Self-consciousness
- Date: circa 1680
Definitions
1 a : conscious of one's own acts or states as belonging to or originating in oneself : aware of oneself as an individual
- b : intensely aware of oneself : conscious <a rising and self–conscious social class>; also : produced or done with such awareness <self–conscious art>
Description
Self-awareness is the awareness of the self as separate from the thoughts that are occurring at any point in time. Without self awareness the self perceives and believes the thoughts that are occurring to be who the self is. Self awareness gives one the option or choice to choose thoughts being thought rather than simply thinking the thoughts that are stimulated from the accumulative events leading up to the circumstances of the moment. Self awareness results in silent moments of epiphany, as the self realizes and is aware of being the thinker of the thoughts rather than the thoughts that are occupying the conscious moment.
Self-Awareness Theory states that when we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluators of ourselves. Various emotional states are intensified by self-awareness, and people sometimes try to reduce or escape it through things like television, video games, drugs, etc. However, some people may seek to increase their self awareness through these outlets. People are more likely to align their behavior with their standards when made self-aware. People will be negatively affected if they don’t live up to their personal standards. Various environmental cues and situations induce awareness of the self, such as mirrors, an audience, or being videotaped or recorded. These cues also increase accuracy of personal memory.. In Demetriou´s theory, one of the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development, self-awareness develops systematically from birth through the life span and it is a major factor for the development of general inferential processes. Moreover, a series of recent studies showed that self-awareness about cognitive processes participates in general intelligence on a par with processing efficency functions, such as working memory, processing speed, and reasoning.[1]
