An essential feature of human consciousness is self-awareness... Realizing the objects of his activity and his attitude towards other people, a person begins to become aware of himself, to distinguish himself, my "I"from the outside world.
Self-awareness is one of the forms of consciousness, which is distinguished by the unity of the processes of knowing oneself and building a relationship to oneself. Especially important in self-knowledge are the assessment of one person by another and his collective assessment. Self-knowledge goes on throughout a person's life by analyzing his own activity and behavior - the level of his own personal qualities is assessed, his own desires, needs, actions, will are analyzed - the correlation of self-esteem with the assessments of a given personality by other people and is carried out through self-observation.
Self-consciousness is a relatively stable, more or less conscious, experienced as a unique system of the individual's ideas about himself, on the basis of which he builds his interaction with other people and relates to himself. Self-consciousness is an integral, although not devoid of internal contradictions, image of one's own “I”, which acts as an attitude towards oneself.
Plotinus (III century AD) introduced the principle of the absolute immateriality of the soul. For him, for the first time in history, psychology becomes the science of consciousness, understood as "self-consciousness." Plotinus also singled out one more direction - turning to oneself, to one's own invisible actions and contemplation. It seems to follow its work, is its "mirror". Reflection during the Plotinus period became the initial concept of the introspective psychology of consciousness.
The content of self-awareness is a person's awareness of his physical and mental properties, his actions and deeds, feelings and aspirations. Separating himself from objective reality, realizing his merits and demerits, a person begins to change his psyche, his behavior, in accordance with the requirements that society places on him, and the goals that he sets for himself in the process of self-education.
Self-awareness is manifested in: 1) self-observation; 2) a critical attitude towards oneself; 3) self-control; 4) responsibility to society for their actions and actions.
A certain level of self-awareness- a prerequisite for lawful behavior.
Self-awareness can be viewed as a holistic, integrative, conceptual reflection by a person of his own personality, as a mental model of his “I”. A person directs and regulates his activities based on his “I-concept”, which is determined by the social conditions of the individual's existence, his social identification (referring himself to a certain social group).
Thus, self-awareness is a socially determined attitudinal system of a person, a system of its value-semantic formations. On this basis, all behavioral acts of a person are carried out, they acquire personal unity - the style of behavior of a given personality.
Introduction
1. Mechanisms of self-awareness
2. Stages of development of self-awareness
3. The structure of self-awareness
4. Psychology of personality
Bibliographic list
Introduction
The study of personality is not only the study of its mental properties - temperament, motives, abilities, character. It is also a study of the self-awareness of the individual. For many years, self-awareness was Cinderella in Russian psychology. And only with the active penetration of the ideas of humanistic psychology, the problem of self-awareness began to be actively developed.
Self-awareness is a necessary condition for the existence of a personality. There is no personality without it. The personality is aware not only of the surrounding reality, but also of itself in its relations with the environment. Therefore, S.L. Rubinstein, when he noted that the study of personality "ends with the disclosure of self-consciousness of personality."
The formation of self-awareness is included in the process of personality formation and therefore it is not built on top of it, but is one of the components of the personality. In this regard, it is possible to understand the structure of self-consciousness, the stages of its formation in the course of the formation and development of the personality itself, starting from its first steps in life.
The goal of the development of self-awareness is the awareness of the personality of his “I”, his separation from other people, which finds its expression in the growing independence and independence of the subject.
Self-awareness of a person is the totality of his ideas about himself, expressed in the “concept -“ I ”and the assessment of these ideas by the personality is self-esteem.
1. Mechanisms of self-awareness
The first of these is the ability to be aware of mental phenomena.
Already during the first year of life, the child develops the ability to separate himself from his visual images, that is, to realize that the world exists independently of him, but is perceived through images. This ability, which is formed during the first year of life and develops subsequently, constitutes the very possibility of a person's awareness of his mental processes, experienced mental states, mental properties and qualities. According to V.V. Stolin, consciousness is based on splitting, that is, the ability of a person to isolate from the environment that which he is now perceived to see "), by what visible signs he perceives and distinguishes an object from the environment (" I understand what I see ") , and the observer's own position associated with the body scheme ("I somehow relate to what I see"). This ability allows a person to become aware of himself, his separation from the world, other people, that is, to highlight his phenomenal "I".
However, having distinguished himself from the environment, the child, interacting with the environment itself and people, somehow manifests itself, in other words, his acting “I” contributes to the formation of his phenomenal “I” or “I” -concept.
The main mechanism for the formation of the "I" -concept, ie, the actual self-consciousness of the individual, are the phenomena of subjective assimilation and differentiation. V.V. Stolin distinguishes the following phenomena:
1) acceptance of the other's point of view on oneself (direct assimilation or indirect, another point of view);
2) direct and indirect suggestion to the child by the parents, as ways of assimilation by the child, the assessments transmitted to him, norms, standards, methods of behavior, etc .;
4) child control system;
5) the system of intercomplementary relations (the system of transactions according to E. Bern);
6) family identity, that is, the involvement of the child in real relationships in the family.
7) identification mechanism.
The action of these mechanisms helps to answer the question: “how does the process of filling the“ I ”-concept take place, that is, through which ideas about oneself are assimilated and appropriated. Let us give a short commentary on the actions of these mechanisms.
1) Acceptance of the other's point of view on yourself.
“The self-consciousness of a person is a transformed and transferred inward point of view of others about the subject, - such is the opinion of J. Mead, the author of the theory of symbolic interactionism.
Indeed, in the process of interpersonal interaction, the child learns the points of view of other people that are significant for him and, appropriating them to himself, forms self-consciousness. In the process of accepting the point of view of others, it is important to evaluate yourself based on the attitude of other people. What is absorbed by the child?
