Self-awareness - what it is, its structure and methods of development

What is self-awareness

Self-awareness
is a person’s understanding of the essence of his own personality, awareness of his place in society and the whole picture of the world. This is the vision and analysis of personal emotions, feelings and motives of behavior.

The peculiarity of self-awareness is that a person figuratively bifurcates:

• on the one hand, he is an object of knowledge for himself;
• on the other hand, consciousness acts as a subject for studying an object.

With the help of self-awareness, we see our emotions, feelings and needs, understand the motivation for our actions and what role we play in society. We recognize ourselves as a separate unit, a personality, but at the same time, embedded in the surrounding objective world.

A person can say about himself: “I am Evgeny Ivanov, I am 47 years old, I am a mechanic. I have parents, a wife and two children. My needs for a roof over my head and food are satisfied. I have friends with whom I spend time fishing and satisfy my need for communication. But I also want to have a car and play tennis, and now I’m working to achieve these goals.”

Of course, the description presented is very primitive, but it reflects the essence of the self-awareness of a person who understands his characteristic features and characteristics that distinguish him from other people.

What main problems with self-esteem can you name, how does low self-esteem manifest itself?

I have already talked about the levels of self-esteem, which can be adequate and inadequate. Problems arise when a person evaluates himself inadequately - either with an increase in self-esteem, or with a decrease in self-esteem. It's hard to say which option is worst. Both inadequate self-esteem are dangerous both for the individual himself and for his environment, because such people endanger themselves and others with their actions that do not correspond to the real state of affairs or, conversely, with their inaction.

Let's first deal with low self-esteem. How is it dangerous? Firstly, a person who underestimates himself is not confident in himself, in his decisions and actions. Secondly, he is inclined to consider even his real successes as pure chance, does not draw conclusions from them and does not include them in his positive experience. Thirdly, he condemns himself to underestimating others, because people are impressed by strong personalities, self-confident and soberly assessing their capabilities.

A person with low self-esteem is constantly in an atmosphere of doubt and anxiety, which is clearly not conducive to achieving goals and adaptation in society. He is primarily concerned with questions about what his neighbors, relatives, acquaintances, work colleagues and other representatives of his society will think about him. And this limits the field of his activity and the number of behavioral acts that are necessary to solve problems, but raise doubts in the assessment of others. For example, “Can I smoke in my own apartment, what if cigarette smoke penetrates through the ventilation to the neighbors, and they will be unhappy,” “What should I do so that my colleague does not think that I am a careerist and am stalking him?” and so on. Even in an ordinary checkout line, a person with low self-esteem is always inclined to give in, skip and not be indignant. For him to claim his rights, the injustice must be too obvious. The inability to evaluate oneself adequately leads to an exaggerated dependence on external assessments of the type: “What people will think and say about me,” and it does not matter that most of them cannot influence his life in any way and with whom he may never meet again. Moreover, such assessments are generally not objective and are often a consequence of the interlocutor’s bad mood. Moreover, a subject with low self-esteem simply comes up with negative conclusions about the opinions of others, assessing himself as if through the eyes of strangers and “reading” their thoughts. Even a glance that reflects the negative thoughts of another person about his personal situation is attributed to a person with low self-esteem. Excessive dependence on other people's opinions leads to the fact that a person constantly experiences strong emotional stress, is in a state of increased anxiety and fear of condemnation. His self-image remains insufficiently formed and is based not so much on real personal characteristics, but on compliance with a set of rules of behavior and relations with the outside world, as well as generally accepted moral and ethical standards. For example, a person tries to help everyone, giving up his seat in transport and queues to the elderly, pregnant women and people with small children. All this, of course, is not bad, if it does not reach the point of absurdity, when, for example, a pensioner gives way to another similar pensioner, who, in the first opinion, is even worse off or who is several years older. Such constant derogation does not pass without a trace and has a destructive effect on the psyche. Sooner or later, it can cause a nervous breakdown (more about neurosis) and violent indignation that others do not comply with the set of unspoken laws. In fact, the underlying reason for such passions is ordinary envy of those who can afford to break the rules or act according to the situation, regardless of the appropriateness of the actions. A person with low self-esteem is not independent in making decisions; he is dependent on advice and tips from those around him - family, neighbors, co-workers, friends and even just acquaintances. Although more than once he could make sure that, acting in accordance with his personal motives, he could achieve more tangible results. Low self-esteem is characterized by excessive self-criticism. A person actually engages in self-criticism when he has an internally negative attitude towards all his actions. And this creates a complex of incompetence and defeatism. Low self-esteem manifests itself especially loudly during public speaking, regardless of the size of the audience. This could be answering at the blackboard in front of the class, making a toast, joining a discussion, etc. The fear of becoming a laughing stock literally paralyzes such a person; he cannot clearly state his position and defend his own opinion. The only thing that can help in this case is raising self-esteem with the help of a psychotherapist, who will help transfer the critical evaluative level of the Parent, characteristic of low self-esteem, to the level of an Adult who treats his own person objectively and with self-respect. Summing up the information about low self-esteem, let me once again remind you of its main signs. These are such as: • Lack of confidence in yourself, your actions and statements. • Lack of independence and persistent dependence on the opinions and attention of other people. • Stereotypical actions and behavioral reactions. • Showing off plausible actions, helpfulness, desire to please everyone and always. • Fear of communicating with large numbers of people and fear of public speaking. • The constant presence of anxiety and obsessive thoughts about one’s inadequacy.

Personal self-awareness in psychology

The concept of self-awareness is so complex and multifaceted that in psychology there is still no single concept of its understanding. Synonyms for the word are: “I am a self,” “I am a concept,” “self-identity.”

The basics of the concept were formulated by S.L. Rubinstein, who pointed out the possibility of self-awareness to understand oneself, the personal environment and the existing structure of relationships with people.

According to S.V. Vygotsky, self-consciousness is formed in a person by the end of adolescence. He connects this process with the ability to reflect (think, ponder), which is formed by the age of seven.

According to the theory of V.S. Merlin's understanding of himself consists of the following components:

• Distinctive features from other subjects and objects.
• Understanding your own emotions, having self-esteem.
• Awareness of oneself as a subject of activity.

Psychologists have identified the following criteria for self-awareness:

1. Isolation of the individual from the environment (material and social).
2. Understanding the ability to control oneself – actions and thoughts.
3. Trying on the visible qualities of other people.
4. The ability to see your needs and the deep motives of your actions.
5. Awareness of one’s own character traits and personality traits, both existing and desired.

In addition, within the framework of self-awareness in psychology, such a factor as attitude towards other people is highlighted; it can also be different.

The egocentric layer assumes that the individual forms an attitude towards others in accordance with their attitude towards themselves. That is, if they love me, then I love, if they respect me, then I will respect.

The group-centric stage of relationships is based on the principle: “If a person belongs to a certain group, then he is correct.” It is assumed that the person himself belongs to this same group.

A prosocial approach ensures understanding of the value of any person and acceptance of him with all his shortcomings.

At the highest, estoholic level, other people are considered as part of the spiritual world, humanity and patience are positioned in relation to any individual.

Structure and functions of self-awareness

Regarding the structure of the concept in psychology, there is also no single approach; several alternatives are considered.

Thus, in the works of V.S. Mukhina’s self-awareness includes: identification of a person with his own property and physical body, gender, self-esteem and claims to evaluation by society.

