8.1 Self

• The spotlight effect: For the most part, we’re focused on ourselves, and so we think that other people are focused on ourselves, but the truth is that other people tend to be focused on themselves. People really are noticing you as much as you, you worry that they are.

Experiment to ask undergraduates to wear T-shirts with photographs on them.

’’How many people noticed your T-shirts?"

They also asked the people, ’’Did you notice what these people were wearing?"

• Lake Wobegon effect: People tend to believe that they are above average
• Self-serving bias
  • positive things: we tend to attribute to ourselves, to our own traits; negative things: we tend to view as the cause of other external factors.
  • what we do makes sense (cognitive dissonance)
    1. Avoiding inconsistent information (confirmation bias): People often get a second opinion when they get information, in a first opinion they didn’t like. Scientists tell us, that science proceeds by seeking out counter-evidence by trying to falsify theories. But, that’s not how the human mind works, the human mind wants support.

    2. Insufficient justification effect

       Subjects were assigned a boring task.

       Paid either $1 or $20.

       Lied about how “fun” the task was.

       Rated the task honestly.

       Those paid $1 rated the task more enjoyable