Self-knowledge (psychology)

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Self-knowledge is a term used in psychology to describe the information that an individual draws upon when finding answers to the questions "What am I like?" and "Who am I?".

While seeking to develop the answer to this question, self-knowledge requires ongoing self-awareness and self-consciousness (which is not to be confused with consciousness). Young infants and chimpanzees display some of the traits of self-awareness[1] and agency/contingency,[2] yet they are not considered as also having self-consciousness. At some greater level of cognition, however, a self-conscious component emerges in addition to an increased self-awareness component, and then it becomes possible to ask "What am I like?", and to answer with self-knowledge, though self-knowledge has limits, as introspection has been said to be limited and complex. [citation needed]

Self-knowledge is a component of the self or, more accurately, the self-concept. It is the knowledge of oneself and one's properties and the desire to seek such knowledge that guide the development of the self-concept, even if that concept is flawed. Self-knowledge informs us of our mental representations of ourselves, which contain attributes that we uniquely pair with ourselves, and theories on whether these attributes are stable or dynamic, to the best that we can evaluate ourselves.

The self-concept is thought to have three primary aspects:

  • The cognitive self[3]
  • The affective self[4]
  • The executive self[5]

The affective and executive selves are also known as the felt and active selves respectively, as they refer to the emotional and behavioral components of the self-concept. Self-knowledge is linked to the cognitive self in that its motives guide our search to gain greater clarity and assurance that our own self-concept is an accurate representation of our true self;[citation needed] for this reason the cognitive self is also referred to as the known self. The cognitive self is made up of everything we know (or think we know) about ourselves. This implies physiological properties such as hair color, race, and height etc.; and psychological properties like beliefs, values, and dislikes to name but a few. Self knowledge just simply means introspecting your behaviour and actions from a third persons view to the various situations faced in life and then trying to identify the causes of these issues in life.

  1. ^ Gallup, G. G., Jr. (1979). Self-recognition in chimpanzees and man: A developmental and comparative perspective. New York: Plenum Press.
  2. ^ Finkelstein, N. W., & Ramey, C. T. (1977). Learning to control the environment in infancy. Child Development, 48, 806–819.
  3. ^ Stangor, Dr Charles (26 September 2014). "The Cognitive Self: The Self-Concept – Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition". opentextbc.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  4. ^ Bandura, Albert; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Barbaranelli, Claudio; Gerbino, Maria; Pastorelli, Concetta (2003). "Role of Affective Self-Regulatory Efficacy in Diverse Spheres of Psychosocial Functioning" (PDF). Child Development. 74 (3): 769–782. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00567. PMID 12795389. S2CID 6671293. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. ^ https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0010027715000256/1-s2.0-S0010027715000256-main.pdf?_tid=710543c7-e98f-4484-85e2-acf02e7076cc&acdnat=1528121667_89562a04b60eba34b74c91685e1508c9[permanent dead link‍]