THE SELF:Meta Analysis, THE INTERNET, BRAIN-IMAGING TECHNIQUES

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Social Psychology (PSY403)

Lesson 09

THE SELF

Aims

Introducing the concept of the self as the subject and object of awareness

Objective 1

Describe other methods of research in social psychology and reviewing part I of Social Psychology

syllabus

Main Objectives of this lecture

Discussing the self as both target of attention and active agent

Discuss types of self awareness

Link to previous lecture # 8

The previous 6 lectures focused on conducting social psychology research.. Although all the main topics

including primary research methods including observational, correlational, and experimental methods were

discussed, a few more research methods relying on emerging technologies will be discussed in the

beginning of lecture # 9. The highlights of lecture # 9 are given below followed by some description on

other research methods used in social research.

Other Research Methods used in Social Research

Meta Analysis

The findings from a single study are far less convincing than the findings from a series of related studies.

This is why researchers are so interested in replication, which involves repeating a study using different

participants in an attempt to duplicate previous findings. To rely on more sophisticated comparison

procedures when dealing with contradictory findings-from replication studies, researchers now use

techniques called meta-analysis (Hall & Brannick, 2002). Meta-analysis is a statistical technique to

determine whether specific variables have important effects across many studies. Meta-analysis is the use

of statistical techniques to sum up a body of similar studies in order to objectively estimate the reliability

and overall size of the effect.

Social Psychologists Are Increasingly Using Emerging Technologies in Their Research

addition to using more powerful statistical techniques, an increasing number of social psychologists are

employing new technologies in their study of social interaction.

1. VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY

Recently, some social psychologists believe they have found a possible remedy to the dilemma of choosing

between greater control and greater realism in experiments (Blascovich, 2003). They recommend using

virtual environment technology, in which they create a virtual research environment using a computer.

Virtual environment technology creates a virtual research environment using a computer.

2. THE INTERNET

The Internet is a relatively new medium for communication, and many social psychologists are employing

it as an avenue to collect data. One of the biggest advantages in using the Internet is that researchers can

recruit participants from the entire world and test them remotely (Birnbaum, 2004). This technology has

greatly facilitated the ability of social psychologists to conduct cross-cultural research. For example, in a

series of Internet experiments on social exclusion, Kipling Williams and his colleagues (2000) collected

data from more than 1,500 participants from over sixty countries. Other advantages of the Internet as a data

collection site are that studies can be run without the presence of a researcher, without the need for large

laboratories, without expensive equipment (except access to a computer and an Internet connection), and

without limitations on the time of day in which the data are collected.

Social Psychology (PSY403)

Web-based studies are not without limitations. Obtaining a representative sample is one of the primary

concerns with Internet studies. Another limitation of the Internet is that researchers cannot guarantee that

someone hasn't-sent multiple copies of the same data to them masquerading as different participants.

3. BRAIN-IMAGING TECHNIQUES

In the last decade, new technologies have permitted us to peer deep into the living brain, providing

researchers with a unique opportunity to understand how social thinking and behavior are associated with

neural activity. Brain-imaging techniques provide researchers with measures of participants, neural activity

while they engage in various tasks. The most commonly used brain-imaging techniques are:

The electroencephalograph (EEC)

Computerized axial tomography (CAT)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Positron-emission tomography (PET)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

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The Self

Introduction

"No topic is more interesting to people than people. For most people, moreover, the most interesting is the

self (Baumeister, The self in social Psychology, 1999)

In 1999, the word "self" appeared in 9269 book and article summaries in Psychological Abstracts.

Self concept is person's answer to the question "who I am"

Twenty Statement Test (TST) by Kuhn and McPartland (1954) has been used to have an idea about one's

self-concept.

Self-schemas are beliefs about self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information

Self-schemas powerfully affect how we process social information

The Self Is a Symbol-Using, Self-Reflective, Social Being

The self is both a simple and a complex concept. It is not a mental construct located inside your head--it is

you, a social being with the ability to engage in symbolic communication and self-awareness. The reason

the word "social being" is sued to define the self is because selves develop in isolation, but only do so

within a social context (Baumeister & Twenge, 2003; Hardin, 2004).

Self-awareness and symbol usage--and thus, the self--may have evolved in our ancestors as a means to

better deal with an increasingly complex social environment.

What brain area accounts for these remarkable cognitive abilities? Neuroscientists have identified the

frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex as the primary source (Heatherton et al., 2004). The cerebral cortex is

the wrinkled-looking outer layer of brain tissue that coordinates and integrates all other brain areas into a

fully functioning unite. This is the brain's "thinking" center, and it is much larger in humans than in other

animals.

The frontal lobes are involved in the coordination of movement and higher mental processes such as

planning, social skills, and abstract thinking (Poldrack & Wagne 2004), and anterior cingulate of frontal

lobe is involved in self awareness (see below).

Social Psychology (PSY403)

Most influential

theorists of the concept

of self

The most influential

contributors

our

understanding of the self

were two early social

theorists,

psychologist

William

James

and

sociologist

George

Herbert Mead, and the

contemporary

self

theories are based on the

insights of them. In both

James's

and

Mead's

theories, the self is

described as having two

separate aspects, the self

as knower (the I) and the

self as known (the me). The "I" is the active perceiver, initiator, and regulator of action; the "me" is the

knowledge one has about oneself.

SEE GEORGE MEAD AND WILLIAM JAMES'S PICTURES BELOW:

WILLIAM JAMES'

GEORGE MEAD

Types of self awareness

Private self awareness: It is temporary state of being aware of private, hidden self-aspects. We are aware

of our private self when we looking ourselves in mirror, or become aware of our stomach cramps.

Public awareness: Public is being aware of public-self aspects. We become aware of our public self,

when, e.g., we are being watched by others, or our photograph is taken.

Readings

Franzoi, S.L. (2006). Social Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 3.

Lord, C.G. (1997). Social Psychology. Orlando: Harcourt Brace and Company. Chapter 5.

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