Self-awareness - the ability to recognize one's existence - is one of
the most important variables in psychology. Without self-awareness,
people would be unable to self-reflect, recognize differences between
the self and others, or compare themselves with internalized standards.
Social, clinical, and personality psychologists have recognized the
significance of self-awareness in human functioning, and have conducted
much research on how it participates in everyday life and in
psychological dysfunctions.
Self-Awareness & Causal Attribution: A Dual-Systems Theory presents a
new theory of how self-awareness affects thought, feeling, and action.
Based on experimental social-psychological research, the authors
describe how several interacting cognitive systems determine the links
between self-awareness and organized activity. This theory addresses
when people become self-focused, how people internalize and change
personal standards, when people approach or avoid troubling situations,
and the nature of self-evaluation. Special emphasis is given to causal
attribution, the process of perceiving causality.
Self-Awareness & Causal Attribution will be useful to social,
clinical, and personality psychologists, as well as to anyone interested
in how the self relates to motivation and emotion.