V.S. Merlin sees the structure of the concept somewhat differently and includes in it:

• Understanding personal mental characteristics.
• Awareness of the “I” as an active subject.
• Recognition of personal identity.
• Assessing one’s own mental qualities from the point of view of moral and ethical rules.

V.V. Stolin defines the following parts of self-understanding: self-esteem, the created image of oneself (body, emotions, feelings), the conflicting essence of one’s “I”.

Summarizing the existing concepts, the structure of self-knowledge can be represented as follows:

1. educational part

   – a person’s awareness of all aspects of his own personality;

2. self-esteem

   – a person’s attitude to his characteristics, both physical and spiritual, emotional;

3. self-regulation

   – a person’s ability, based on knowledge about himself, to control, regulate and correct his behavior and actions.

In addition to different periods of life, the structure of self-understanding also includes:

• "I" today
  . This is an idea of ​​one’s personality at the current moment in time, an awareness of one’s position in reality. We evaluate existing social roles: what kind of worker, husband, father, etc. am I. If the ideal image and the real one do not coincide, experiences may arise.
• "I" is desired
  . These are a person’s ideas about the ideal image to which he strives. This component includes: needs, dreams and desires. It is this “I” that is the main motivator for productive activity.
• “ I” is previous, including an assessment of oneself in the past
  . If a person has had unpleasant or painful experiences early in life, this may hinder the fulfillment of needs in the future.

All of the listed components of self-awareness are interconnected and influence each other.

Functions

The most important function of self-awareness is self-regulation

. Since we have fully identified ourselves, realized resources (positive and negative characteristics, potential, opportunities), understand needs and desires, he can act towards creating his ideal image.

When a person is mistaken about his own needs or inadequately assesses available opportunities, he will not receive satisfaction from his activities. Either he will rush in the wrong direction, or he will not have enough strength and potential to fulfill his desire. In both cases, disappointments and the occurrence of frustrations (strong experiences due to unfulfilled hopes and expectations) are inevitable.

Self-regulation will save a person from pointlessly wasting energy and time on unnecessary goals.

The next function is self-understanding

- This is the formation of individuality. Personality is always unique, each of us is unique. Only we ourselves know what feelings we experience, how we react to difficulties and obstacles, our pain is only our pain.

We have the right to our own perception of life, personal opinion and want to be responsible for our actions. Individuality and uniqueness must be defended throughout life.

Among the main functions are the definition of personal boundaries, self-defense

. We learn to structure our behavior in such a way that we experience less toxic influence from others. Extraordinary individuals are often ostracized (persecuted) in society. Unusual abilities and appearance, one’s own view of things, different from the generally accepted one, often make a person a “black sheep” that his brothers try to peck. A conscious sense of peace and self-confidence allows you to build a strong line of defense.

For example, if a person loves his body, he will not pursue imposed standards of beauty, if he considers it immoral to do mean things, he will not make a career by “setting up” his colleagues, even if this is accepted in the team, etc.

There is such a technique in psychology. If you are confident that you are right and live according to the principles you have developed, then in the event of attacks, imagine yourself as a rubber ball that no one can pinch. It is better to lose a toxic environment than to lose yourself.

Self-awareness and self-esteem of the individual

Self-awareness is a special form of a person’s awareness of himself and his essence, manifested in the form of self-perception, self-esteem and self-control. Self-awareness distinguishes a person’s personality from other living beings, since only it has the ability to turn mental activity towards itself, its inner world, and form the image of “I”. Self-awareness involves distinguishing between one’s inner world (the image of “I”) and what surrounds the personality (the image of “NOT-I”). The self-awareness of each person develops from more elementary forms (self-awareness, self-perception) to more complex ones (self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-reflection). Self-awareness determines all human behavior.

The structure of self-awareness includes three components:

1. Cognitive (cognitive) or self-knowledge is the individual’s knowledge about himself. An individual’s knowledge of himself is formed into a certain image of “I”.

The image of “I” is a relatively stable, more or less conscious, experienced as unique system of ideas of an individual about himself.

“I-image” includes three components, one of which may predominate:

a ) “real self”

- this is the idea of ​​oneself at the moment of the experience itself,

b) “ideal self”

- this is what a person should become, in his opinion, in order to meet social norms (under the influence of literature, cinema),

c) “fantastic self”

- this is what a person would like to become if it were possible for him.

2. Evaluative or self-attitude.

This is an attitude towards what a person knows about himself, i.e. assessment of those qualities that are part of his self-image. All these attitudes of a person towards himself add up to self-esteem.

Self-esteem is an individual’s assessment of himself, his capabilities, qualities and place among people. Self-esteem is formed on the basis of comparisons of oneself and other people, oneself and some standard (real and ideal “I”), based on the opinions that a person hears about himself.

Self-esteem is distinguished:

a) in terms of level – overestimated

(or a superiority complex, i.e. a person overestimates himself in situations that do not provide a reason for this),
underestimated
(or an inferiority complex, i.e. a person is unsure of himself and lowers his opinion of himself) and
average
.

b) in terms of adequacy - adequate

(i.e. a person correctly evaluates his strengths and weaknesses) and
inadequate
(a person evaluates himself incorrectly).

Self-esteem is associated with the level of a person’s aspirations, manifested in the degree of difficulty of the goals that a person sets for himself.

3. Behavioral or self-actualization.

A person builds his behavior based on knowledge about himself and attitude towards himself, i.e. on self-esteem. Depending on the level and adequacy of self-esteem, they can behave differently.

Theories of personality.

Trait theory was developed by G. Allport and R. Cattell. People, according to this theory, differ from each other in the set and degree of development of their individual, independent traits, and a description of a holistic personality can be obtained on the basis of a testological or other, less rigorous examination of it, based, for example, on a generalization of life observations of different people about a given personality . G. Allport and R. Cattell developed methods for studying personality traits. In particular, R. Cattell identified 16 personality traits. Subsequently, the number of experimentally identified trait factors increased significantly (from 33 to 200).

Trait theory has some pretty serious flaws. First, researchers receive different lists of factors. Secondly, based on knowledge of personality traits, it turned out to be almost impossible to accurately predict a person’s behavior even in those situations that are meaningfully related to the identified traits.

social learning theory has become widespread abroad .

The main psychological characteristic of a person in this theory is an action or a series of actions. A person’s behavior and his social actions are significantly influenced by other people, their support or condemnation of his actions.

Individual differences in behavior that are found in children and adults, according to this theory, are the result of their long stay in different living conditions, interactions and relationships with different people. The main mechanisms by which a person acquires new forms of behavior and, consequently, his development as an individual is learning by conditioned reflex, through observation of others (vicarious learning) and imitation.

Psychoanalytic personality theory of S. Freud. S. Freud compared human self-awareness to the tip of the iceberg. He believed that only a small part of what actually happens in a person’s soul and characterizes him as a person is actually realized by him. A person is able to correctly understand and explain only a small part of his actions. The main part of his experience and personality is outside the sphere of consciousness.

The personality structure, according to Freud, has three components: “It”, “I” and “Super-ego”.

“ It ” is the unconscious itself, which includes deep-seated drives, motives and needs. “It” is a product of the biological experience inherited by man from animals (in the theory of Freud himself) or an unconscious result of an unfavorably developed individual life experience (in the concepts of neo-Freudians).

“ I ” is, as a rule, a person’s self-awareness, his perception and assessment of his own personality and behavior.

