4.

Social Identity and Comparisons

Self and Identity: Key Concepts
● Social Identity: Defined by group membership
● Definition: The self refers to the (e.g., ethnicity, nationality, profession) and
understanding of who we are, shaped by our how those memberships shape
experiences, roles, and interactions with self-perception.
society. ● Social Comparison:
● Components: ○ Upward Comparison: Comparing
○ Knowledge Structure: Built through yourself to someone better off to
self-awareness, collecting information inspire improvement.
about traits, abilities, and ○ Downward Comparison: Comparing
characteristics (though often yourself to those worse off to boost
fragmented). self-esteem and protect your
○ Interpersonal Being: Identity is self-image.
shaped by our relationships and social
roles. We adapt and change based on 5. Stages of Development
interactions with others.
○ Agent of Action: The self acts, makes ● Infancy: Basic self-recognition develops (e.g.,
decisions, controls behavior, and recognizing oneself in a mirror).
interacts with the environment. ● Childhood: Self-concepts become concrete,
such as describing oneself by physical traits or
2. Cultural Influence on Identity activities.
● Adolescence: The self-concept becomes more
● Culture's Role: Identity is influenced by abstract, with increased self-consciousness
cultural systems—shared norms, symbols, and social comparison. This is a period of
roles, and knowledge—developed through identity exploration (identity vs. role
communication. confusion).
● Symbols and Roles: Names, occupations, and ● Adulthood: People focus on career,
status are key symbols of identity within a relationships, and contributing to society
society. These help define how we see (generativity vs. stagnation). Self-awareness
ourselves and how others perceive us. continues to grow, leading to a more refined
● Human Evolution: Identity and self-awareness understanding of strengths and weaknesses.
evolved as survival mechanisms. Language,
social roles, and group membership are key 6. Social Media and Youth Development
traits that help us function in complex cultural
systems. ● Positive Impact: Social media can enhance
relationships, reduce loneliness, and allow
3. Self-Awareness and Reflection youth to experiment with identities.
● Negative Impact: Risks include cyberbullying,
● Self-Concept: This is the overall understanding privacy issues, and mental health problems
of oneself, including personality traits, physical like depression and anxiety. Social comparison
characteristics, and roles. is prevalent on social platforms.
● Self-Schemas: Cognitive frameworks that ● Online Identity: Adolescents experiment with
organize and influence how we process how they present themselves online, which
information about ourselves. can affect both their self-concept and social
● Self-Discrepancy: Discomfort occurs when relationships.
there’s a gap between our actual and ideal
selves, leading to efforts to reduce this
discomfort.
● Self-Compassion: Involves treating oneself kindly,
recognizing common humanity, and practicing
mindfulness during difficult times.
1. Sarah often compares herself to her classmates 6. Daniel is upset after failing an exam. However,
who perform better academically. This motivates her instead of focusing on his failure, he reminds himself
to study harder. What type of social comparison is of his strengths in sports and friendships. According
Sarah engaging in? to self-affirmation theory, what is Daniel doing?
A. Downward comparison A. Engaging in downward social comparison
B. Upward comparison B. Self-regulating
C. Lateral comparison C. Focusing on self-compassion
D. Ideal comparison D. Affirming his self-worth in other domains

2. John, who is usually quiet and reserved, finds 7. Liam struggles with public speaking but thrives in
himself more confident and vocal when interacting one-on-one conversations. He describes himself as
with his friends online. This shift in behavior can be shy in large groups but confident with close friends.
best explained by which concept? This reflects which structural aspect of self-concept?
A. Self-schema A. Self-schema
B. Social comparison B. Self-complexity
C. Online identity experimentation C. Self-discrepancy
D. Public self-consciousness D. Self-awareness

