Self-consciousness

Self-consciousness is a heightened sense of self-awareness. It is a preoccupation with oneself, as opposed to the philosophical state of self-awareness, which is the awareness that one exists as an individual being; although some writers use both terms interchangeably or synonymously.

Overview

Psychological theories of self-consciousness are divided into phenomenological and cognitive: the former is the sense of self, differentiated from others, and the latter is the awareness of the self as an object of thought.

Self-consciousness can be understood as an awareness of oneself. But a person can be self-conscious without being aware of oneself from the point of view of another. This kind of self-consciousness can result in self-monitoring and social anxiety. Both private and public self-consciousness are viewed as personality traits that are relatively stable over time, but they are also situational states that can be induced.

Phenomenological approach

The phenomenological approach to self-consciousness can be found in existentialism, phenomenology, and humanistic psychology.

Cognitive approach

The cognitive approach derives from the self in cognitive psychology and is the idea that the self is part of the mental representations of one's past, and one's future. This form of self-consciousness allows humans to test alternatives to current behavior without risk.

Developmental aspects

Self-consciousness is often associated with adolescence and child development in psychology, but it may come online at other key stages of development, such as infancy and old age.

See also

• Self-awareness
• Self-perception
• Self-concept
• Self (psychology)

External links

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry

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  Svetlana at fortune-telling by K. Brullov (1836, Nizhniy Novgorod museum)