These are - a) values, parameters of assessments and self-assessments, norms; b) the image of oneself as a bearer of certain abilities and qualities; c) the attitude of parents towards themselves, expressed by them through emotional and cognitive assessments; d) the self-esteem of the parents themselves, that is, the self-esteem of the parents or one of them can become the self-esteem of the child; e) a way of regulating a child's behavior by parents and other adults, which becomes a way of self-regulation.
2) Direct and indirect suggestion.
What do they want to instill and instill in their child? It is impossible to list everything, we will name only some of the phenomena: volitional and moral qualities, discipline, interests, abilities, evaluative characteristics.
3) Transmission of assessments and standards to the child.
Parents always arm the child with his specific assessments, goals of behavior, ideals, plans, and standards for the performance of actions. If all of them are realistic, that is, they correspond to the child's capabilities, then by achieving them, he also increases his self-esteem, his level of aspirations, thereby forming a positive “I” -concept.
4) Control system.
We are talking about the influence of the child control system, the parenting style chosen by the parents on the “I” -concept of the child. Control over the behavior of the child can be exercised either through the provision of autonomy to the child, or through strict control. Moreover, control itself can be exercised in two ways: either by maintaining a fear of punishment, or by generating feelings of guilt or shame. Finally, control can be completely consistent, or random and unpredictable. From the point of view of the emerging self-awareness, it is important to be aware of how the control system used by the parents is transformed into a system of self-control over the behavior of the child himself.
For example, harsh discipline is transformed into self-discipline, and control through fear turns into self-control, constantly looking back at the opinions of others and avoiding negative opinions about oneself. The predictable or unpredictable nature of parental control can be transformed into such a personal quality as internality-externality of behavior.
5) The system of complimentary relationships.
We are talking about the nature of the relationship that develops between parents and children, which may involve:
a) equality of those communicating; b) functional inequality, that is, inequality set by the situation, the statuses of the communicators, etc.; c) a system of transactions - actions of a subject aimed at another in order to cause in him the state and behavior desired by the subject (transactions according to E. Bern).
Obviously, most often the relationship between parents involves functional inequality, but with age they can change to equal ones.
It is about the role of the family in the formation of the child's self-awareness. First of all, it is necessary to characterize the so-called family identity, that is, the totality of ideas, plans, mutual obligations, intentions, etc., which create the family "WE". It is this, this family "WE" is included in the content of the individual "I" of the child. In addition, the child's self-awareness will also be determined by the psychological structure of the family, that is, by that invisible network of demands made by family members to each other. In this regard, families differ in:
Families with rigid, impassable boundaries between their members. Parents most often do not know anything about the child's life, and only some kind of dramatic event can activate intra-family communication. Such a structure is a barrier to the formation of a family identity in a child. The child is, as it were, excluded from the family;
Families with diffuse, confused boundaries (pseudo-reciprocal families). In them, the expression of only warm, loving, supportive feelings is encouraged, and hostility, anger, irritation and other negative feelings are hidden and suppressed in every possible way. Such an undifferentiated family structure creates difficulties for the child in self-determination, in the formation of his "I", in the development of independence.
The presented characteristics of different families are two opposite poles, and in the center between them is a normally functioning family.
7) Identification.
One of the mechanisms for the formation of self-awareness is identification, that is, assimilation of Oneself in the form of experiences and actions to another person. Identification is both a mechanism for the formation of personality attitudes and a mechanism of psychological defense. The action of this mechanism is well illustrated by 3. Freud in his theory of the psychosexual development of the child, in particular at the third - phallic stage of development.
2. Stages of development of self-awareness
The stages of the formation of self-awareness coincide with the stages of the child's mental development - the formation of his intellectual and personal spheres, which unfold from birth to adolescence, inclusive.
The first stage is associated with the formation of a body scheme in an infant - a subjective image of the relative position of the state of movement of body parts in space. This image is formed on the basis of information about the position of the body and its parts in space (proprioceptive information and the state of movement of organs (kinesthetic information). The body diagram extends beyond the physical body and may include objects that are in touch with it for a long time (clothing) The sensations arising in a child on the basis of proprioceptive and kinesthetic information create in him an emotionally colored impression of comfort or discomfort, that is, what can be called the well-being of the body.
The next step in the formation of self-awareness is the beginning of walking. At the same time, it is not so much the technique of mastery that is essential, as changes in the child's relationship with the people around him. The relative autonomy of the child in his movement gives rise to some independence of the child in relation to other people. The child's first idea of \u200b\u200bhis “I” is connected with the realization of this objective fact. S.L. Rubinstein emphasized that there is no “I” outside the relationship to “YOU”.
The next stage in the development of self-awareness is associated with the child's gender-role identity, that is, the assignment of oneself to the gender and awareness of the content of the sexual role. The leading mechanism for assimilating the sexual role is identification, that is, assimilation of oneself in the form of experiences and actions to another person.
An important stage in the development of self-awareness is the child's mastery of speech. The emergence of speech changes the nature of the relationship between the child and the adult. By mastering speech, the child gets the opportunity to direct the actions of other people at will, that is, from the state of the object of the influences of others, he passes into the state of the subject of his influences on them.
3.
The structure of self-awareness
In the structure of self-consciousness, it is customary to single out: "I" is real, that is, the totality of ideas about oneself in the present, "I" is ideal - that is, what I would like to be in general, "I" is the past, that is . the totality of ideas about your past "I", "I" - the future, that is, the totality of yourself in the future.
Self-awareness functions.
The leading function of self-awareness is self-regulation of personality behavior. It is the totality of ideas about oneself and the assessment of these representations that represent the psychological basis of personality behavior. A person in his behavior can afford only as much as he knows himself. This formula largely determines the self-sufficiency of the individual, the degree of his self-confidence, independence from others, freedom of behavior and awareness of the limitations of this freedom.
4. Psychology of personality
In psychology, there are several traditions of understanding individuality.
