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What Is Self-Awareness?
Development, Types, and How to Improve
By
Kendra Cherry
Updated on September 10, 2022

Medically reviewed
by
Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS

Self-awareness is one of the first components of the self-concept to emerge. While

self-awareness is something that is central to who you are, it is not something that
you are acutely focused on at 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.​

What Is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness involves our perception of different aspects of the self including
traits, behaviors, and feelings. Essentially, it is a psychological state in which oneself
becomes the focus of attention.

People are not born completely self-aware. Yet research has also found that infants
do have a rudimentary sense of self-awareness.

Infants possess the awareness that they are a separate being from others, which is
evidenced by behaviors such as the rooting reflex in which an infant searches for a
nipple when something brushes against his or her face. Researchers have also
found that even newborns are able to differentiate between self- and non-self touch.

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Self-Awareness Development
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. Researchers Lewis and Brooks-Gunn performed studies looking at
how self-awareness develops.

The researchers applied a red dot to an infant's nose and then held the child up 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 of age would
reach for their own nose 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.

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 Lewis, Sullivan,
Stanger, and Weiss suggested that expressing emotions involves self-awareness as
well as an ability to think about oneself in relation to other people.

Researchers have proposed that an area of the brain known as the anterior
cingulate cortex located in the frontal 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
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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, developed by Philippe Rochat, PhD, 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
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 often 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
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we are aware that we are being watched and evaluated, we often try to behave in
ways that are socially acceptable and desirable.

Public self-awareness can also lead to evaluation anxiety in which people become
distressed, anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by others.

Public Self-Awareness Examples

You may experience public self-awareness in the workplace, when you're giving a
big presentation. Or, you may experience it when telling a story to a group of friends.

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.

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.

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.

M b ti th t h ld t i
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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 in self-reflection that can help you notice the ways in which
you tend to 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 as well as the emotions of other
people. Someone with a high EQ is able to 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 own emotions in a healthy way, and practicing active listening in your
relationships, you're contributing to the expansion of your own self-awareness as
well.

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.

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In a lot of cases, these feelings of self-consciousness are only temporary and arise
in situations 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.

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within
our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content
accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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2. Brooks-Gunn J, Lewis M. The development of early visual self-recognition. Dev Review.

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3. Moeller SJ, Goldstein RZ. Impaired self-awareness in human addiction: deficient attribution of
personal relevance. Trends Cogn Sci (Regul Ed). 2014;18(12):635-41. PMID: 25278368

4. Philippi CL, Feinstein JS, Khalsa SS, et al. Preserved self-awareness following extensive bilateral
brain damage to the insula, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortices. PLoS ONE.
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8. Nakao M, Shirotsuki K, Sugaya N. Cognitive–behavioral therapy for management of mental health

and stress-related disorders: Recent advances in techniques and technologies. BioPsychoSocial
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9. Serrat O. Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. Knowledge Solutions. 2017:329-

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10. Dasilveira A, Desouza ML, Gomes WB. Self-consciousness concept and assessment in self-report
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11. Stein DJ. Social anxiety disorder and the psychobiology of self-consciousness. Front Hum
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Additional Reading

Crisp, R. J. & Turner, R. N. Essential social psychology. London: Sage Publications; 2010.

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