Self-consciousness

Self-consciousness is a heightened sense of awareness of oneself. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. Historically, "self-consciousness" was synonymous with "self-awareness", referring to a state of awareness that one exists and that one has consciousness. While "self-conscious" and "self-aware" are still sometimes used interchangeably, particularly in philosophy, self-consciousness is now also commonly used to refer to a preoccupation with oneself, especially with how others might perceive one's appearance or one's actions. An unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness may occur when one realizes that one is being watched or observed, the feeling that "everyone is looking" at oneself. Some people are habitually more self-conscious than others. Unpleasant feelings of self-consciousness are sometimes associated with shyness or paranoia. When feeling self-conscious, one becomes aware of even the smallest of one's own actions. Such awareness can impair one's ability to perform complex actions. Adolescence is believed to be a time of heightened self-consciousness. A person with a chronic tendency toward self-consciousness may be shy or introverted. Unlike self-awareness, which in a philosophical context is being conscious of oneself as an individual, self-consciousness – being excessively conscious of one's appearance or manner – can be a problem at times. Self-consciousness is often associated with shyness and embarrassment, in which case a lack of pride and low self-esteem can result. In a positive context, self-consciousness may affect the development of identity, for it is during periods of high self-consciousness that people come the closest to knowing themselves objectively. Self-consciousness affects people in varying degrees, as some people are constantly self-monitoring or self-involved, while others are completely oblivious about themselves. Psychologists frequently distinguish between two kinds of self-consciousness, private and public.

Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development

Solange Noémie Jeanne Denervaud, Paola Zanchi

Although adults and children differ in self-vs.-other perception, a developmental perspective on this discriminative ability at the brain level is missing. This study examined neural activation for self-vs.-other in a sample of 39 participants spanning fou ...

Basel2023

Цена автономии^ Университет, «украинский вопрос», (не)академическая память в долгом двадцатом веке [The Price of Autonomy: University, the "Ukrainian question," (un)academic memory In the long twentieth century]

Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development

Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development

Цена автономии^ Университет, «украинский вопрос», (не)академическая память в долгом двадцатом веке [The Price of Autonomy: University, the "Ukrainian question," (un)academic memory In the long twentieth century]