Initially, individuality was considered as a singularity, as a unique combination of personality traits of different degrees of severity, but inherent in all without exception. However, a pronounced feature is hypertrophy, and from this point of view, the brighter the individuality, the closer a person is to pathology. Therefore, such an understanding of individuality is the identification of the vector of potential pathological personality changes.
Another understanding of individuality is associated with the allocation of personality traits inherent only to him, genetically associated with some random circumstances. In this case, individuality acts as a kind of complement to the personality - the bearer of essential properties and qualities and is defined as a set of individual and personality traits that distinguish one person from another.
According to V.M. Ankylosing spondylitis is the basis of individuality in the harmony of parts. Individuality, he continued, is always a certain harmony and has its own form and its relative stability of the system. Therefore, if a person is a system that includes different levels of its organization - an individual, a person and a subject of activity, then following the logic of V.M. Ankylosing spondylitis, the harmonious relationship between them is the foundation of human individuality as a system. In this regard, the idea of \u200b\u200bB.G. Ananyev that it is in individuality that "the internal loop of regulation of all the properties of a person as an individual, personality and ... a subject of various activities is closed." This, as well as Ananyev's statement that "individuality is the depth of personality" emphasizes the functional nature of individuality.
Each person as a whole is always an individual, and a personality, and a subject of activity. However, not everyone is an individual, not in the sense of individual differences at each level of the organization, but in the sense of their harmonious relations, the unity of different-level properties. It is this unity that forms the basis for the fullest possible development and expression of a person's abilities, helps him make his own unique contribution to social development. Individuality expresses the unity of all levels of a person's organization. What is the psychological content of personality?
The psychological content of individuality expresses the concept of wholeness more fully than others. Convincing of this are the results of a theoretical analysis of the nature of the interaction of various levels in the human structure, and its experimental verification.
Interacting with each other, the orientation of the personality and the individual style of activity ensure the commonwealth of all levels, which is expressed in the unity of the personality and activity characteristics of a person. This unity of the personality and the subject of activity finds its expression in the successful labor, cognitive and communicative activity of a person, determining the uniqueness of his contribution to the public fund.
Let us repeat once again the idea that each person appears simultaneously as an individual, and as a person, and as a subject of activity, but not everyone manages to become an individual. It is also true that each person is a structural whole, but not everyone manages to become an integral person, that is, to achieve a harmonious interaction of all qualities, properties, methods of activity.
Indeed, few manage to express all their potentialities, achieve the highest results in a particular type of activity, and make it as productive and creative as possible. But we speak of those who succeed in doing this as highly successful and fruitful people. Consequently, the maximum success is a function of two closely interrelated system-forming factors - the orientation of the personality and the individual style of activity. It is important to point out the nature of this interaction. The leading factor in this pair is the orientation of the personality, since it is on the basis of a positive attitude of the individual to the goals of his activity that the ways of achieving goals that are significant for the individual are sought, found and brought into an expedient system.
The leading position of the style of activity is due to the fact that the style of activity, taken separately, without a highly developed ability, cannot provide highly effective activity. In general, the development of the ability is possible only in the context of a pronounced orientation of the personality, since only a goal that is significant for a person prompts him to form an optimal system of actions aimed at achieving this goal.
Based on what has been said, it can be argued that wholeness is the psychological equivalent of a person's individuality; it is the psychological mechanism that determines the maximum level of human achievement in a particular activity. Thus, the integrity of a person is the unity of system-forming factors - the orientation of the personality and the individual style of activity, presenting the levels of the individual, personality and subject of activity in the structure of a person. Since the results of a person's functioning at the level of the individual and the subject of activity are integrated in integrity, it is decisive for understanding the psychological mechanism of success, that is, for a person's achievement of the highest achievements in any area of \u200b\u200bhuman activity.
Bibliographic list
1. Ananiev B.G. Man as a subject of knowledge. Leningrad State University, 2008.
2. Ananiev B.G. On the problems of modern human science M., 2009.
3. Bozovic L.I. Personality and its formation in childhood. M., 2010.
4. Kovalev A.G. Psychology of Personality. M., 2009.
5. Lazursky A.F. An outline of the science of characters. M., 2010.
Self-awareness is a person's awareness of himself. Awareness of their dissimilarity to anyone else. Awareness of their emotions, feelings, experiences, their social status and their vital needs, thoughts, motives, instincts, actions.
Self-consciousness 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 of“ I ”.
“The image of the“ I ”is not just an idea or concept of a person about himself, but a social attitude, the attitude of a person to himself. Therefore, three components can be distinguished in the image of "I":
- 1. Cognitive (cognitive) - self-knowledge, self-awareness;
- 2. Emotionally - evaluative - value attitude towards oneself;
- 3. Behavioral - features of the regulation of behavior.
Self-awareness is not born with a person: a child does not have such a property. The child does not perceive himself as an independent subject. Rather, he looks at himself through the eyes of those around him, as if from the side. According to the observations of scientists, from about two or three years old, the child begins to use the pronouns "I", "mine" and realizes his "uniqueness", peculiarity. The older the child, the more he realizes his personal qualities, the more important his self-esteem becomes. This means that self-awareness appears and manifests itself as a result of human development.
There are several stages in the development of self-awareness:
The first stage is the awareness of one's “I” by a child from one to two years old.
The second stage - a child from 2 to 3 years old realizes himself a creator, a doer; he understands the difference between his own and others' actions.
The third stage - by the age of 7, a person can already evaluate himself and his actions.
The fourth stage is the age of adolescents and young men, when young people are actively looking for themselves, their manner of behavior. At the age of 10-11, a person begins to show a special interest in himself, in his inner person; this is the most active "self-cognitive" stage.
The following factors influence the formation and development of self-awareness:
First of all, these are the assessments of others: friends, relatives, acquaintances.
