| Instructor: Bill Swann
Office hours: By appointment | Office: Benedict 414 Phone: 471-3859 |
| Teaching Assistant: Liz Pinel
Office hours: By appointment | Office: Benedict 426 Phone: 471-0691 Time: Wednesday, 3:00-6:00 PM Place: Parlin 103 |
Description: This course will focus on what social scientists (predominately psychologists, but also sociologists, anthropologists, and historians) have learned about self-knowledge and how it relates to social behavior. Topics will range from the nature of self-esteem and depression to positive illusions and what makes people satisfied with their relationships. To this end, we will read and critique a mix of contemporary and classic articles on the self.
Requirements and Grading. Each student will prepare for the class by doing all the readings and preparing 2 or 3 discussion questions based on them. The discussion questions are due the day before each class and should be sent to me via e-mail (SWANN@PSY.UTEXAS.EDU). The discussion questions are so named because they should promote discussion. Although there are no hard and fast rules, my experience has told me that the most successful questions are integrative (i.e., they relate ideas in different readings to one another). These questions are extremely influential determinants of the success of the class. In addition, in conjunction with class participation, they will be responsible for 20% of your grade.
Class presentations. Each week one student will offer a brief synopsis/critique of a reading to facilitate class discussion.
Quizes: I will give you a pop quiz at the beginning of most of your classes. Questions will be short essays. Your scores on these quizes, together with class participation, will constitute 40% of your final grade.
Papers. There will be two papers that will sum to at least 16 pages in length. The first paper will be the first draft of the term paper, which will consist of either a research proposal or a literature review. This paper will count for 20% of your final grade. After turning this paper in, we will grade it and give you feedback. You will then revise the paper and turn in the final version. This will count for 20% of your final grade.
Readings: In addition to my book (Self-traps: The elusive quest for higher self-esteem), you are asked to purchase a selection of readings that will be available at Paradigm, 407 West 24th Street, 472-7986.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Self-traps, The Holy Grail of self-esteem, Chapter 1.
Baumeister, R. (1987). How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 163-176.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Self-traps, Chapter 4: Ghosts from the nursery? New York: Freeman.
Howe, M. L., & Courage, M. L. (1993). On resolving the enigma of infantile amnesia. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 305-326.
Cicchetti, D. (1991). Fractures in the crystal: Developmental psychopathology and the emergence of self. Developmental Review, 11, 271-287.
Sroufe, L. A. (1989). Relationships, self, and individual
adaptation. In A. J. Sameroff & R. N. Emde (Eds.), Relationship
disturbances in early childhood: A developmental approach
(pp. 70-94). New York: Basic.
Week of February 11: Continuities and discontinuities in development
Caspi, A., & Bem, D. J. (1990). Personality continuity and change across the life course. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research. New York: Guilford Press.
Cottrell, L. (1969). Interpersonal interaction and the development of the self. In Handbook of socialization, theory and research (Ed. D. Goslin), Rand McNally, Chicago.
Sroufe, L. A., & Jacobvitz, D. (1989). Diverging pathways, developmental transformations, multiple etiologies and the problem of continuity in development. Human Development, 32, 196-203.
Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.
Ross, M. (1989). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories. Psychological Review,96, 341-357.
Kenny, D. (1996). Interpersonal perception. New Jersey: Erlbaum. chapter 9.
Week of February 25: Motivational Influences on self-knowledge I: Positivity strivings
Colvin, C. R., & Block, J. (1994). Do positive illusions foster mental health? An examination of the Taylor and Brown formulation. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 3-20.
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well being: Some social psychological contributions to a theory of mental health. Psychological Bulletin 103, 193-210.
Murray, S. L., & Holmes, J. G. (1993). Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 707-722.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Self-traps, Chapter 2: Groucho's paradox. New York: Freeman.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Self-traps, chapter 3: The Verified self. New York: Freeman.
Baumeister, R. F. The optimal margin of illusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8, 176-189.
Kitayama, S. & Karasawa, M. (1997). Implicit
self-esteem in Japan: Name letters and birthday numbers. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 736-742.
Greenwald, A. G. & Banaji, M. (1995) Implicit
social cognition: attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological
Review, 102, 4-27.
Pelham, B. W. & Hetts, J. J. (1998). Implicit and explicit personal and social identity: Toward a more complete understanding of the social self. Unpublished Ms.
Anderson, J. R. (1984). The development of self-recognition: A review. Developmental Psychobiology, 17, 35-49.
Wright, K. (November, 1996). The Tarzan Syndrome. Discover (pp. 89-102).
Gur, R. C., & Sackeim, H. A. (1979). Self-deception:
A concept in search of a phenomenon. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 37, 147-169.
Greenwald, A. G. (1989). Self-knowledge and self-deception. In J. S. Lockard & D. L. Paulhus (Eds.), Self-deception: An adaptive mechanism? (pp. 113-131). New York: Prentice-Hall.
John, O. P., & Robins, R. W. (1994). Accuracy and bias in self-perception: Individual differences in self-enhancement and the role of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 206-219.
Robbins, R. W., & John, O. P. (1997). Self-perception, visual perspective, and narcissism: Is seeing believing? Pychological Science, 8, 37-42.
Rodewalt, F., & Morf, C. C. (in press). Self and interpersonal correlates of the narcissistic personality inventory: A review and new findings. Journal of Research in Personality.
Tesser, A. & Cornell, D. P. (1991). On the confluence
of self processes. Journal of experimental social psychology,
27, 501-526.
Swann, W. B., Jr., De La Ronde, C., & Hixon,
G. (1994). Authenticity and positivity strivings in marriage and
courtship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
66, 857-869.
De La Ronde & Swann, W. B., Jr. (in press). Partner
verification: Restoring shattered images of our partners. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Self-traps, Chapter 5, New York: Freeman.
Hoffman, D. M. (1990). Beyond conflict: Culture, self, and intercultural learning among Iranians in the U.S. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 14, 275-299.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.
Zaharna, R. S. (1989). Self-shock: The double-binding challenge of identity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 13, 501-525.
Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96, 608-630.
Pinel, L. Stigma-consciousness: The psychological legacy of social stereotypes. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629.
Wood, W., Christensen, P. N., Hebl, M. R. & Rothgerber, H. (1997). Conformity to sex-typed norms, affect, and self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 523-535.
Josephs, R. A., Markus, H. R., Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Gender and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 391-402.
Heilman, M. E., & Herlihy, J. M. (1984). Affirmative action, negative reaction? Some moderating conditions. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 204-213.
Cushman, P. (1990). Why the self is empty: Toward a historically situated psychology. American Psychologist, 45, 599-611.
Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991) Terror management theory of self-esteem and cultural worldviews: Empirical assessements and conceptual refinements. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 29, pp. 61-139). New York: Academic Press.
Swann, W. B. Self-traps, Chapter 6