Objective Self-Awareness
The Basic Idea
In the age of working and learning remotely, we find ourselves regularly in online meetings. Have you noticed paying more attention to the way you carry yourself in a video call for a lecture or a meeting?
Perhaps you find yourself analyzing your posture, facial expressions, or fixing your hair. You may have noticed this only happens when your video is turned on and you can see yourself on the call.
When presented with a stimulus that makes us focus on ourselves, such as a video or a mirror, we are placed in a state of objective self-awareness. Objective self-awareness is a reflective state with attention focused on ourselves for social evaluation. This awareness leads us to judge our own behavior against our personal standards, as we use social evaluation to achieve correctness and consistency in our beliefs and actions.1
Objective self-awareness also results in the acknowledgment of our limitations and the disparity between our ideal version, and our current self.2 We experience this reflective state several times a day.
Objective self-awareness has everyday implications. It can be used beneficially for personal growth by identifying perceived weaknesses and traits that can be improved. However, individuals who are overly self-aware can also experience negative consequences such as high-stress levels or social anxiety disorders.
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
– Carl Gustav Jung
About the Author
Joshua Loo
Joshua was a former content creator with a passion for behavioral science. He previously created content for The Decision Lab, and his insights continue to be valuable to our readers.