Secondly, it is your own assessment (self-assessment), and the ratio of the real assessment to the ideal is important. After all, not always a person can objectively assess himself. We often exaggerate our strengths and try to "hide" weaknesses. It is difficult to be objective, especially when it comes to yourself. And finally - this is your own assessment of the results of your activities. emotional assessment self-awareness psychology
All components are mutually related: self-awareness consists of knowing oneself and of a relationship to oneself. Thanks to self-awareness, a person predicts and regulates his behavior. Without it, you cannot achieve inner harmony and coherence, taking into account the past, the present, and the future. It defines character and evaluates the acquired life experience. It also gives direction to expected future behavior. Self-awareness is not always objective. Sometimes, it conveys life and the surrounding reality not quite the way others perceive it, that is, a person perceives himself as he is comfortable or wants. Growing up, gaining life experience, rethinking life, becoming wiser, a person begins to understand his purpose - who he is, why he came to this world, what is the purpose of his life. He is aware of himself not as a separate person, but as a person who has relationships with other people, collectives, groups. If you change the environment, you will change yourself. This means that the attitude towards oneself will also change.
When life situations or circumstances change, in new teams, when marital status or social status changes, a person's consciousness, self-attitude, self-esteem changes; his inner world, views, relationships with others are changing.
Self-awareness continues to form (and can change) throughout life. New relationships, new activities, new acquaintances appear, which can significantly change a person's consciousness.
A person's attitude to himself depends on the attitude of other people towards him and their assessment. One meeting with a new person can radically change your life. At the same time, the person himself changes. Children are most susceptible to influence (their consciousness is open to any information), therefore they are so easily "re-educated" by a bad example (TV, the Internet, friends from the street, etc.).
In self-awareness, three lines of relationship are connected:
- 1. - attitude towards oneself;
- 2. - attitude towards others;
- 3. - the attitude of others.
This means that self-awareness determines our relationship with ourselves, with people and the attitude of people towards us.
The formation of an attitude towards oneself occurs in the very last place, after self-awareness has already been determined with relations to events, phenomena, objects, and other people. After acquiring life experience, self-awareness begins to "work" with its own structure of consciousness, study it, analyze, evaluate (introspection, self-esteem).
Self-esteem can change, get better. Self-esteem regulates human behavior, balances his desires and capabilities. A mature consciousness can make an adequate self-esteem.
Self-awareness helps to set goals and achieve them, helps to fill life with meaning and make a person valuable.
Self-awareness helps to control our behavior, gives us a sense of responsibility. Self-control requires an effort of will.
Self-consciousness is a complex psychological structure, which includes, as VS Merlin believes, as special components, firstly, the consciousness of one's identity, and secondly, the consciousness of one's own “I” as an active, active principle, third, awareness of their mental properties and qualities, and, fourth, a certain system of social and moral self-assessments. All these elements are functionally and genetically related to each other, but they are not formed simultaneously. The embryo of identity of consciousness appears already in the infant, when he begins to distinguish between sensations caused by external objects and sensations caused by his own body, consciousness “I” - from about three years old, when the child begins to use personal pronouns correctly. Awareness of their mental qualities and self-esteem acquire the greatest importance in adolescence and adolescence. But since all these components are interconnected, the enrichment of one of them inevitably changes the entire system.
A.G. Spirkin gives the following definition: “self-awareness is a person's awareness and assessment of his actions and their results, thoughts, feelings, moral character and interests, ideals and motives of behavior, a holistic assessment of himself and his place in life. Self-awareness is a constitutive feature of a personality that is formed along with the formation of the latter. "
Self-consciousness has consciousness as its object, therefore, opposes itself to it. But, at the same time, consciousness remains in self-awareness as a moment, since it is focused on comprehending its own essence. If consciousness is a subjective condition for a person's orientation in the world around him, that is, knowledge about something else, then self-awareness is a person's orientation in his own personality, a person's knowledge about himself, it is a kind of “spiritual light that reveals both himself and the other”.
Thanks to self-awareness, a person realizes himself as an individual reality, separate from nature and other people. He becomes a creature not only for others, but also for himself. The main meaning of self-awareness, according to A.G. Spirkin, should be considered “just the consciousness of our present being, the consciousness of our own existence, the consciousness of oneself, or one's“ I ”.
Self-awareness is the crown of the development of higher mental functions, it allows a person not only to reflect the external world, but, having distinguished himself in this world, to cognize his inner world, experience it and in a certain way relates to himself. Awareness of oneself as a certain stable object presupposes internal integrity, constancy of the personality, which, regardless of changing situations, is able to remain itself.
Self-awareness is a dynamic, historically developing formation, acting at different levels and in different forms.
At about 11-12 years old, interest in your inner world arises, and then there is a gradual complication and deepening of self-knowledge. The teenager discovers his inner world. Complex experiences associated with new relationships, their personal traits, actions are analyzed by him biasedly. The teenager wants to understand who he really is, and imagines what he would like to be. Friends help him to know himself, in whom he looks like in a mirror, in search of similarities, and in part relatives and adults. Personal reflection, the need to understand oneself give rise to confession in communication with a peer, and diaries that begin to be kept during this period, poetry and fantasies.
The structure of the personality's self-awareness.
There are several concepts. The simplest interpretation is presented by V.S. Mukhina, according to which self-consciousness is formed:
Identification with body and name
Self-assessment
Seeing yourself as a specific gender
Self-image of the present, past and future
Assessment of yourself in society
Consciousness of your "I" as an active principle
Consciousness of the identity of your personality
Awareness of their mental properties
Socio-moral assessment of their mental properties.
According to this concept, all components of self-awareness are interconnected, because they are determined by the orientation of the personality. And also, the components of self-awareness are associated with the knowledge of the external world, and, above all, the social world.