“ Super-ego ” is the result of the influence of society on the consciousness and subconscious of a person, his acceptance of the norms and values ​​of public morality. The main sources of the formation of the “super-ego” of the individual are parents, teachers, educators, other people with whom a given person has entered into long-term communication and personal contacts throughout life, as well as works of literature and art. The “super-ego” is represented at both the conscious and subconscious levels.

“It” acts in accordance with the so-called pleasure principle. The “I” is guided by the principle of reality, and the “Super-ego” is guided by ideal ideas - moral norms and values ​​​​accepted in society.

The system of vital human needs, which makes up the content of “It,” constantly requires satisfaction and unconsciously directs a person’s mental activity, regulating his mental processes and states. Unconscious drives coming from the “It” are most often in a state of conflict with what is contained in the “Super-I”, i.e. with social and moral assessments of behavior; therefore, between the “It” and the “Super-Ego” there are constant and inevitable contradictions. They are resolved with the help of the “I” - consciousness, which, acting in accordance with the principle of reality, seeks to intelligently reconcile both conflicting sides in such a way that the drives of the “It” are satisfied to the maximum extent and without violating moral norms.

The states of dissatisfaction with oneself, anxiety and restlessness that often arise in a person are, according to Freud and the concepts of neo-Freudians, a subjective, emotionally charged reflection in a person’s consciousness of the struggle between “It” and “Super-Ego”, insoluble or unresolved contradictions between what motivates behavior in reality (“It”), and what should guide it (“Super-I”).

In an effort to get rid of these unpleasant emotional states, a person, with the help of the “I,” develops so-called defense mechanisms.

Psychological protection

- this is a special regulatory system that is used by an individual to eliminate psychological discomfort, experiences that threaten the “I-image”, and maintain it at a level that is desirable and possible for given circumstances.

The following psychological defenses are distinguished:

Denial - boils down to the fact that information that is disturbing and can lead to internal conflict is not perceived, i.e. its existence is denied and thus reality is distorted.

Repression is the active exclusion of unpleasant information from consciousness and its suppression. Unlike the previous defense, here the person does not pretend, but actually forgets the traumatic information.

Projection is the unconscious transfer of one’s own feelings, desires, qualities that a person is ashamed to admit to himself, onto another person. Identification is the unconscious transference to oneself of feelings and qualities inherent in another person and inaccessible, but desirable for oneself. Rationalization is a person’s pseudo-reasonable explanation of his desires or actions, which were actually caused by reasons, the recognition of which would threaten the loss of self-esteem.

Substitution is the transfer of an action from an inaccessible to an accessible object. For example, take out evil on another person or on a model of an enemy or in the form of a dream. Substitution relieves tension, but does not lead to the desired goal.

Isolation (alienation) is the isolation of a traumatic factor within the consciousness. A person is aware of the reality of events, but does not allow unpleasant emotions into consciousness. For example, “Was there a boy?”

Sometimes psychological defenses are really necessary, because... allow you to maintain a person’s inner comfort. But if a person constantly resorts to using them, then he begins to inadequately assess what is happening around him, including himself, which will cause a number of problems in behavior and communication with others.

Representatives of humanistic psychology also proposed a theoretical approach to personality psychology . The most famous representatives of this approach to personality are American psychologists A. Maslow and K. Rogers.

According to Rogers' theory of personality, every person has the desire and ability for personal self-improvement. The central concept for his theory was the concept of “I”, which includes ideas, ideas, goals and values ​​through which a person characterizes himself and outlines the prospects for his own development. The image of “I” influences a given person’s perception of the world, other people, and the assessments that a person gives of his own behavior. The self-concept can be positive, ambivalent (contradictory), negative. An individual with a positive self-concept sees the world differently than a person with an ambivalent or negative self-concept. The self-concept, in turn, can incorrectly reflect reality, be fictitious and distorted. What does not agree with a person’s self-concept can be pushed out of his consciousness and rejected, although in fact it may turn out to be true. The degree of a person’s satisfaction with life, the degree of completeness of happiness he experiences directly depends on the extent to which his experience, his “real self” and “ideal self” are consistent with each other.

According to A. Maslow’s concept, the following needs consistently appear in a person from birth and accompany personal maturation:

1) physiological (organic); 2) safe; 3) in belonging and love; 4) in respect; 5. in self-actualization.

The basic human need, according to humanistic theories of personality, is self-actualization,

desire for self-improvement and self-expression.

In terms of its positions, especially in terms of understanding the meaning of life (the pursuit of higher goals, values), humanistic psychology is the closest of all foreign concepts to the views of domestic psychologists.

In Russian psychology, the most famous research in the field of personality is associated with the theoretical works of representatives of the school of L.S. Vygotsky. A significant contribution to solving the problem of personality was made, in particular, by A.N. Leontiev. The main internal characteristic of A.N. Leontiev’s personality is the motivational sphere of the individual. Another important concept in his theory is “personal meaning.” It expresses the relationship between the goals of human activity, i.e. what she is directly directed at at the moment, to her motives, to what motivates her. The wider and more diverse the types of activities in which a person is involved, the more developed and ordered they are, the richer the person himself.

2. Consciousness as the highest form of mental development

The main stages of mental development in phylogenesis.

Stages of development of the animal psyche (according to A.N. Leontiev):

1.Stage of elementary sensory psyche

(coelenterates, insects, worms).

Features of the nervous system

: in coelenterates - a diffuse nervous system (shapeless body), in worms - a chain nervous system (nervous system along the entire body, there is a head, which is the most sensitive), in insects - a nodal nervous system (there is differentiation of nerve endings - auditory, ocular, etc. .d.).

Reflection form

the surrounding world - sensitivity (ability to sense).

Form of behavior

- instinct (a complex system of unconditioned reflexes that are developed by many millions of generations and are inherited in the same way as the structural features of the body).

2. Perceptual stage

(vertebrates, mammals).

Features of the nervous system

: in addition to the brain stem (instincts), there is the cerebral cortex (acquisition of individual experience). The mass of the brain occupies an increasing place in relation to the mass of the body.

Reflection form

environment: the ability not only to sense, but also to perceive objects and situations (to analyze incoming information).

Form of behavior

: learning (the ability to accumulate individual experience, i.e. not only to use innate behavioral programs, but also to build individually new forms of behavior that were not inherent in birth). But learning through motor trial and error is reinforced through reinforcement.

3. Stage of intellectual behavior of animals

(primates, higher animals).

Features of the nervous system

: in the cerebral cortex there are more complex sensitivity zones (more acute hearing, vision, etc.).

Reflection form

: the ability not only to sensations and perceptions, but also to the simplest forms of thinking, i.e. solves the problem not by motor tests, but by first thinking about what actions need to be performed. Thinking at this stage is called manual, because To solve a mental problem, two conditions are necessary here:

1) So that the object necessary to solve the problem is in the field of view.

2) So that the animal can manipulate the object.

This stage is also characterized by greater memory strength.

Form of behavior

: not only instinct and learning, but also the ability to act with tools (for example, a monkey can knock down an apple with a stick).

The human psyche has an even more complex structure and has a number of important differences

from the psyche of animals:

1) The basis of human behavior, unlike animals, is not only the satisfaction of biological needs (for example, heroism).

2) A person is able to distract himself from a specific situation and foresee the consequences that may arise in connection with this situation.

3) Man is able to create tools according to a pre-thought-out plan and preserve them.

4) A person can accumulate and transfer accumulated social experience. Animals also have a language of communication, but with its help they only give signals about a given situation (danger).

