences form
expectations about social interactions and settings. Their understanding of the social context
helps them interpret both verbal and nonverbal cues and influences how they perceive facial
expressions. Mind perception is how individuals perceive minds through agency and experience,
which affects how they behave and interact with others in social settings. To better understand
and predict others’ behaviors, individuals try to identify others’ dispositions and attributions
(Kassin et al., 2020). A study of negative word of mouth from an attribution theory perspective
was conducted to gain insight into why and how people react to negative word of mouth. The
researchers found that if the negative message was linked to the brand, brand evaluations
decreased. Conversely, if the negative message was linked to the speaker, evaluations increased
(Laczniak et al., 2001). Impressions are formed through the combination of one’s own
perceptions and a weighted average of three central traits: warmth, competence, and morals.
Individuals often look for evidence that confirms their existing beliefs, a phenomenon known as
confirmation bias (Kassin et al., 2020).
Attribution Theory
Attribution theory comprises a group of theories that explain how people interpret others’
behaviors. Fritz Heider was the first to explore this phenomenon. He suggested that behaviors
fall into two categories: personal attributions and situational attributions. Personal attributions
attribute the actor’s behavior to internal factors like ability or personality traits. In contrast,
situational attributions see the behavior as results of external factors such as weather or traffic
(Kassin et al., 2020). The three main frameworks of Attribution Theory are Jones’ Correspondent
Theory, Kelley Covariation Theory, and the Folk-Conceptual Theory of Behavior Explanation.
Jones’s correspondent theory explains how observers distinguish whether the actor’s
behavior is due to a personality trait or their intention based on three factors: choice,
expectedness, and effect. Individuals are more likely to make a personal attribution when the
actor willingly chooses the behavior, the behavior deviates from societal expectations, and the
outcome is self-serving. Kelley’s covariation theory is based on the principle that for a stimulus
to be the cause of a behavior, the behavior must be present when the stimulus is present and
absent when the stimulus is absent. People apply Kelley’s covariation theory through
assessments of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. When forming an attribution,
individuals compare the actor’s behavior to others’ behaviors in that social context to determine
consensus, assess whether the behavior only occurs within that context, and evaluate if the
actor’s behavior is consistent in similar social situations (Kassin et al., 2020).
The folk-conceptual theory of behavioral explanation suggests that individuals explain
behavior based on their understanding of the interaction between behavior and one’s mental state
within a social or situational context. Since intentionality is a primary concern of this theoretical
framework, we will divide this theory into two main concepts, beginning with intentionality.
When analyzing an agent's intentional behavior, a person perceives the behavior as a deliberate
choice to act based on a specific plan intended to produce a certain outcome. The explanation
then involves reason explanations, causal history explanations, or enabling factor explanations.
Reason explanations interpret the agent’s intention as subjective or rational reasoning. Causal
history explanations consider underlying, unconscious factors such as the agent’s culture or
personality, as well as the current context. Lastly, enabling factor explanations refer to what
facilitated the behavior, such as the agent’s skills or available opportunities to act. Conversely, if
the behavior is deemed unintentional, individuals typically see causality as the only cause
(Malle, 2022).
There are perceiver biases to consider within attribution theories. Individuals tend to
make snap judgments because we usually rely on unconscious, automatic cognitive systems
unless effort is required. Cognitive heuristics, such as the false-consensus effect, lead people to
overestimate how much others' beliefs or behaviors align with our own. This can easily lead to
ideological biases and illusions of objectivity, where we believe that anyone who disagrees is
simply wrong. Fundamental attribution biases occur when an individual observes a behavior and
explains it as a personal trait without considering the influence of the contextual setting (Kassin
et al., 2020).
Conclusion
Self-concept and social perception have a reciprocal relationship, where they both
influence and shape each other. Our self-concept is shaped by our beliefs, personality, and the
social context around us. It is constantly evolving based on how others perceive us and how we
compare ourselves to others. We use others’ perceptions of us to meet our need for self-esteem.
Our self-concept forms the foundation for our social perception, as it affects how we interact
with others. Additionally, our self-concept influences how we perceive and judge others'
behaviors, which in turn affects how we interpret their actions.
References
Ine, B., Loes, P. J., van Driel Irene, I., Loes, K., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2020). The effect of social
media on well-being differs from adolescent to adolescent.Scientific Reports (Nature
Publisher Group),10(1)https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67727-7
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2020).ESocial psychology (11th ed.).ECengage.
Laczniak, R. N., DeCarlo, T. E., & Ramaswami, S. N. (2001). Consumers’ Responses to
Negative Word-of-Mouth Communication: An Attribution Theory Perspective. Journal
of Consumer Psychology, 11(1), 57–73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1480311
Malle, B. F. (2011).EAttribution theories: How people make sense of behavior.EIn D. Chadee
(Ed.), Theories in social psychology (pp. 72-95).EWiley-Blackwell.
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