Comparing these two models of the structure of self-awareness, one can single out what unites them. All components of self-awareness are formed in the process of subjective activity aimed at realizing that it allows a person to identify himself.
According to V.V. Stolin (1983), the units of self-awareness are:
On an organic level, the image of oneself (body pattern and well-being);
At the individual level - the perceived assessment of oneself by others and self-esteem;
On a personal level, there is a conflicting meaning of "I", which includes cognitive, emotional and relational components.
The conflicting meaning of "I" appears after the commission of an act, or as a result of its foresight, since an act always presupposes the choice of a person as a subject of activity. It is the conflicting meaning of "I" that triggers self-knowledge and emotional experience about oneself.
Functions and processes of self-awareness.
The study functions self-awareness in Russian psychology is also given a lot of attention. According to I.I. Chesnokova (1977) the main functions of self-awareness are:
Self-knowledge
Emotional-evaluative attitude towards oneself
Self-regulation of behavior
Self-discovery process happens on two levels:
1. At the level of self-perception and self-observation, when a single image of oneself and one's behavior is formed
2. At the level of internal speech as an internal mechanism of self-knowledge.
Thus, on the basis of the integration of individual "I" images of personality, a generalized image of one's "I" arises, which is firmly assimilated by a person. Any refinement or renewal of this image can be experienced as a loss of inner comfort and balance, and lead to the activation of psychological defense mechanisms.
On the basis of self-knowledge of the personality of oneself and various experiences arising in the course of this, personality's attitude to oneself, which is accompanied either by certain emotions in his address, or value judgments.
There are a number of studies in which self-attitude is considered as an emotional-evaluative system, including such parameters as self-esteem, autosympathy, self-interest, the expected attitude of other people, and all together is integrated into the global attitude towards oneself. A stable emotional-evaluative attitude of a person to himself becomes a characterological feature of a person.
Every act of self-awareness is an interaction of self-knowledge and self-attitude. The attitude of a person to himself is formed in the process of self-knowledge, and the formed self-attitude affects the entire process of self-knowledge, determining its direction and giving it a personal touch.
Self-awareness achieves its highest development when the plans, goals and worldview of the individual are formed in the process of individuation. Self-consciousness of a person can determine the success and failure of an activity; it ensures adaptation and effective realization of the potential of a person.
Concluding the discussion of the subject, structure and functions of self-awareness, it should be emphasized that it is secondary in relation to the activity and cognition of the external world. This is a complex psychological process, the essence of which is the perception of a person through other people through identification and reflection. This contributes to the emergence of an internal dialogue with oneself and the formation of self-esteem. The main feature of self-awareness is a person's understanding of his actions, feelings, thoughts, goals, actions, motives, interests and position in society.
The main product of self-awareness is a generalized and holistic image of oneself, called "I - concept". At the same time, "I am the concept" of a person is an internal formation that determines the direction of a person's activity, strategies of his behavior and styles of interaction with others.
CONCEPT AND THEORY "I AM CONCEPTS".
The term itself "I am a concept" does not have a strictly defined terminological meaning. Often it is replaced by concepts such as "self-awareness", "self-attitude", "self-esteem", "I am an image", "I".
In the studies of domestic and foreign psychologists, the presence in the structure of the personality of a stable essential core, which is formed in the process of life, is recognized.
Usually, “I - the concept” is understood as a relatively stable system of ideas of the individual about himself, to a certain extent, realized and experienced as unique. Its formation occurs gradually in the process of development and socialization of the individual. It is important to note that “I am the concept” is not a static, but a dynamic psychological formation.
The formation, development and change of the self-concept is due to factors of the internal and external order. The external factors are the social environment and, above all, the family. Moreover, this influence not only strongly affects the period of early socialization, but continues to play an important role in adolescence and adolescence.
"I am a concept" in the works of foreign scientists.
According to R. Burns (1986), the self-concept is a dynamic set of attitudes characteristic of each personality, directed at the personality itself and including beliefs, assessments and tendencies of behavior. Its formation occurs in the process of social contacts of the individual. I - the concept acts as a kind of internal filter that determines the character of a person's perception of any situation, his expectations from this situation and, accordingly, behavior.
According to the theory of Z. Freud, the human "I" includes three genetically and functionally different components: Ego - representing the actual "I". The Superego is the ideal “I”. And also It is the unconscious "I", felt by a person as alien, but, however, inherent in him.
K. Rogers (1994) defines "I - the concept" as the integration of "I - images" of the personality that arise in the process of interaction with the environment. It includes ideal and real I - images. Real does not mean that the concept is realistic. On the one hand, the mismatch between the real and the ideal "I" can become a source of intrapersonal conflicts. On the other hand, the discrepancy between the real and the ideal self-concept is a source of personality improvement.
E.G. Erickson connects the formation of a holistic view of oneself with the development of ego identity in the case of a positive passage of the crisis at the fifth stage of the life cycle. In adolescence and adolescence, the integration of numerous knowledge about oneself and I - images into personal identity takes place.
“I am a concept” in the works of Russian scientists.
Many Russian scientists have been studying the structure of the self - the concept and the content of its functional elements.
From the point of view of I.I. Chesnokova, “I am the concept” of personality, arises due to the work of internal processes of self-awareness and the emergence of a generalized image of one’s “I”, which includes the concept of oneself, of one's true essence and value. This idea largely influences the entire structure of the psyche, perception of the world and determines the basic line of behavior.
According to I.S. Cohn (1989) the concept of "I" is defined as a kind of structural unity of the personality, associated with all its other aspects. "I" includes:
Understanding your body and appearance
Awareness of one's own peculiarity, individuality and dissimilarity from others
Social and ideological self-determination
Formation of life plans
Self-realization and self-determination
It consists of many “I - images” of the personality, while remaining integral and identical to itself.
Structure "I":
The real "I" is a reflection of real qualities and properties.
