Communication and Identity: Creating and Presenting the Self

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Communication and IdentityCreating and
Presenting the Self

• Chapter Summary

• Communication and the Self-Concept
• Biological and Social Roots of the Self
• Characteristics of the Self-Concept
• Influences on Identity
• Presenting the Self
• Public and Private
• Characteristics of Identity Management

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Who are you?

• Write several aspects of who you think you are?
• What do you view as what is most important?
• Describe it as roles if you are having a hard
  time thinking of many.
• You will now complete (individually) the
  Invitation to Insight on Page 47 in your text.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• The Self-Concept

• A relatively stable set of perceptions you hold
  about yourself
• Not only your physical self but your emotional
  states, talents, likes, dislikes, values roles,
  etc.
• May also be described as whole communities
  collectively develop an image of themselves
  Football Games, Weddings
• Self-esteem
• Part of your self-concept
• Involves evaluation of self worth
• Described on how you feel about your qualities
  I am glad I am quiet or I am embarrassed about
  being quiet
• It all comes down to confidence!! It all comes
  down to high self-esteem or low self-esteem.

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Self-Esteem

• People with high self-esteem are more willing to
  communicate than people with low-self-esteem.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• The Self-Concept

People who feel good about themselves will have
positive expectations about how they communicate.
FIGURE 2.1 The Relationship between Self-Esteem
and Communication Behavior Page 43
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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Biology and the Self

• Personality
• You are not born with a self-concept
• You do not have words to describe who you are!
• Your parents/caretakers shape who you are.
• Children Learn What They Live Pg 50
• Tends to be stable throughout your life
• To a large degree is part of our genetic makeup
• Biology accounts for extroversion, shyness,
  assertiveness, verbal aggression and willingness
  to communicate.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Socialization and the Self-Concept

• Reflected Appraisal
• Each of us develops a self-concept that reflects
  the way we believe others see us.
• Positive and negative evaluations become the
  mirror by which we know ourselves.
• Anyone whose opinion you value can leave an
  imprint.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Reflected Appraisal
• We are likely to feel less valuable, lovable, and
  capable, to the degree that others have
  communicated ego busting signals and will
  probably feel good about ourselves to the degree
  that others seem to feel good about us.
• Our Self-Concept List - is a product of the
  positive and negative messages you have received
  throughout your life.
• As a child your first communication is ego
  boostingthis shapes your self-concept and lays
  the foundation of who you will be for the rest of
  your lives. Both Verbal and Non-Verbal
  Communication.
• Are you affectionate/lovable in tone of voice or
  are you businesslike?
• Does your tone express love and enjoyment or
  disappointment and irritation?

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Reflected Appraisal
• All of the previous information shapes a childs
  sense of being Ok or Not OK.
• Children are VERY trusting souls They have no
  other was of viewing themselves they only know
  and accept at face value what others tell or
  show them POSITIVE or negative!
• Cipher in the Snow Pg. 54-55
• How do you arrive at your opinion of yourself as
  a students/as a person attractive to others/as a
  competent worker??
• During childhood and adolescence all of these
  views are powerful and shape who you are!
  Whether you believe so or not!!
• The influence of significant others becomes less
  powerful as people grow older. As people
  approach 30 their self-concept doesnt usually
  change radically without psychotherapy.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Socialization and the Self-Concept

• Social Comparison
• Evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare
  to others
• We decide if we are Superior or Inferior
• Attractive or Ugly, Success or Failure,
  Intelligent or Stupid
• These comparisons positively or negatively affect
  our self-concept.
• Social comparison can be dangerous.
• Reference groups play an important role. i.e.
  Hollywood Star, Donald Trump, Professional
  Athlete or Artist?? Is it an appropriate
  comparison?
• It depends on who we compare ourselves to.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Many people judge themselves against unreasonable
  standards and suffer (internally) accordingly!
• Distorted self-images can lead to serious
  behavioral disorders such as depression,
  anorexia, bulimia, etc.
• Social comparisons provide a way to decide if we
  are the same or different from others.
• Child who likes ballet Pg. 52

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Reference Groups
• Argue tall/short, speak with an accent, have
  acne, etc. But it is the significance we attach
  to them that depends greatly on the opinions of
  others!!
• If you have held a poor self-image in the past it
  is not a reason for continuing to do so in the
  future.
• YOU CAN CHANGE your attitudes and behavior!!
• Commit to make one positive change TODAY!

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Characteristics of the Self-Concept

• The self-concept can be subjective.
• A distorted self-evaluation occurs for several
  reasons
• Obsolete Information Past failures dont mean
  future failure, it applies to success also!
• Distorted Feedback Negative self-image could be
  caused by overly critical parents/cruel
  friends/classmates/uncaring teachers or even
  memorable strangers! Too Positive Example!