Thus, the production, use and preservation of tools, the division of labor contributed to the development of abstract thinking, speech, language, and the development of socio-historical relations between people. In the process of historical development of society, a person changes the ways and techniques of his behavior, transforms natural inclinations and functions into higher mental functions - specifically human, socially and historically conditioned forms of memory, thinking, perception (logical memory, abstract logical thinking), mediated by the use of auxiliary means , speech signs created in the process of historical development. The unity of higher mental functions forms human consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the highest stage of mental development.

Consciousness is the highest function of the brain, peculiar only to humans and associated with speech, which consists in a generalized and evaluative reflection of reality, as well as its creative transformation, in the preliminary mental construction of actions and prediction of results, in the reasonable regulation of behavior.

Consciousness includes the following components:

1.Knowledge

about himself and the world around him, which a person receives through cognitive processes.

2.Self-awareness

- separating oneself from the surrounding world and contrasting oneself with others.

3.Goal setting

- the ability to set a goal and achieve it with the help of will.

4.Grade -

emotional attitude to the surrounding world.

Consciousness is not the only level at which mental processes, properties and states of a person are represented, and not everything that is perceived and controls a person’s behavior is actually realized by him. In addition to consciousness, a person also has an unconscious mind. These are those phenomena, processes, properties and states that a person is not aware of.

The unconscious principle is represented in almost all mental processes, properties and states of a person. There are unconscious sensations

which include sensations of balance. Unconscious images of perception are manifested in the feeling of familiarity that sometimes arises in a person when perceiving an object.

S. Freud made a great contribution to the development of the problems of the personal unconscious. There are three components in the structure of the psyche: consciousness is what a person is aware of, understands, what he is thinking about; preconscious is a system of moral norms, prohibitions and values ​​that a person learned in childhood, and the unconscious. The unconscious in a person’s personality is instincts, as well as those qualities, interests, needs that a person is not aware of in himself, but which manifest themselves in a variety of involuntary reactions, actions, and mental phenomena. One of the groups of such phenomena is erroneous actions:

slips of the tongue, typos, errors when writing or listening to words.
The second group of unconscious phenomena is based on involuntary forgetting
of names, promises, intentions, objects, events and other things, which are directly or indirectly associated for a person with unpleasant experiences.
The third group of unconscious phenomena of a personal nature belongs to the category of ideas and is associated with perception, memory and imagination: dreams, reveries, daydreams.
17.Leadership and management in a small group

Leadership is actually a psychological phenomenon; it is based on the power of influence of one group member on another. Leadership is the process by which one person influences other group members to achieve group goals.

Management, in contrast to leadership, is a phenomenon of a mixed, socio-psychological nature. The power of a leader is much broader than the actual psychological influence. It relies on the entire system of socio-economic levers that are at the disposal of the leader. The power of influence of a leader is partly based on psychological mechanisms, partly on the powers given to him by the broader social system (which assigned him to the position of leader).

Governance is a legal process regulated by society.

They have common features

.
Both management and leadership are group phenomena ; they solve common problems ( stimulate the group , take care of the means to achieve group goals.
Leadership theories .

1.Trait theory, charismatic, great man theory

. According to this theory, a leader can be a person who has a certain set of personal qualities or psychological traits. The disadvantage is that scientists have not come to a consensus on the set of qualities that distinguish a leader.

2.Situational leadership theory

. Leadership is a product of the situation. In various situations of group activity, individual group members are identified who are superior to others in the qualities necessary in a given situation. In this case, the question of the leader’s activity is removed; he turns into a weather vane.

3. Synthetic theory

. Leadership is viewed in it as the process of organizing interpersonal relationships in a group, and the leader as the subject of managing this process. The advantage of this approach is that the leader ceases to be a charismatic person. A leader is a group function, a role, the fulfillment of which requires certain qualities, but above all, the value significance of the individual, the embodiment of norms and goals accepted in the group.

Each leader influences group members differently. The set of psychological influences used by a leader is called leadership style . There are three main styles:

1. Authoritarian : affairs in the group are planned in advance in their entirety, the leader’s voice is decisive, he makes short orders in a stern tone, makes prohibitions without leniency, praise and blame are subjective. The position of the leader is above the group.

2. Liberal : things in the group go by themselves, the leader does not give instructions, the tone is indifferent, there are no punishments or rewards. The leader's position is away from the group.

3. Democratic : activities are planned in advance with discussion in the group, all group members are responsible, instructions from the leader come in the form of suggestions, the tone is friendly, orders, prohibitions, praise come with discussions and discussions in the group. The position of the leader is within the group.

The greatest preference is given to the democratic style. But each style has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it is not always appropriate to use the democratic style, but rather combine it. Thus, with an authoritarian leader, the amount of work performed increases, but motivation will be low, aggressiveness and anxiety will increase, and there will be less friendliness. Under a liberal leader, the volume of work will decrease and its quality will decrease, but there will be no anxiety and aggressiveness. And, for example, the democratic style is not suitable for diffuse groups, because leads to conflict and a decrease in productivity (here it is better to use an authoritarian style, as it brings organization).

Forms and levels of human self-awareness

Self-awareness manifests itself in four forms, let's look at each of them.

Self-knowledge

This concept means identifying oneself among other people and the world around us, recognizing personal qualities, the physical body, and potential.

Self-awareness comes through:

• Self-observation of the results of one’s activities, the results of communication with the environment and analysis of the compliance of the results with accepted standards.
• Understanding the assessments of other people about their personality and actions, their attitudes.
• Analysis of your feelings, emotions and needs, and their transformations.

The result of self-knowledge is the formation of a system of ideas about oneself.

Self-control

A person has the opportunity, after analyzing his essence and behavior, to correct them. Any actions and psychological states can be changed if, in the opinion of the person himself, they contradict his attitudes, do not give the desired results, or come into conflict with the outside world.

Self-esteem

Self-esteem expresses the degree to which a person accepts his qualities, characteristics and characteristics. The perception itself reveals the level of love and respect for oneself.

Adequate self-esteem characterizes a self-confident person, capable of making decisions and purposeful actions. When low, we see a person dependent on the opinions of others, with a pronounced sense of guilt and a lot of complexes. An overestimation of personal qualities reveals a person who is self-confident, arrogant, and does not accept any criticism.

To achieve life goals, self-esteem should be developed to a normal level; in psychology there are many exercises to increase the degree of self-love.

Self-acceptance

This form of self-awareness involves:

• Accepting yourself as a unique individual, without unjustified criticism and self-deprecation.
• Self-respect.

Self-esteem comes from achieving goals and satisfying aspirations. A person sets records in sports, quits smoking, finishes writing a novel - his self-esteem increases, which has a good effect on self-esteem.

In addition to forms, psychology considers 4 levels of self-perception:

• Sensual
  . This is the lowest level at which one’s psychological characteristics, experiences, and physiological processes are understood. This is the stage of self-identification.
• Figurative and personal
  . Gives recognition of oneself as a subject of active activity. Self-actualization occurs, maintaining the identity of “I”.
• Analytical (otherwise reflexive)
  . A person analyzes and clarifies his thoughts and actions, observes the manifestation of emotions in critical states, analyzes committed mistakes and failures, and draws conclusions.
• Active
  . Based on the results and experience of the first three stages, self-regulation, motivation, correction of behavioral structures and self-control occur. This is a stage of personal change based on self-knowledge.

Going through all four levels of self-awareness indicates the maturity of the individual; getting stuck on one of them requires further development.