Ideal "I" includes social norms and patterns assimilated by the individual, avoiding which reduces self-esteem.
Holistic "I" influences adaptation to the environment, its cognition, self-realization and creative activity, the choice of psychological defenses.
Dynamic "I" determined by the social status of a person.
Understanding "I" I.S. Cohn associates with the consideration of the system of attitudes of a person regarding his own personality. Being a hierarchical system "I" includes:
“Elementary” attitudes, which are formed on the basis of vital needs in the simplest situations and are manifested as readiness for action;
"Social" attitudes, formed on the basis of an assessment of individual social objects and situations;
basic social attitudes that determine the general orientation of a person's activity;
a system of value orientations, which determines the goals of the individual and the means of achieving them, due to the social attitudes of the life of a given individual.
In the process of personality development, her “I” is enriched with various new qualities, which are refracted in the system of self-assessments and in the consciousness of her individuality. At the same time, the "I" image is constantly correlated with others and includes many social characteristics.
Yu.M. Orlov (1987) understands the “I-concept” as a relatively rigid structure, which is partially realized (indirectly, through behavior), and partially exists in an unconscious form. Its emergence is due to the desire for an effective life and work. It gives our behavior a relatively rigid core and orientates it. And through understanding and awareness of his actions, a person comprehends his “I”.
According to his point of view, "I am the concept" includes:
formal "I" - as an individual's awareness of his individuality, and
acting, true "I" that governs behavior.
It is the acting "I" that compares the "I - concept" with real behavior and reacts to this with satisfaction, or suffering, while striving to correct its behavior.
According to the research of A.M. Ivanitsky's traditional approach is one-sided, and he introduces the concept of a basic, biological "I", which is presented in the form of deep feelings associated with the primary sensation of one's body and will.
E.S. Shilstein (1999), analyzing the specifics of the “I” and its level organization, formulates the idea of \u200b\u200bthe “I” as a vertically organized part of mental experience, which is a single continuum that unfolds from deep feelings of self to verbalized, conceptualized ideas about oneself. In this case, "I" plays a structuring and organizing role in the system of subjective experience of the individual.
As a result of his research, E.S. Shilstein (1999, 2000) comes to the conclusion that we can talk about the dual nature of the “I”: positive and problematic. The appearance of the problem "I" occurs in adolescence, and it is this that determines the moral growth of the individual. Thus, the first value aspect of "I" is a solid foundation for personal growth, and the second is "an instance of development." The function of "I" in this case is to link the value and problem dimensions of the personality.
Components I are concepts.
There are several approaches to considering the structure of "I - concepts". R. Burns presents "I - the concept" as a hierarchical pyramid, at the top of which is the "global I - concept". It includes all sorts of facets of individual self-awareness (self-esteem and I - image). In the aggregate of these attitudes, the “real I”, the mirror or social I, the ideal I, are singled out. In each of the forms of the “I-concept” it is possible to distinguish cognitive, emotional-evaluative and behavioral components.
Cognitive component “I - concepts” is responsible for reflexive processing and storage of the most significant information about oneself.
Emotional-evaluative (or affective) componentis responsible for the formation of an attitude towards oneself in the form of an optimal level of self-esteem and self-acceptance, as well as a set of evaluative standards in accordance with socially significant criteria.
Behavioral componentincludes operational self-control and self-regulation both inside and outside the system. It provides ongoing correction of the processes of self-knowledge and self-assessment. It also provides a choice of behavioral strategy and tactics, consistency of behavior with the "I - concept" and the actual requirements of the situation.
Domestic scientists V.V. Stolin (1983) and S.M. Petrova (1995) noted that behavioral componentsthat are part of the structure "I - concepts" also perform motivating functions, prompting a person to a certain activity. The triggering mechanism in this process is the mismatch of the real and ideal self - images, present and future I. These components are a form of human self-control in activity.
The cognitive and emotional components of the self-concept determine the relationship with others and the development of the personality in general. According to the authors, the emotional-evaluative component manifests itself in the form of an internal dialogue between “I” and “not-I”.
The self-concept of a person can be positive and negative. At the same time, a person always strives for a certain inner harmony, feeling the need for a positive attitude towards himself. Negative attitude towards oneself and rejection of one's own "I" is experienced by a person very painfully.
A positive "I - concept" helps a person to process life experience, successfully adapt in society and achieve self-realization.
The man in every possible way protects the existing "I - concept" from information that can introduce a mismatch into its structure. Information traumatic for a person leads to a disruption in the functioning of any component of the “I - concept” of a person and is experienced as a loss of internal control and balance.
The inner harmony of the "I - concept" is restored as a result of the unconscious use of protective mental mechanisms, which, by distorting or rejecting traumatic information, disrupt the adequate reflexive processing of the current experience.
In modern psychology (Kamenskaya, 1999), psychological defenses are characterized as mechanisms that turn on in situations of real conflict or failure, and distort the incoming information, the image of reality and self-image, but relieve intrapersonal tension. By easing tension, protection maintains inner harmony and regulates human behavior. Thus, protection fulfills its main function - it maintains a positive "I-image" and a formed picture of the world. But, at the same time, distorting the image of reality, psychological defenses reduce the level of conscious understanding of reality and, further and further away from the adequate perception of the real world.
However, in Russian psychology, there are also positive aspects of the work of psychological defenses. The concept of "developing conflict" is being developed, that is, internal contradiction as a source of personal development. According to this concept, defense mechanisms are defined not as distorting reality, but as constantly acting phenomena that perform the function of helping in working on oneself. The view on the criteria for effective defensive behavior is changing: protection is recognized as effective if it does not reduce the conflict, but exacerbates it for further elaboration.
The concept of a holistic "I - image" of a person presupposes the integration of private I - images into a single whole.