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A distorted self-evaluation occurs for several
reasons (Cont.)

• Self-Verification the tendency to look for
  people who confirm our self-concept
• Emphasis on Perfection Another cause for a
  strongly negative self-concept is the emphasis on
  perfection which is extremely common in our
  society.
• It is not wrong to aim at perfection as an ideal.
  I am merely suggesting only that achieving this
  state of perfection is usually not possible, and
  to expect that you should do so is a sure ticket
  to an inaccurate and unnecessarily low
  self-esteem.
• Pg. 58 Table 2-1
• Social Expectations Perfectionist Society
  After a while we begin to believe the types of
  statements we repeatedly make.
• Its alright to proclaim that youre miserable if
  you have failed to do well on a project but its
  considered boastful to express your pride at a
  job well done.
• Self-esteem may be based on inaccurate thinking!!
  Do you agree?

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Characteristics of the Self-Concept

• Cognitive Conservatism
• The tendency to seek and attend information that
  conforms with an existing self-concept.
• The self-concept is resistant to change.
• Inaccurate self-concepts can lead to
  self-delusion and lack of growth.
• Inaccuracies are hard to maintain and lead to
  defensiveness.
• Communicators are reluctant to downgrade a
  favorable image.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Culture, Gender and Identity

• Culture
• Individualistic vs. Collectivistic
• Self-concept is influenced by culture.
• Different culturally influenced self-concepts can
  clash.
• In collective societies, there tends to be a
  higher degree of communication.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Culture, Gender and Identity

• Sex and gender
• Being male or female shapes the way people
  communicate with you.
• Pronouns with gender
• Boys - focus is on size, strength and activity
• Girls - focus is on beauty and sweetness
• What happens when they switch?
• Self-esteem is influenced by gender.

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• The Self-fulfilling Prophecy

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a
persons expectation of an event, and their
subsequent behavior based on those expectations,
make the event more likely to occur.

• The Four Stages
• Holding an expectation
• Behaving in accordance with that expectation
• The expectation coming to pass
• Reinforcing the original expectation

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Types of Self-fulfilling Prophecies

• Self-imposed prophecies
• Your own expectations influence your behavior.
• Thinking that you will fail
• Im going to screw this up. or Its not going
  to work.
• Prophecies imposed by others
• Others expectations influence your behavior.
• All opinions you value can cause this prophecy.
• Pygmalion in the Classroom

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Communication and theSelf-Concept

• Changing your Self-concept

• Have a realistic perception of yourself.
• Have realistic expectations.
• Have the will to change.
• Have the skill to change.

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Communication as Identity Management

• Public and Private Selves

• Identity Management
• Each of us has a multitude of identities.
• Perceived Self (private self)
• A reflection of the self-concept
• Presenting Self (public self)
• The way we want others to view us

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Communication as Identity Management

• Characteristics of Identity Management

• We strive to create multiple identities
• Helping friend, joking office mate, loving
  child
• Identity Management
• Can be deliberate or unconscious
• Is collaborative
• Varies by situation
• People differ in their degree of identity
  management.

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Communication as Identity Management

• Why we Manage Identities

• To start and manage relationships
• You may appear charming or confident even if
  youre not.
• To gain compliance of others
• How do you dress when you go to work or to
  traffic court?
• To save others face
• You mask your discomfort to save anothers
  feelings.

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Communication as Identity Management

• How do we Manage Identities

• Face-to-face impression management
• Manner consists of words and non-verbal actions.
• Doctors will change their impression management
  depending on which part of the examination they
  may be doing.
• Appearance shapes impression
• Clothing, Tattoos, Jewelry, etc.
• Setting also influences how others may view us.

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Communication as Identity Management

• Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)

• Slight limitations over other communication
  channels
• More control over managing your identity
• CMC also gives individuals the ability to
  broadcast their identity in a way traditional
  communication cant
• MySpace, FaceBook and Friendster

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Communication as Identity Management

• Identity Management and Honesty

• Some manage identity dishonestly
• Misrepresenting yourself to date
• Job applicants who lie about academic records
• Salespeople who pretend to be dedicated to
  customer service
• Managing identity does not make you a liar.
• Although seemingly manipulative, it is authentic
  communication.
• Can you imagine not managing your identities?

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Communication and IdentityCreating and
Presenting the Self

• Chapter Summary

• Communication and the Self-Concept
• Biological and Social Roots of the Self
• Characteristics of the Self-Concept
• Influences on Identity
• Presenting the Self
• Public and Private
• Characteristics of Identity Management

Looking Out, Looking In 12th Edition