THE CONCEPT OF SELF-ESTEEM AND ITS TYPES

Our ability to understand our complex mental world helps us exist in society, solve life's problems and interact with people. Everyone, knowing about their positive and negative qualities, can emphasize their strengths and reduce their shortcomings, thus predicting and regulating their behavior. It also allows a person to more consciously analyze other people, their qualities and properties.

In the individuality of a person, basic properties are distinguished - his self-esteem, temperament, character, and human abilities. These are the basic properties, which are a combination of her innate, as well as traits acquired in the process of socialization and upbringing. These basic properties form a certain style of behavior and activity of the individual.

First, we need to define the concept of “self-esteem.” Self-esteem is an individual’s assessment of himself, his capabilities, qualities and place among other people. A person, as is known, becomes a personality in the process of communication and joint activity. He is involved in the process of general activity and there he obtains important guidelines for his behavior and development. A person constantly compares his behavior with the behavior of others, observes their reactions, tries to find out their requirements and opinions on this matter. Knowing the qualities of other people, a person tries to develop his own assessment. A person compares himself with others, assuming that they are not indifferent to their own personal qualities. Thus, a person always has a reference group with which he is considered. He draws his values ​​from her, makes her ideals and interests his own. However, comparing oneself with other people is not the only source of self-esteem. Also important is the comparison of different versions of the self-image, as well as the subjective significance of various aspects of the self-image.

In the process of communication, a person constantly compares himself with a certain standard and, depending on the results of this comparison, gives himself an assessment. In the same situation, people with different self-esteem will behave completely differently, take different actions, and thereby influence the development of events differently.

In modern psychology, there are three types of self-esteem:

• Overpriced;
• Understated;
• Normal.

With inflated self-esteem, a person develops an idealized idea of ​​his personality and his value to others. He does not want to admit his own mistakes, laziness, lack of knowledge, incorrect behavior, and often becomes tough, aggressive, and quarrelsome. Inflated self-esteem leads to the fact that a person tends to overestimate himself in situations that do not provide a reason for this. As a result, he often encounters opposition from others who reject his claims, becomes embittered, displays suspicion, suspiciousness or deliberate arrogance, aggression, and in the end may lose the necessary interpersonal contacts and become withdrawn1 (A.V. Petrovsky, 1986).

Diametrically opposite is the behavior of a person with low self-esteem. The following factors most often contribute to its occurrence: appearance or weight, mental health, socioeconomic status, peer pressure, and genetic factors. This can lead to the appearance of an inferiority complex - a set of emotional and psychological feelings of a person, expressed in a feeling of one’s own inferiority and an irrational belief in the superiority of everyone around oneself. It also leads to persistent self-doubt, refusal of initiative, indifference, self-blame and anxiety. Because of this, most people develop depression, which in especially severe cases can be followed by suicide.

Normal self-esteem is expressed in a sober attitude towards successes and failures, approval and disapproval. A person with adequate self-esteem trusts his own judgment and does not feel guilty when others do not like it. He also puts himself on an equal footing with others, without underestimating or overstating his importance.

To characterize a person’s position, it is not enough to know only his self-esteem. Another important aspect is the expected assessment - the assessment that, in the opinion of the subject himself, he deserves in a given group.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of the rating system as a regulator of group relationships. The results showed that a significant increase in personal self-esteem is associated with a decrease in the expected assessment indicator. A person becomes convinced in practice that the real attitude of others towards him and the expected assessment do not coincide, so he stops expecting a high assessment. It also became known that an increase in the assessment that a person gives to others leads to an increase in the real assessment from others. One of the assumptions is that a person’s high assessment of his group is due to the fact that the individual easily makes contact with its members, shares its interests and respects its values. A sense of collectivism can be detected. The team, in turn, seems to return this high self-esteem to him, multiplied.

Three indicators - self-esteem, expected assessment and assessment of the group by the individual - are part of the personality structure, and regardless of a person’s desire, he is forced to reckon with these indicators of his well-being in a given group, the success or failure of his achievements, and his position in relation to himself and others. At its core, this mechanism is a mechanism of social contacts, orientations and values ​​transferred inside the human personality. A person checks his data before interacting with another person. This check occurs unconsciously, and the person changes his behavior, trying to adapt to the readings of this indicator.

How self-awareness is formed

The process of developing self-awareness is accurately described in the works of V.S. Mukhina in correlation with the development of the child’s psyche.

At the first stage, a person’s idea of ​​his name is formed. First, he hears it from the lips of his parents and begins to identify himself accordingly. Thanks to the name, the child realizes himself as a person, an individual. Then the surname and patronymic are added, and the specification intensifies.

In the early school period, the name may change, other interpretations and nicknames of comrades appear. In youth, many come up with other names for themselves, associating their personality with them. During this period, there are cases of changing your passport data.

The next need for self-awareness is ideas about the body, formed first through the attitude of the close environment (parents, grandparents), and then using the traditions and cultural orientations existing in the family.

The need for recognition also occurs in early childhood. The baby learns what is good and bad, what is allowed and what is not allowed. Encouraging good deeds and good behavior leads to the desire to perform approved actions.

If demands for recognition are not satisfied by adults, the child develops negative qualities - lies, aggression, lack of self-confidence, and complexes appear.

During puberty, a teenager develops a gender identity. Of course, whether a child is a boy or a girl is determined by the age of three; a little later, stereotypes of male or female behavior appear.

In the process of self-understanding, a person develops an idea of ​​social space, i.e. conditions in which growth and development occurs:

• style and lifestyle;
• cultural and ethical values;
• moral standards;
• attitude towards religion, etc.

In adolescence, a person strives to master the widest possible social space (from a group of comrades in the yard to the sphere of politics). During this same period, reflection on the inner world deepens in order to understand one’s needs and place in society.

The main signs of the development of self-awareness are: the presence of a holistic idea of ​​oneself, self-respect, self-acceptance, awareness of love, discovery of the inner world.

Developing Self Awareness

Self-awareness appears in a child in early infancy, and by adolescence it is fully formed. However, this does not mean that you do not need to engage in self-perception throughout your life.

Changes occur in the objective world and subjective characteristics. These changes require observation and self-knowledge.

The first step is to analyze the current external and internal situations and re-recognize yourself and your attitude to changes. For example, with age, the body begins to age and our attitude towards it, formed in early periods, will also change. On the one hand, it is required to take greater care of physical health, on the other hand, to be able to accept age-related changes without unnecessary worries, with dignity.

It is also important to bring self-esteem to an adequate (normal) state. Throughout life, the level of love and self-respect may change due to external reasons or the attitude of loved ones. You cannot allow circumstances to sow doubts about your self-confidence.

And lastly, it is necessary to promptly adjust needs and actions according to life changes. It is impossible to stop at knowing about yourself; taking the same actions that do not lead to success is not constructive. Therefore, the process of self-awareness is permanent and ends only after the physical death of a person.

INTRODUCTION

This essay is devoted to the study of personality self-esteem.

The purpose of the work is to study the self-awareness of the individual and the formation of his self-esteem.

The topic I have chosen is quite relevant in its modern form. We constantly hear about courses that help people gain self-confidence and get rid of shyness and low self-esteem. And people willingly sign up for such courses. The service is in considerable demand.

Indeed, with the modern pace of life, one can trace a trend toward an increase in mental illness in people. More and more often, a person’s problem is not his physical health, but his mental health.

Self-esteem is important because a person’s relationships with the people around him, demands on himself and attitude towards his successes and failures depend on it. It is this that influences human activity and development.

