Self-awareness is your ability to perceive and understand the things that make you who you are as an individual, including your personality, actions, values, beliefs, emotions, and thoughts. Essentially, it is a psychological state in which the self becomes the focus ofattention.
While self-awareness is central to your identity, it is not something you are acutely focused onat every moment of every day. Instead, self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of who you are and emerges at different points depending on the situation and your personality.
At a Glance
While we might not think about it all the time, self-awareness is critical to our understand of our selves and our relationship with the world. This understanding starts to form early in life, and become increasingly important as we grow older and begin to gain greater insights into our own thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behavior patterns. Keep reading to learn more about what experts have learned about how self-awareness develops, the different forms it can take, and what you can do to gain deeper insights into who you are as an individual.
How Does Self-Awareness Develop?
Self-awareness is one of the first components of theself-conceptto emerge. People are not born completely self-aware. Yet evidence suggests that infants do have a rudimentary sense of self-awareness.
Infants are aware that they are separate from others, as evidenced by behaviors such as the rooting reflex, in which an infant searches for a nipple when something brushes against their face. Researchers have also found that even newborns can differentiate between self- and non-self touch.
Studies have demonstrated that a more complex sense of self-awareness emerges around one year of age and becomes much more developed by approximately 18 months of age.
Self-Awareness and the Mirror Recognition Task
One way that research can measure self-awareness is by using what is known as a mirror self-recognition task. In a classic conducted by researchers Lewis and Brooks-Gunn, the researchers utilized this task to examine how self-awareness develops.
The researchers applied a red dot to an infant's nose and held the child to a mirror. Children who recognized themselves in the mirror would reach for their own noses rather than the reflection in the mirror, which indicated that they had at least some level of self-awareness.
Lewis and Brooks-Gunn found that almost no children under one year would reach for their own noses rather than the reflection in the mirror.
About 25% of the infants between 15 and 18 months reached for their own noses while about 70% of those between 21 and 24 months did so. This suggests that children exhibit self-awareness and self-recognition at 15 months and have a fully developed sense of mirror recognition by 24 months.
It is important to note that the Lewis and Brooks-Gunn study only indicates an infant's visual self-awareness; children might actually possess other forms of self-awareness even at this early point in life. For example, researchers have also suggested thatexpressing emotionsinvolves self-awareness and an ability to think about oneself in relation to other people.
Self-Awareness and the Brain
Researchers have proposed that an area of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortexlocated in thefrontal lobe region plays an important role in developing self-awareness. Studies have also used brain imaging to show that this region becomes activated in adults who are self-aware.
The Lewis and Brooks-Gunn experiment suggests that self-awareness begins to emerge in children around the age of 18 months, an age that coincides with the rapid growth of spindle cells in the anterior cingulate cortex.
However, one study found that a patient retained self-awareness even with extensive damage to areas of the brain including the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex.
This suggests that these areas of the brain are not required for most aspects of self-awareness and that awareness may instead arise from interactions distributed among brain networks.
Levels of Self-Awareness
So how exactly do children become aware of themselves as separate beings? One major theory of self-awareness, introduced by developmental psychologist Philippe Rochat, suggests that there are five levels of self-awareness. Children progress through these stages between birth and approximately age 4 or 5:
- Differentiation: A baby begins to acknowledge their own reflection. They may detect there is something different or special about looking at their reflection.
- Situation: A baby begins to recognize their own reflection, being, and movements as separate from those around them.
- Identification: This is the stage during which a child fully knows that it is their own reflection in a mirror. They know, "This is me."
- Permanence: They have a complete sense of themselves and can identify themselves in pictures or videos, even as their appearance changes.
- Self-consciousness: A child adapts a third-person point of view of themselves; they become aware of the idea that others perceive them in certain ways. This may result in feelings such as pride or shame.
Types of Self-Awareness
Self-awareness also takes different forms that can emerge in different situations and settings. Psychologists often break self-awareness down into two different types, either public or private.
Public Self-Awareness
This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to others. Public self-awareness typically emerges in situations when people are at the center of attention.
This type of self-awareness often compels people to adhere to social norms. When we are aware that we are being watched and evaluated, we often try to behave in socially acceptable and desirable ways.
Public self-awareness can also lead to evaluation anxiety in which people become distressed,anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by others. Performance anxiety and social anxiety are two examples of how public self-awareness can sometimes lead to worry and distress about how other evaluate us.
