Self-consciousness

Definition of self-consciousness?

Self-consciousness is generally defined in psychology as an individual’s ability to perceive and understand his or her own thoughts, feelings, behaviors and personal characteristics. It is an introspective capacity that involves Self-consciousness in terms of personality traits, competencies, weaknesses, motivations, beliefs and desires.

Self-consciousness is similar to self-awareness in that it has an inner and outer aspect. Inner self-consciousness is attention to and concern about your thoughts and feelings, often with an attempt to understand and analyze those thoughts. Outer self-consciousness is an awareness of and concern about how you and your behavior appear to others. For example, a very self-conscious person might think deeply about how he should respond to feedback while also being careful to appear open and accepting.

There are different dimensions to self-consciousness. For example, private self-awareness refers to the tendency to pay introspective attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, public self-consciousness refers to awareness of oneself as a social object evaluated by others.

Self-consciousness plays a crucial role in human psychology. It contributes to our ability to evaluate ourselves, to form a personal identity, to understand how others perceive us, and to regulate our behavior on the basis of this information.

What’s the difference between self-consciousness and self-awareness?

Self-consciousness and self-awareness are two distinct but closely related concepts in psychology.

Self-consciousness generally refers to an immediate awareness of yourself in the present moment. This includes awareness of your current thoughts, feelings, behaviors and physical states. For example, you might be aware of the sensation of hunger, your thought that you need to eat, or your behavior in foraging for food.

On the other hand, self-awareness is a deeper, more stable understanding of your personality traits, values, beliefs, motivations, goals, strengths and weaknesses. It’s a form of meta-consciousness, an awareness of your own mental processes and stable character traits. For example, you might know that you’re an introvert who enjoys reading and generally avoids large social gatherings.

In short, self-consciousness is a more immediate and momentary experience, while self-awareness is a more lasting and introspective understanding of who you are as an individual.

Internal and external dimensions of self-consciousness

Self-consciousness is similar to self-knowledge in that it involves both an internal and external dimension of the person.

• Internal self-consciousness is the attention we pay to our thoughts and feelings. It often manifests itself in an attempt to understand and analyze these thoughts.
• External self-consciousness is the attention we pay to how we and our behavior are perceived by others.

For example, a highly self-aware person may think deeply about how to respond to feedback, while at the same time taking care to appear open-minded.

What are the main scientific references on self-consciousness?

Self-consciousness has been studied in many areas of psychology and neuroscience. Here are a few key references:

1. Duval, S., & Wicklund, R. A. (1972). A theory of objective self-awareness. Oxford, England: Academic Press. This book introduced the concept of objective self-awareness, which is the idea that when we perceive ourselves as an object of attention, we become more aware of ourselves and our actions.

2. Lewis, M. (1992). Self-conscious emotions: Embarrassment, pride, shame, and guilt. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Emotion (pp. 563-573). Review of personality and social psychology, No. 13. Sage Publications, Inc. This chapter explains how self-consciousness is linked to certain emotions, such as shame and pride.

3. Morin, A. (2002). Right Hemispheric Self-Awareness: A Critical Assessment. Consciousness and Cognition, 11(3), 396-401. This article explores the links between self-awareness and certain brain regions.

4. Damasio, A. (1999). The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness. Harvest Books. In this book, Damasio explores the relationship between feelings, the body and self-awareness.

5. Gallagher, S. (2000). Philosophical conceptions of the self: implications for cognitive science. Trends in cognitive sciences, 4(1), 14-21. This article provides a philosophical analysis of self-awareness and its implications for cognitive science.

How can a tool like Praditus help develop self-consciousness?

Praditus is an online personality and competency assessment tool that can help individuals develop greater self-consciousness and self-awareness.

Here’s how Praditus can help:

1. Personality assessment: Praditus uses research-based questionnaires to assess an individual’s personality traits. By better understanding their personality traits, an individual can better understand their motivations, behaviors and reactions.

2. Competency analysis: Praditus can also be used to assess an individual’s competencies. This can help a person identify his or her strengths and weaknesses, which is crucial for personal and professional development.

3. Personalized development plans: Based on the results of the assessment, Praditus provides recommendations and personalized development plans. These plans can help individuals identify potential areas for growth and develop strategies to achieve their goals.

4. Real-time feedback: By providing real-time feedback on an individual’s performance, Praditus can help increase self-awareness. Individuals can use this information to adjust their behavior and improve their performance.

It’s important to note that, while tools like Praditus can be very useful for developing self-awareness, they are most effective when used in combination with other personal development strategies, such as coaching, therapy, meditation or self-reflection.

Resource :

https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/self-consciousness.html