Self-esteem is one of the key aspects of our psyche.

The objectives of this essay are:

• Study the structure of the image of “I”;
• Study self-esteem and its types;
• Consider the process of forming self-esteem in a person;
• Summarize the results obtained and draw conclusions.

What is self-awareness

Self-awareness is a certain attitude of a person towards himself, awareness of himself, his place, interests, experiences, behavior and others. This is not a given, but a result of development.

The source of the development of self-awareness is the generalization of a person’s knowledge about other people, comparison of their experiences with one’s own (life, professional, love). The more self-awareness develops, the more his inner world opens to a person.

Self-concept is the result of a person’s self-awareness, that is, a person’s theory about himself. Moreover, the self-concept can take more private forms, for example, being professional.

The structure of self-awareness

Self-awareness includes three elements.

Cognitive (self-understanding)

It is characterized as a person’s idea of ​​his abilities, appearance, temperament, and so on. That is, we are talking about self-knowledge as an element of self-awareness.

Emotional-evaluative (self-attitude)

It assumes an adequate assessment of one’s characteristics, that is, self-love (self-acceptance), self-respect, self-criticism, self-esteem, self-control and more.

Behavioral or volitional (self-regulation)

It is expressed in the desire to be understood and accepted by society, to gain respect from others, and to acquire a certain status.

Self-actualization

Self-actualization is not so much part of the structure of self-consciousness as inextricably linked with it. It can be characterized as a person’s desire to maximize the identification and development of personal characteristics and capabilities. This is the need for constant self-improvement and disclosure of one's potential.

Self-esteem

Self-esteem allows a person to evaluate his own strengths, characteristics and regulate behavior in accordance with the results. Self-esteem can be adequate, underestimated or overestimated. The last two types have a destructive effect on the personality and lead to internal conflicts. Self-esteem at any age is influenced by external assessment, the only difference is the strength of this influence.

Level of aspiration

This is the desired level of self-esteem, that is, it is closely related to the previous component and the ideal self (more on this in the next paragraph). The level of aspirations determines the possible level of achievement of an individual and the development of his abilities. Expressed in the difficulty of the goal of the activity.

SELF-ESTEEM AND LEVEL OF PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS

Self-esteem has a close connection with the level of a person’s aspirations. The level of aspiration is the desired level of self-esteem of an individual, manifested in the degree of difficulty of the goal that a person sets for himself.

When a person can freely choose the difficulty of his next action, his desire for increased self-esteem creates a conflict between two tendencies. On the one hand, he strives to increase his aspirations in order to experience maximum success, but on the other hand, he needs to lower his aspirations in order to avoid failure. In case of success, the level of aspirations, as a rule, increases, the individual is ready to solve more difficult problems; in case of failure, accordingly, the level of aspirations decreases.

A person usually maintains the level of his aspirations between a task that is too difficult and a task that is too easy, so that he can maintain his self-esteem at the desired level.

In addition to anticipating failure or success, the level of aspiration is also formed by taking into account past successes and failures.

One of the foreign studies showed that among the subjects there are those who, in the event of a risk, are more concerned not with achieving success, but with avoiding failure. Therefore, when faced with a choice, they choose either the most difficult task, because failure in this case will be justified by the difficulty of the task, or the easiest one, because the element of risk will be minimal. In this case, pride will not be hurt and there will be no deformation of the image of “I”.

A person's self-awareness, using self-esteem, reacts to the ratio of his aspirations and real achievements. Back at the beginning of the 20th century. American psychologist W. James expressed the idea that the most important component of a person’s “I” image is self-esteem - “belief in one’s own strengths and capabilities. It is not specifically associated with any area, and expresses as much an assessment as a person’s general attitude towards himself. Self-respect is self-acceptance, self-love2 (I.V. Dubrovina, 1999). Self-esteem is also a correlation between success and aspirations:

As you know, when the numerator increases or the denominator decreases, the fraction increases. Therefore, to maintain self-esteem, a person needs to either increase his efforts and achieve success, or reduce his level of aspirations.

Naturally, proper upbringing orients a person towards the first way to increase self-esteem. But sometimes people choose the second path, and then we can talk about passive psychological protection of their “I-image”.

Psychological protection of the “I-image” is a special regulatory system used by the individual to eliminate psychological discomfort and experiences that threaten the “I-image” and maintain it at the desired level.

The structure of the self-concept

At the same time, if we consider the product of self-consciousness - images of the Self, we can distinguish:

• I am real (as I am now);
• I am ideal (what I can become in accordance with my capabilities);
• I am fantastic (what I could become if it were possible).

The contradiction between the ideal self and the real self can serve as both an impetus for self-development and cause personality disharmony. It is worth noting that self-awareness is a dynamic structure. She is prone to changes and transformations of self-images.

In some theories there is a broader classification of self-images. Stands out:

• I am real;
• I am the ideal;
• Self-potential;
• I am personal;
• I-activity (professional, non-professional).

In other works, for example, Sh. Samuel, you can find the concept:

• I-bodily;
• I-real (present, actual);
• Self-dynamic;
• I-fantastic;
• I-probable;
• I-idealized;
• I-represented;
• I-ideal;
• Future (possible) self.

I am corporeal

Each person has a sense of his own body, which may differ from what is shown in the mirror. This refers to signals sent to the brain about the location of body parts, their shape and length. Within the framework of the I-bodily, we can additionally distinguish:

• real perception in terms of subjective functionality;
• internal factors caused by personal experiences or difficult situations;
• social factors, that is, environmental reactions and the interpretation of these reactions by the individual;
• the ideal body image as a result of the combination of all factors, comparison and a person’s perception of his body.

Real Me

The totality of a person’s ideas about himself at a given moment in time (as he seems to himself). However, this idea does not necessarily correspond to objective reality. The present self provides flexibility in reactions in response to changing environmental conditions. It allows you to choose personal goals, behavioral strategies, claims, and more.

Self-dynamic

Reflects the personality’s ideas about it, but in projection, that is, about what a person wants to become (goal). Depends on a person’s social status, opportunities and successes. The dynamic self is prone to changes, which are influenced by the successes and failures of the individual, identification with significant and ideal (in the person’s mind) people, ideas about desired roles and status.

I'm fantastic

Essentially, these are a person’s dreams, ideas about what he would be like if everything were possible. As a rule, this component exists only until adolescence, and as a person grows older, it begins to actively collapse.

I'm perfect

A person’s ideas about what he should become, based on the learned norms and values ​​of society. Depends on the moral development of the individual, moral maturity and socialization. It is formed in the process of a person’s identification with people (heroes) whom he admires.

If the ideal self does not transform into the dynamic, and then into the present, then, most likely, it will disintegrate completely. This is dangerous with disappointment and frustration.

I am possible (future)

A person's ideas about what he can become. Most often it differs from the ideal self. It is formed on the basis of a person’s real position, real status, opportunities and role.

Idealized self

A person’s ideas about what he would like to be right now, how he would like to see himself. This is an incoming component that depends on the specific situation.

Self-represented

Images created and exhibited by a person specifically for display in order to hide undesirable (negative in his opinion) traits, qualities of the present self. The represented self plays the role of protection and adaptation.

Most often, the imagined Self is close to the ideal Self, but if these components differ and do not come close, then problems arise in a person’s relationships, and later the person is subject to disappointment and frustration. A sign of such inconsistency and incipient frustration is embarrassment.