3. Emily is upset because her ideal self doesn’t match 8. Carla is a teenager who often posts positive
her actual self, particularly in her career. She feels a updates about her achievements on social media.
strong disconnect between where she is now and She feels proud when others like and comment
where she thought she would be. This is an example positively on her posts, but feels down when she
of which psychological phenomenon? doesn't receive much attention. What theory best
A. Self-verification theory explains Carla’s behavior?
B. Self-discrepancy theory A. Social identity theory
C. Self-serving bias B. Self-verification theory
D. Social identity theory C. Basking in reflected glory
D. Narcissism

4. During a class discussion, Sam feels like everyone

is paying attention to the fact that he’s nervous and 9. Ahmed notices that his younger sibling often gets
stumbling over his words, even though no one has upset when their mother leaves the room, but
mentioned it. What is Sam likely experiencing? quickly calms down when she returns. This
A. The spotlight effect attachment style is likely:
B. The self-reference effect A. Anxious
C. Public self-awareness B. Secure
D. Social comparison bias C. Avoidant
D. Disorganized

5. At a new job, Megan wants to appear highly

competent in front of her colleagues and manager. 10. Lisa joins a new work team and adopts the
She carefully chooses her words and highlights her group’s norms quickly, finding her personal identity
skills during meetings. What self-presentation blending with the team’s values. This behavior is best
strategy is Megan using? explained by which theory?
A. Ingratiation A. Cognitive dissonance theory
B. Self-promotion B. Self-discrepancy theory
C. Supplication C. Social identity theory
D. Exemplification D. Self-serving bias
1. Anna often feels that she needs to match the 5. During adolescence, Paul finds himself
success of her peers in school and tends to downplay experimenting with different social groups, trying to
her achievements when she compares herself to figure out where he fits in. He changes his
them. She feels better when she compares herself to appearance and behavior based on the group he’s
someone struggling more than she is. This behavior with. This reflects which concept?
is an example of: A. Social identity theory
A. Upward social comparison B. Psychological moratorium
B. Downward social comparison C. Role confusion
C. Self-fulfilling prophecy D. Identity vs. role confusion
D. Basking in reflected glory

6. Emily tends to internalize the negative feedback

2. Maria feels pressure to perform well in school she receives from others, believing it reflects her true
because she is part of a high-achieving student self. As a result, her self-esteem drops, and she starts
group. She worries about letting down her team if to see herself in a more negative light. What is Emily
she fails, even though she doesn't identify much with experiencing?
the group personally. What is Maria likely A. Internalized prejudice
experiencing? B. Labeling bias
A. Social identity salience C. Self-discrepancy
B. Role confusion D. Cognitive dissonance
C. Self-concept clarity
D. In-group favoritism

7. David, a college student, wants to build a

reputation for being morally upstanding and
3. As a young child, Jacob believed that he could conscientious among his peers. He often goes out of
solve any problem. However, as he grew older, he his way to show how much he follows ethical
became more realistic about his abilities. What guidelines, even when unnecessary. What
explains this change in Jacob's self-concept? self-presentation strategy is David using?
A. Increased self-complexity A. Supplication
B. The development of self-awareness B. Exemplification
C. The transition from early to middle childhood C. Intimidation
D. Shifts in private self-consciousness D. Ingratiation

4. Grace posts an old picture of herself looking 8. Sam is highly self-conscious and believes that
glamorous and successful on social media, even everyone at the party is closely watching and judging
though she’s currently going through a tough time. his every move. This overestimation of how much
She feels that people will like and admire her more attention others are paying to him is known as:
based on the positive image she’s presenting. This A. The illusion of transparency
behavior is best explained by: B. The spotlight effect
A. Self-promotion strategy C. Public self-consciousness
B. Self-verification theory D. Self-schema
C. Public self-consciousness
D. Self-fulfilling prophecy

9. Lucy tends to seek out opportunities to do things

that make her feel good about herself. When she
receives praise for her work, she feels motivated and
continues to focus on those activities. Which concept
does Lucy’s behavior reflect?
A. Self-affirmation
B. Self-esteem
C. Self-fulfilling prophecy
D. Self-compassion