Public Self-Awareness Examples
You may experience public self-awareness in the workplace, such as when you're giving an important presentation or when telling a story to a group of friends. Because you are the focus of attention, you become more acutely aware of how others might perceive you.
Private Self-Awareness
This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of themselves, but only in a private way. For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of private self-awareness.
Certain strategies can help you build a greater sense of private self-awareness. For example, journaling, meditating, and practicing mindfulness can help you become more aware of your inner thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Private Self-Awareness Examples
Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study for an important test or feeling your heart flutter when you see someone you are attracted to are also examples of private self-awareness.
Why Is Self-Awareness Important?
Self-awareness is important because it allows you to reflect on aspects of yourself. As you understand your abilities and tendencies, your self-awareness also allows you to think about how you interact with others and the world around you.
Self-aware people are able to manage their behaviors and adapt to situations. They can accurately evaluate what the situation requires and then modify their actions accordingly.
This can be vital in many areas of life, including your relationships and work. It can also factor in when it comes to personal development. As you become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you can take steps to capitalize on the things you are good at and explore ways to improve the areas where you might struggle.
How to Improve Your Self-Awareness
So how do you grow self-awareness? There are many ways you can practice being present with yourself and your emotions, which, in turn, can help improve your self-awareness.
Meditation
Meditation can be an especially useful practice because you don't have to worry about changing anything—simply noticing what happens during a meditation can bring greater awareness of your thoughts and feelings.
Maybe you notice that you hold tension in your body by clenching your jaw, for instance, or that you tend to worry so much about the future that it's hard to be in the present moment. This is all valuable information that can help you get to know yourself and your tendencies.
Journaling
Journaling is a practice of self-reflection that can help you notice how you think and behave and even which areas in your life you may wish to improve. It can be a therapeutic way to gain insight into your life events and relationships.
Talk Therapy
During therapy—such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—a therapist works with you to address negative thought patterns or behaviors.
By understanding the underlying cause of your negative thoughts, for instance, you're in a more advantageous position to change them and use healthy coping mechanisms instead.
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) go hand in hand. EQ refers to a person's ability to perceive their own emotions and those of others. Someone with a high EQ can effectively respond to emotions with empathy and compassion.
Of course, no one is perfect, and EQ is a skill like any other. But by learning to express your emotions in a healthy way and practicing active listening in your relationships, you're contributing to the expansion of your self-awareness as well.
Try Our EQ Test
Our fast and free EQ test can help you determine whether or not your responses to certain situations in life indicate a high level of emotional intelligence:
This EQ test was reviewed by Steven Gans, MD.
When Self-Awareness Leads to Self-Consciousness
Sometimes, people can become overly self-aware and veer into what is known as self-consciousness. Have you ever felt like everyone was watching you, judging your actions, and waiting to see what you will do next? This heightened state of self-awareness can leave you feeling awkward and nervous in some instances.
In many cases, these feelings of self-consciousness are only temporary and arise when we are "in the spotlight."For some people, however, excessive self-consciousness can reflect a chronic condition such as social anxiety disorder.
While self-awareness plays a critical role in how we understand ourselves and how we relate to others and the world, excessive self-consciousness can result in challenges such as anxiety and stress.
If you struggle with self-consciousness, discuss your symptoms with a doctor or mental health professional to learn more about what you can do to cope with these feelings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have self-awareness?
Being self-aware is all about having an understanding of your own thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, and actions. It means that you understand who you are, what you want, how you feel, and why you do the things that you do.
What are the four keys to self-awareness?
There are many different ways to think about self-awareness, but four keys that are often mentioned included mindfulness, self-compassion, reflection, and feedback.
Mindfulness allows people to become more aware of themselves in the present, while compassion allows them to do so without passing judgment on themselves. Reflection and feedback allow people to take what they have learned and improve themselves in order to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.
What are the five elements of self-awareness?
The five elements of self-awarenesses are:
- Consciousness: This means being aware of your internal experiences, including your emotions and thoughts.
- Self-knowledge: This element is focused on your understanding of who you are, including your beliefs, values, and motivations.
- Emotional intelligence: This element is focused on the ability to understand and manage emotions.
- Self-acceptance: This aspect is centered on accepting who you are and showing yourself compassion and kindness.
- Self-reflection: This element of self-awareness involves being able to think deeply about your feelings, thoughts, and goals in order to gain an even better understanding of who you are and your place in the world.