I'm fake

It represents a distorted “I-real”, that is, self-deception of the individual. With frequent reproduction of false but desirable personality traits:

• afraid of negative self-esteem;
• expects negative attitude from outside;
• incapable of actions that nurture self-respect.

From the false self, many protective mechanisms of the personality are activated, which ultimately acquire a pathological character. All self-knowledge is distorted, and then the knowledge and perception of interpersonal relationships.

Developing Self Awareness

The essence of developing self-awareness can be described through 3 components:

• The dynamics of how a person separates himself from his environment. Moreover, both as an organism, and as an individual, and as a person, and as an individual.
• The second component of the development of self-awareness is a change in self-control, that is, the ability to influence one’s activities. As a person grows and develops, a transition occurs from control of physiological reactions to control of consciousness.
• The third component is self-acceptance, the ability to adequately and differentiatedly assess one’s characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

The formation of self-awareness begins with a person’s identification of himself with the world and other people, and ends with autonomy, that is, highlighting his individuality, distinctive features and accepting them.

• A child from 3 to 8 months actively learns about his body; at 7-8 months, attention switches to studying the immediate and distant surroundings. These are the first elements of developing self-awareness.
• The desire for autonomy gradually increases, which is reflected in behavior. But along with independence comes responsibility. In the second year of life, the child already acts as a subject of activity. He can act out of situation.
• A little later, the baby can be called an object and subject of self-knowledge. By the age of 3, a child is already familiar with his body and its characteristics, and has conscious emotions from which standards are formed.
• Preschool children are characterized by subordination of motives and awareness of themselves as the subject of relationships. By the age of 6, the social self is formed, which is manifested by a differentiated assessment, the desire to follow external standards and models or internal beliefs.
• At primary school age, the active development of the social self occurs.
• Adolescence is characterized by the desire to understand one’s individuality, but at the same time personal and social identity, that is, to determine similarity with other people or a group. By the end of adolescence, the orientation of the personality is formed.
• Youth is characterized by the development of will, self-control, and the construction of life plans. There comes greater independence and objectivity in judgment, along with this - a strong need for self-realization.
• Adulthood and old age are characterized by the implementation of plans and evaluation of results, the search for integrity. Personal growth also occurs through crises (age-related, individual).

Thus, the peak of development of self-awareness occurs in adolescence and young adulthood. D. Marcia identified 4 possible options for the formation of self-awareness:

1. A foregone conclusion. An individual’s acceptance of responsibilities appropriate to gender and age, without going through a crisis of choice, that is, parents or other people decided for him. As a result of this, a person suffers from low self-esteem, but is not anxious and is attentive to the advice of other people.
2. Diffusion. This style of identity, that is, self-awareness, is characterized by fragmentation as the desire to try everything without having a life plan, motives and goals. As a rule, this is typical for those who are afraid of becoming an outcast and do not want to take responsibility.
3. Moratorium. This category includes active people searching for themselves. They are always at the center of decision making, their every action is highly emotionally charged.
4. Identity itself. This is the highest stage of development. Individuals who have achieved it have made a choice, accepted responsibility for their own lives, strive to live and follow their convictions.

Self-awareness in ontogenesis

In the previous paragraph, I already touched upon the connection between human development as a person and as an individual. In this part of the article I want to structure and summarize the development of self-awareness in combination with growing up.

Rudimentary self-awareness

Formed before the age of one year. Characterized by the child’s discovery of his Self.

Allopsychic self-awareness

Formed in 2-3 years. It is manifested by the child’s awareness of himself as an actor and the separation of his actions from the actions of other people.

Somatopsychic self-awareness

Formed by age 7. The child can independently evaluate himself, owns his body and undergoes bodily identification.

Autopsychic self-awareness

Adolescence and adolescence. It is assumed that by the age of 17, the formation of social and moral attitudes and self-awareness is completed. In the future, it does not develop, but changes.

Mistakes in the development of self-awareness

If the crisis is not resolved correctly, then identification will be inadequate. We can distinguish the following variants of the abnormal development of self-awareness, which affect the individual and his relationships with the world:

1. Avoidance of close interpersonal relationships.
2. Fear of change and growing up, inadequate understanding of time, blurring of its boundaries.
3. Wasting your own potential, productive and creative abilities. Inability to activate internal resources and concentrate on one activity.
4. Refusal of self-determination and self-knowledge, selection of negative role models.

Separately, I would like to consider the option of developing an unfavorable self-concept, which is characterized by personal uncertainty, fear of rejection, and low self-esteem. This type of self-awareness is dangerous in the following ways:

• low self-esteem, which is reflected by social degradation, failure, aggressiveness, crime and asociality;
• reaction of adaptation in difficult situations, which is dangerous with the risk of being drawn into asocial groups and being influenced from outside;
• inadequate perception, which is reflected both in a person’s analysis of his actions or appearance, and in the analysis of external situations.

Other disorders in the development of self-awareness include:

• underdevelopment of self-awareness, that is, dependence on other people;
• distorted self-image;
• egocentrism (a distorted view of one’s role in the world);
• pathologies (mental disorders and diseases).

How to deal with inadequate self-esteem?

It is quite difficult and problematic to independently change your self-esteem towards greater adequacy, because people with inadequate self-esteem have practically no ability to self-control and willpower. With low self-esteem, it is difficult to count on the willpower of an ever-doubting person, and with high self-esteem, self-control is impossible due to the complete lack of self-criticism. Therefore, if inadequate self-esteem prevents you from living, establishing relationships in your family and team, achieving professional and creative success, and you are aware of all this, then you cannot do without the help of a psychotherapist. Perhaps he will send you to courses to improve self-esteem, training and coaching on decision making, assertive behavior, and perhaps develop an individual program of cognitive behavioral therapy, gestalt therapy, etc. But in any case, he will establish and explain the root cause of the patient’s inadequate assessment of himself, and this is the first significant step towards its correction and, if necessary, a deeper change.

Functions of self-awareness

The main function is to make the motives and results of actions accessible to the individual, to allow him to evaluate himself. Self-awareness ensures conscious adaptation of the individual to the environment.

Other features include:

• ensuring internal consistency (sometimes self-awareness may not even allow some external factors into the inner world if they do not correspond to something from the Self);
• interpretation of individual experience, that is, the nature of the perception of the situation (self-awareness and self-concept explain why two people can see the same situation differently, that is, the self-concept not only interprets our behavior, but also “explains” to us the meaning of behavior other people);
• defining expectations, that is, what should happen (closely related to acceptance and non-acceptance, as well as vision of the situation).

Having understood the essence and structure of self-awareness, as well as its functions, you can easily understand and notice how different and unique each person is. “I expected one thing, but got another,” “I wanted the best, but it turned out as always,” “I didn’t mean it,” “I know that I’ll look like a fool again,” “Come on, he wasn’t flirting. I’m sure that I can’t please anyone” - all these are games of self-awareness and its 3 main functions.

InterpretationTranslation Self-awareness b>Self-awareness is the consciousness of a subject of himself in contrast to the other - other subjects and the world in general; This is a person’s awareness of his social status and his vital needs, thoughts, feelings, motives, instincts, experiences, actions.

In psychology

In psychology, self-awareness

is understood as a mental phenomenon, a person’s awareness of himself as a subject of activity, as a result of which a person’s ideas about himself are formed into a mental “Image-I”.