Self-esteem of the individual testifies to the adequacy of the "I - image".
SELF-ASSESSMENT .
It is a component of self-awareness and the central education of a person, it represents an assessment by a person of himself, his capabilities, abilities and social role.
The basis for the formation of self-esteem and self-awareness as a subject of activity is the comprehension of their actions through the assessment of others.
B.G. Ananyev distinguishes two functions of evaluative influences in the process of teaching and upbringing:
orienting function - promotes awareness of their own knowledge and learning outcomes;
stimulating function - encourages activities based on the experience of success.
As a result of combinations of these functions, self-knowledge occurs, self-attitude develops and an adequate self-esteem of the individual appears.
Self-esteem of a person includes cognitive and emotional components, is formed as a result of self-knowledge and self-assessment, in the process of activity and personal interaction.
The cognitive component of self-esteem is a complex of personal beliefs about oneself, which can be both justified and unjustified. The emotional component is an emotional attitude to this complex of beliefs, the strength and intensity of which depends on the significance of the assessed content for the personality. In the process of evaluating oneself by a person, these components function in an indissoluble unity.
Thus, self-esteem is an alloy of cognitive ideas about personality traits, their critical understanding and attitude towards them.
The formation of self-esteem, according to B.G. Ananyeva occurs gradually as a result of awareness of the assessment of others, the subsequent separation of oneself from the assessment of other people, the formation of an opinion about oneself in the process of comparing and comparing oneself with others, the emergence of greater stability in evaluative ideas about other people and about oneself.
The expected assessment of others and the assessment of the personality of others, as well as self-esteem, is one of the components of the personality structure, and is a kind of indicator of the individual's well-being in society.
The main function of self-esteem is to regulate the behavior, activities of the individual and her relationships with others.
At each stage of personality development, self-esteem reflects the level of development of self-knowledge, self-attitude and is included in the process of its further formation. At the same time, self-esteem can be adequate or inadequate, overestimated or underestimated.
Response scheme.
The study of personality does not end with the study of its mental properties - temperament, motives, abilities, character. The final stage is the study of personality self-awareness. For many years, self-awareness was Cinderella in Russian psychology. And only with the active penetration of the ideas of humanistic psychology, the problem of self-awareness began to be actively developed.
Self-awareness is a necessary condition for the existence of a personality. There is no personality without it. A person is aware not only of the surrounding reality, but also of himself in his relations with the environment. Therefore, S. L. Rubinstein was right when he noted that the study of personality "ends with the disclosure of the self-consciousness of personality."
The formation of self-awareness is included in the process of personality formation and therefore it is not built on top of it, but is one of the components of the personality. In this regard, it is possible to understand the structure of self-consciousness, the stages of its formation in the course of the formation and development of the personality itself, starting from its first steps in life.
The goal of the development of self-awareness is the awareness of the personality of his “I”, his separation from other people, which finds its expression in the growing independence and independence of the subject.
Self-consciousness of a person is the totality of his ideas about himself, expressed in the concept - "I" and the assessment of these ideas by the personality - self-assessment.
Self-awareness of a person is such a person's ability that helps to be aware of his own “I”, as well as his interests, needs, values, his behavior and experiences. All these elements interact with each other functionally and genetically, but they do not evolve at once. This skill arises at birth and is modified during the entire development of a person. In modern psychology, there are three points of view on the origin of self-consciousness, but one is traditional among all directions. This is an understanding of self-awareness as a genetically original form of human consciousness.
Self-awareness and personality development
Self-awareness of a person is not a quality inherent in a person at birth. It goes through a long period of evolution and improvement. However, the first rudiments of identity are seen in infancy. In general, the development of a person's self-awareness goes through several successive stages, which can be symbolically divided into the following:
Stage 1 (up to a year) - the child separates himself from the world of people and objects. At first, he does not distinguish himself from those around him, does not distinguish his own movements from those that are carried out by relatives when caring for him. Games - at first with arms and legs, and then with objects of the external world, which indicate the child's primary distinction between active and passive own roles in motor activity. This experience gives the child the opportunity to realize his own potential. The emergence and development of children's speech is of particular importance. This actually pours him into the sphere of relationships with people around him.
Stage 2 (1-3 years) - marked by intense and significant mental development. Self-awareness of the child's personality is associated with impulses to perform actions and their coordination in time. Opposing yourself to others is often negative. It is from this, in spite of the impeccability and instability of these first forms of motivation, that the differentiation of the spiritual "I" of the child begins.
Stage 3 (3-7 years) - development is carried out smoothly and evenly. In the third year of life, the child stops talking about himself in the third person, wants to experience his own independence and oppose himself to those around him. These attempts to gain independence by the individual lead to a number of conflicts with others.
Stage 4 (7-12 years) - reserves continue to accumulate, and the process of self-awareness occurs without tangible crises and leaps. Bright and significant changes in consciousness are noted, associated primarily with changes in social conditions (school).
Stage 5 (12-14 years old) - the child again begins to be interested in his own personality. A new crisis develops when the child seeks to be different and oppose himself to adults. Social self-awareness is clearly expressed.
Stage 6 (14-18 years old) - is of particular importance, since it is here that the personality rises to a new level and itself immeasurably influences the further development of self-awareness. Finding yourself, collecting knowledge about your own identity is the primary task. This marks the beginning of maturity.
Formation of personality self-awareness
In adolescence and adolescence, the formation of the foundations of personality self-awareness takes place. It is this stage (from eleven to twenty years) that includes the influence on the adolescent of his own status among peers, the assessment of social thought, his activities and the ratio of the real “I” to the ideal. The defining categories of the formation of the personality's self-awareness are the worldview and self-affirmation of the subject.
A worldview is a system of holistic judgments of a person about himself, the surrounding reality and about life positions and actions of people. It is based on the experience and knowledge accumulated before this period, and gives the activity a conscious character.
