Self-Awareness and

Communication
Dr. C. George
HS 104 – Lesson 1
 Types of Self-Awareness
• Subjective self-awareness – An ability to
differentiate the self from the social and physical
environment
• Objective self-awareness - An ability to be the
object of one’s own attention, to be aware of
state of mind, and to realize that one is thinking
and remembering.
• Symbolic self-awareness – A unique human
ability to develop and communicate a
representation of oneself to others.
Maslow’s Levels of Self-Awareness
• Unconscious incompetence – We are unaware of our
own incompetence. We don’t know what we know.
• Conscious incompetence – At this level. We become
aware or conscious that we are not competent. We know
what we don’t know.
• Conscious competence – We are aware that we know
or can do something, but it has not yet become an
integrated skill of habit.
• Unconscious competence – At this level, skills become
second nature. You know or can do something but don’t
have to concentrate to be able to act upon that
knowledge or draw upon that skill.
 Self-Concept: Who Are You?
• The “self” can be defined as the total of
who a person is; a persons central inner
force.
• Self concept is a person’s subjective
description of who he or she is
• Self image can be described as a person’s
view of self in a particular situation or
circumstance.
 Components of Self Concept
• Attitudes: Learned predisposition to
respond to a person, object, or idea in a
favorable or unfavorable way (Likes-
Dislikes)
• Beliefs: The way in which you structure
your understanding of reality---what is true
and what is false (True-False)
• Value: Enduring concept of good and bad,
right and wrong. (Good-Bad)
 The Many Selves
• The Material Self: your concept of self as
reflected in the things you own.
• The Social Self: your concept of self as
developed through your personal, social
interactions
• The Spiritual Self: Your concept of self,
based upon your thoughts and
introspections about your values and
moral standards.
 Development of the Self-Concept
• Communication with others

• Association with groups

• Assumed role models

• Self labels
 Self-Esteem: What is your Value

• Self esteem (self worth) is defined as your

evaluation of your value or worth as
reflected in your perception of such things
as your skills, abilities, talents, and
appearance.
 Factors Affecting Self-Esteem
• Gender

• Social Comparisons

• Self-Expectations

• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
 Strategies for Self-Esteem
Enhancement
• Engage in Positive Self Talk
• Visualize
• Reframe
• Develop Honest Relationships
• Surround Yourself with Positive People
• Lose your Baggage
 Perception
• Perception is a process where a person
selects, organizes, identifies, and
interprets the sensory information he
receives in order to understand his
environment.
• Perceptions act as filters, thus preventing
us from being overwhelmed by all of the
noise (stimuli) around us.
 The Perception Process
• Perception: The arousal of any of your
senses
• Stage One: Attention and Selection
– Attention: what you attend to or notice in your
environment
– Selection: what you choose to focus on within
a range of stimuli in your environment.
• Stage Two: Organization
• Stage Three: Interpretation
The Perception Process (cont.)
• Stage Two: Organization
– Organization: Converting information into
convenient, understandable, and efficient
patterns that allow us to make sense of what
we have observed
– Closure: Perceptual process of filling in
missing information
• Stage Three: Interpretation
– Attaching meaning to what is attended to,
selected, and organized.
 Communication and the Enhancement
of Perceptual Accuracy
• Increase your awareness
• Avoid Stereotypes
• Check you Perceptions
– Indirect and Direct Perception Checking