S. L. Rubinshtein Fundamentals of general psychology. M., 1946.

Developing Self Awareness

Self-awareness is not an initial given inherent in man, but a product of development. However, the beginnings of consciousness of identity appear already in an infant, when he begins to distinguish between sensations caused by external objects and sensations caused by his own body, the consciousness of “I” - from about three years old, when the child begins to correctly use personal pronouns. Awareness of one's mental qualities and self-esteem acquire the greatest importance in adolescence and young adulthood. But since all these components are interconnected, the enrichment of one of them inevitably modifies the entire system.

Stages

(or stages) of development of self-awareness:

• The discovery of the “I” occurs at the age of 1 year.
• By the 2nd 3rd years a person begins to separate the result of his actions from the actions of others and clearly understands himself as an actor.
• By the age of 7, the ability to evaluate oneself (self-esteem) is formed.
• Adolescence and adolescence is a stage of active self-knowledge, searching for oneself and one’s own style. The period of formation of social and moral assessments is coming to an end.

The formation of self-awareness is influenced by:

• Evaluations of others and status in the peer group.
• Correlation between “Real Self” and “Ideal Self.”
• Assessing the results of your activities.

Components of Self-Awareness

Components of self-awareness according to V. S. Merlin:

• consciousness of one's identity;
• consciousness of one’s own “I” as an active, active principle;
• awareness of one’s mental properties and qualities;
• a certain system of social and moral self-esteem.

All these elements are related to each other functionally and genetically, but they are not formed at the same time.

Functions of self-awareness

Other books on request “Self-awareness” >>
Self-awareness

- the subject’s consciousness of himself in contrast to others - other subjects and the world in general; This is a person’s consciousness of his interaction with the objective world and the subjective world (psyche), his vital needs, thoughts, feelings, motives, instincts, experiences, actions.

What types of self-esteem exist and how is it formed?

In psychology, 3 levels of self-esteem are differentiated, namely: • Low self-esteem , the psychology of which is manifested in shyness, lack of confidence in one’s own abilities, lack of a real assessment of one’s role and capabilities, difficulties in making decisions, etc. • Adequate self-esteem is the basis for a reasonable attitude towards oneself, a real correlation of one’s desires with needs, abilities with ambitions, opportunities with the tasks one sets for oneself. Adequacy in self-esteem ensures the harmony of a person’s inner spiritual world, his organic functioning in society and the achievement of success in life. • Inflated self-esteem is, first of all, arrogance, categoricalness, lack of self-criticism, disdain for the opinions of others, boasting and arrogance. The level of self-esteem in psychology is determined by the formula: level of aspirations/level of capabilities. Moreover, aspirations include desires, goals, requirements for oneself and others, opportunities - abilities, talent, education and intelligence, social status, upbringing received, willpower, physical condition, etc. The formation of one or another level of self-esteem is significantly influenced by opinion others and their attention to the individual and his actions. For the sake of this attention, a person is sometimes ready to do the most inappropriate actions, including crime and even suicide. In addition, it should be remembered that the development of self-esteem begins in childhood, so it largely depends on competent family upbringing. Self-esteem is not a constant formation of the human personality. It changes depending on the stage of personality formation, its self-awareness and level of development. The following points are important for the formation of self-esteem: • The fundamental influence of the experience of interaction with the outside world on the formation of the psyche, including the self-esteem of the individual. In psychology, this phenomenon is called interiorization and denotes the development of a person’s basic mental functions in the process of growing up and social adaptation with the transition of external interaction into internal mental activity. • Real successes of a person in various fields of activity. The more significant the achievements, the higher the individual’s self-esteem. • Comparability of the real Self with the ideal Self, i.e. of what a person really is with the way he would like to be. A significant coincidence of the real and ideal self indicates mental health. The smaller the distance between them, the more adequate the self-esteem. Based on this, it can be argued that self-esteem is a rather subjective mental formation, which may not always coincide with the objective assessment of a person by his environment. The adequacy and consistency of self-esteem are verified by real achievements, specific actions and behavioral tendencies of an individual in society.

In psychology

In psychology, self-awareness

is understood as a mental phenomenon, a person’s consciousness of himself as a subject of activity, as a result of which a person’s ideas about himself are formed into a mental “Image-I”.

Rubinshtein S. L.

Fundamentals of general psychology. - M., 1946.

Developing Self Awareness

Main article: Development of self-awareness
Self-awareness is not an initial given inherent in man, but a product of development. However, the beginnings of consciousness of identity appear already in an infant, when he begins to distinguish between sensations caused by external objects and sensations caused by his own body, the consciousness of “I” - from about three years old, when the child begins to correctly use personal pronouns. Awareness of one's mental qualities and self-esteem acquire the greatest importance in adolescence and young adulthood. But since all these components are interconnected, the enrichment of one of them inevitably modifies the entire system.

Stages

(or stages) of development of self-awareness:

• The discovery of the “I” occurs at the age of 1 year.
• By the age of two or three, a person begins to separate the results of his actions from the actions of others and clearly recognizes himself as a doer.
• By the age of seven, the ability to evaluate oneself (self-esteem) is formed.
• Adolescence and adolescence is a stage of active self-knowledge, searching for oneself and one’s own style. The period of formation of social and moral assessments is coming to an end.

The formation of self-awareness is influenced by:

• Evaluations of others and status in the peer group.
• Correlation between “Real Self” and “Ideal Self.”
• Assessing the results of your activities.

Components of Self-Awareness

Components of self-awareness according to V. S. Merlin:

• consciousness of one's identity;
• consciousness of one’s own “I” as an active, active principle;
• consciousness of one's mental properties and qualities;
• a certain system of social and moral self-esteem.

All these elements are related to each other functionally and genetically, but they are not formed at the same time.

Functions of self-awareness

IMAGE "I"

In adolescence and adolescence, the desire for self-knowledge and self-education increases, that is, awareness of one’s place in life and oneself as a subject of relationships with others. Associated with this is the formation of self-awareness. An image of one’s own “I” is formed. “The image of “I” is a relatively stable, more or less conscious system of an individual’s ideas about himself, on the basis of which he relates to himself and builds his interaction with other people” (Topic 8. “I-concept”’) . A person can treat himself in the same way as he treats other people: love or hate, respect or despise, understand or not understand. The image of “I” acts as an attitude towards oneself. The "I" concept includes three components:

• Cognitive component – ​​idea of ​​one’s abilities, appearance, social significance, character, etc.;
• Emotional-evaluative component - self-respect, self-criticism, selfishness, self-deprecation, love for others, etc.;
• The behavioral (volitional) component is the desire to be understood, to win the sympathy and respect of comrades and teachers, to increase one’s status, or the desire to remain unnoticed, to evade evaluation and criticism, to hide one’s shortcomings, etc.

Psychology records not one, but several “I” images in a person, replacing each other depending on the situation of social interaction. In K. Rogers' theory, the “I” concept includes not only a person’s perception of himself as he is, but also as he wants to be. There are two forms of the “I” concept – real and ideal.

The real “I” concept is a momentary idea of ​​oneself. It may not be realistic and, quite likely, will change to the opposite after some time. The ideal “I” concept is what a person should become in order to meet social norms and the expectations of others. It acts as a kind of guideline for the self-development of the individual. Some also highlight the fantasy self—the kind of person one would like to become if it were possible. The significance of this image is especially great in adolescence, when a person needs to make plans for the future, and without fantasies that take on the nature of dreams, this is impossible.

The degree of adequacy of the “I-image” is determined by studying one of its most important aspects—personal self-esteem.