Self-affirmation is a person's behavior, which is due to an increase in self-esteem and maintenance of the desired social status. The method of self-affirmation depends on the upbringing, capabilities and individual skills of a particular person. A person can assert himself both with the help of his achievements, as well as with the appropriation of non-existent successes.
Other significant categories include: awareness of the irreversibility of time and the meaning of life; the formation of full-fledged self-esteem for oneself; understanding of a personal relationship to intimate sensitivity (but there are gender differences due to the fact that girls develop physiologically earlier than boys); comprehension of love as a socio-psychological expression.
A social role is a stable characteristic of social behavior, expressed in the implementation of behavioral models, consistent with the norms and their own expectations. It combines role expectations and the actual performance of the role.
The role has the strongest influence on the development of the individual, since it is social interaction that greatly helps the individual to adapt to life.
Social status is the position of a person in a particular society, which includes a number of rights and obligations. Some social statuses are acquired at birth, while others are purposefully achieved throughout life.
Features of personality self-awareness
The concept of personality self-awareness in psychology is a voluminous, multi-level process and contains stages, functions and structure. It is customary to consider four stages: cognitive (the simplest self-knowledge and self-awareness of the processes and mental states of the organism); personal (self-esteem and experience in connection with their strengths and weaknesses); intellectual (introspection and introspection); and behavioral (symbiosis of the previous stages with motivated behavior). There are theories in which the development of personality self-awareness contains only two phases: passive and active. In the first phase, the self-awareness of the personality is an automatic consequence of development, and in the second it turns on and determines this process.
The main functions include: self-knowledge - obtaining information about oneself; emotionally holistic self-attitude and the formation of "I"; self-defense of your unique personality; self-regulation of behavior.
Self-awareness of the individual is predetermined genetically to a significant extent. The child is aware of himself, his personal qualities, distinguishes himself from others, so the world around him gradually forms self-awareness. Its development repeats the periods of formation of one's own knowledge about the objective world. Then this process moves to a higher path of development, in which, instead of sensations, there are processes of comprehension in a conceptual form.
The main feature and the most important component of self-awareness is the image of "I". These are relatively stable and not always realized concepts of a person about himself, as a result of which he interacts with people. This image acts as an installation directly to one's actions and includes three components: cognitive, behavioral and evaluative. The first includes the concept of their appearance, abilities and social significance. The second component encompasses the desire to be understood and to win the respect and sympathy of friends, teachers or colleagues. And the third combines their own respect, criticism and humiliation.
There is also an ideal "I", which denotes the desired vision of oneself. This image is inherent not only in adolescence, but also in a more mature age. The study of self-esteem helps to determine the degree of destructiveness or adequacy of the "I".
Self-awareness and self-esteem of the individual
Self-esteem is a stimulus for personality development. It is an emotionally colored assessment of the "I" image, which consists of the subject's concepts of his activities, actions, his own strengths and weaknesses. In the process of human socialization, the ability to self-esteem is formed. This happens gradually, as the personal attitude towards actions is revealed, based on the assessments of others and the assimilation of moral principles developed by society.
Self-esteem is divided into adequate, underestimated and overestimated. People with different types of self-esteem can behave very differently in the same situations. They will influence the development of events in every possible way, taking radically opposite actions.
Overestimated self-esteem comes across in people with an idealized idea of \u200b\u200btheir importance to others and the value of personality, as well as value. Such a person is filled with pride and pride, and therefore never admits his own gaps in knowledge, mistakes or unacceptable behavior. He is lazy and often becomes aggressive and tough.
Very low self-esteem is characterized by shyness, self-doubt, shyness, and failure to exercise their talents and skills. Such people are usually overly critical of themselves and set goals below those they could achieve. They exaggerate personal failures and do not go without the support of others.
Active, energetic and optimistic people develop adequate self-esteem. She is distinguished by a reasonable perception of her own abilities and capabilities, a rational attitude to failures about the appropriate level of aspirations.
Self-esteem also plays an important role for self-esteem, that is, a personal opinion about oneself, regardless of the opinions of the people around, and the level of a person's competence in a strong area.
Moral self-awareness of the individual
Self-awareness of personality in psychology is presented in the works of a large number of foreign and domestic psychologists. Analysis of theoretical works allows you to give a formulation to the moral self-awareness of the individual. It manifests itself in the process of regulation and awareness by a person of his actions, thoughts and feelings. As a result, there is a correlation of their moral character with the moral values \u200b\u200band requirements of society.
The moral self-consciousness of a person is a complex system in which it is customary to distinguish two levels that are not supposed to be opposed to each other. These are the mundane and theoretical levels.
The ordinary level can be depicted by the assessment of moral standards, which is based on everyday relationships between people. This level rests on the customs and traditions adopted in society. Here simple inferences arise that are associated with assessments and observations.
And the theoretical level, in turn, is based on moral concepts that help to comprehend the essence of moral problems. It provides an opportunity to understand the ongoing events. There are such structural components as: values, meanings and ideals. They link the moral self-awareness of the individual with human behavior.
The most important forms of a person's moral self-awareness are considered to be shame, duty, conscience and responsibility, retribution and duty. At the same time, shame is an elementary form, and conscience is a universal one. The rest of the forms of moral consciousness are highly differentiated.
Shame provides an individual with the ability to act in accordance with the dictates of culture and moral ideals of society. Conscience is the experience of a person regarding his own dignity and the correctness of his actions. Duty is an internal requirement that implies for a person to act in accordance with their moral standards. Responsibility puts before a person the task of choosing a motive, need, idea or desire. Retribution involves understanding the connection between the praiseworthy reaction of others to a worthy act and the opposite reaction to an immoral act. Duty has a similar meaning to the concept of responsibility and contains three components: awareness, respect and internal compulsion to fulfill moral requirements. 