Chapter: Chapter06: The Self in a Social World

Essay/Discussion Questions:

  1. ACTIVITY: The instructor divides the class into small groups (3-4 people) and distributes cards with scenarios on them, instructing the students to improvise the scene without talking but using only body language. Examples might include sports fans responding after the rival team scores the winning touchdown, family members attending a funeral, a group of job applicants nervously waiting in a waiting room for an interview, friends seeing one another after a long summer away. Each group takes a turn performing a brief improvisation in front of the class. The remaining class members are instructed to guess what the scene was about, discussing the body language cues that led them to their conclusion.
  2. Everyone has an ideal self, a perception of what one ought to be and do, but not everyone has a clear idea of how to pursue this ideal. Devise a mission statement for your life, being sure to identify personal attributes you most value and how you plan to exemplify them in your life (e.g., generosity – volunteering regularly at the local soup kitchen). Include not only personal goals, but interpersonal, familial, community goals, et cetera.
  3. There are many aspects that comprise our conception of self, including but not limited to our race, ethnicity, gender, and age. Reflect on which aspects of identity are most salient to you, noting how, if at all, your environment affects how you perceive yourself. For example, identify how traveling to a foreign country impacts your identification with your nationality.
  4. Prejudice and discrimination remain entrenched in our society, vividly portrayed in the media as well as experienced in our daily lives. Write an essay describing how you have seen prejudice and discrimination displayed in the media and whether you believe it serves to reflect reality or perpetuate negative behavior. You can reflect on a movie (e.g.. Crash) or TV show.
  5. Complete the 36-item self-acceptance scale on page 210 in the text and score it using the scoring key on page 230. Identify 3-5 items in which your response reflected low self-confidence or self-acceptance and either a) challenge the irrational thought with a more rational thought or b) devise a strategy to boost your self-confidence or self-acceptance in this area. For example, for the item “I am frequently bothered by feelings of inferiority,” challenge the thought by listing personal strengths you possess, or focus on one area in which you feel inferior and build up your competence in that area.
  6. A neighborhood is made up of two different ethnic groups that are often in conflict with each other and who hold prejudiced attitudes about each other. The area is plagued by a lot of criminal activity (esp. the drug trade) and has

poor schools. Crime and education are important to all of the residents. According to the text, what can be done to reduce the conflict and prejudice between the two groups?