Private Self-consciousness Research Articles

The influences of age on the self-consciousness and cosmetic behavior of Japanese females

The variations of self-consciousness and cosmetic behavior that accompanied with age were examined. One hundred thirty two female students participated as young group that ranged 17 to 19 years old. Two hundred five healthy community dwellers participated in this survey as a part of cohort study, 132 females who ranged from 39 to 64 years old were regarded as middle group and 73 females who ranged from 65 to 91 years old were regarded as upper-middle group. Public and private self-consciousness and three cosmetic behaviors in four situations of the three age groups were compared. The results indicated that the score of public self-consciousness was higher in young group than middle and upper-middle groups, and private self-consciousness was higher in young group than middle group. As for the cosmetic behaviors, the young group showed less make-up rates than middle and upper-middle groups in their home whereas they showed more skin-care behavior in the situation where they were conscious of being gazed at by the others. Therefore, it was considered that the variation of cosmetic behaviors that accompanied with age was not explained by self-consciousness but other factors.

Motivated response styles: The role of cultural values, regulatory focus, and self-consciousness in socially desirable responding.

Three studies investigated the relations between cultural values and socially desirable responding, the processes that underlie them, and factors that influence the strength of the relations. Results indicated that individualism was associated with self-deceptive enhancement but not impression management, whereas collectivism was associated with impression management but not self-deceptive enhancement. Regulatory focus was found to mediate these relations. A promotion focus mediated the relation between individualism and self-deceptive enhancement, whereas a prevention focus mediated the relation between collectivism and impression management. This mediation pattern held regardless of whether individualism and collectivism were determined at the group level (Study 1) or measured at the individual level (Studies 2-3), whether socially desirable responding was operationalized as a scale measure (Studies 1-3) or as reactions to behavioral scenarios (Study 2), and across different measures of regulatory focus. This general mediation pattern was found to be moderated by type of self-consciousness (Study 3): The promotion focus mediation was stronger for participants low (vs. high) in private self-consciousness, and the prevention focus mediation was stronger for participants high (vs. low) in public self-consciousness.

Does a specific dental amalgam syndrome exist? A comparative study

Objective. The aim of this article was to investigate whether there is evidence for a specific syndrome of health problems attributed to dental amalgam. Material and methods. A secondary and retrospective analysis of two different databases was performed: (a) 90 patients (47% female, mean (SD) age 34 (6) years) of a clinical trial to remove amalgam fillings who attribute their health complaints to dental amalgam, and (b) 116 patients (62% female, mean (SD) age 37 (8) years) from an outpatient unit for environmental medicine who attribute their symptoms to environmental sources other than amalgam. Results. The samples differed in age, sex, and educational level. No statistically significant differences between either of the groups were found in overall psychological distress, intensity of the symptoms, or in numbers of self-reported symptoms in the Symptom Check List after controlling for age, sex, and education (Mean Global Severity Index 0.62 versus 0.63). Patients from the amalgam group showed mean values for private and public self-consciousness similar to the population norm, while patients from the comparison group had statistically significantly decreased mean values. While the amalgam group more frequently reported mental symptoms, patients from the comparison group had a higher prevalence of somatic symptoms. Conclusions. The results showed some differences in symptomatology, while general psychological distress was similar in both groups, indicating no strong evidence for an amalgam-specific syndrome.

Depression and Two Aspects of Private Self-consciousness: A Longitudinal Study

Trapnell & Campbell (1999) によれば，私的自己意識は反芻と省察に分けられ，前者は抑うつと関連する非適応的な自己意識，後者は精神衛生に貢献する適応的な自己意識とされている。本研究では，これらの2つの私的自己意識と抑うつ，およびストレスの因果関係を探るため，大学生を対象に，素因ストレスモデルに基づいて縦断調査を行なった。階層的重回帰分析の結果，反芻の主効果および反芻とストレスの交互作用が2週間後の抑うつを有意に予測した。このことから，反芻は抑うつの脆弱性要因であると考えられる。一方の省察は，私的自己意識の一種でありながら抑うつとの関連が見られなかった。この結果は省察が適応的な自己注目であることを積極的に支持するものではないが，省察のようなある種の自己注目により，否定的な感情を強めることなく自己制御が可能であることを示していると考えられる。

Responding to Self-Consciousness: An Examination of Everyday and Dream Episodes

Eighty-nine students from the University of Toronto completed a 20-item self-consciousness questionnaire. They also provided a written account of a self-conscious (e.g., embarrassing) episode from everyday life as well as a self-conscious episode from a dream. Factor analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed 6 factors, with public and private self-consciousness emerging as the dominant factors. The everyday and dream episodes were examined qualitatively and 8 categories were derived the frequency of which could be numerically assessed in each protocol and factor analyzed. For the everyday life episodes, 5 factors revealed concerns of undergraduates related to academic performance versus physical appearance, social anxiety, and athletic performance, as well as 2 coping strategies. Three factors emerged from the dream episodes with the first revealing how students imagined coping with negative bodily arousal in order to assert themselves in academic situations. The second factor showed how students imagined withdrawing from social situations so as to avoid negative emotions associated with self-consciousness related to appearance. Meaningful correlations were found relating factors from the everyday episodes with the self-consciousness questionnaire as well as the dream episodes. These findings demonstrate complementary relations between quantitative and qualitative (i.e., narrative-based) assessments of self-consciousness.

Photograph Use on Social Network Sites among South Korean College Students: The Role of Public and Private Self-Consciousness

This study challenges theories of computer-mediated communication (CMC) that typically assume a lack of visual cues in CMC and conceptualize them as a situational factor. We examine individual differences in photo use on social network sites and link them to the dispositional tendency of self-consciousness (SC). Included were 231 students from one university in South Korea, who owned and maintained Cyworld profiles (called "mini-homepages"). Findings suggest that public SC, but not private SC, was positively associated with the higher frequency of posting photos, replying to comments on the photos, and scrapping photos on their mini-homepages. The frequency of posting specific content types of photos (concerning social relationships or life events) was also determined by participants' public SC but not by private SC. Implications of the findings for CMC theories are discussed.

Repetitive Thought in Psychopathology: The Relation of Rumination and Worry to Depression and Anxiety Symptoms

The relation between repetitive thought and depression and anxiety symptoms was examined in an undergraduate sample. Individuals completed self-report measures of rumination, worry, depression, and anxiety as well as other related constructs including private self-consciousness, looming maladaptive style, cognitive style, cognitive content, and future outlook. Regression analyses and tests for significant differences between partial correlations were utilized to assess the study hypotheses. The results indicated that rumination and worry overlap in their association with depression and anxiety symptoms, and that rumination may be an especially important component of this overlap. Secondary analyses demonstrated that rumination and worry are two distinct constructs, as their patterns of associations with related constructs were different.

Self-consciousness moderates the relationship between perceived norms and drinking in college students

The current research examines whether self-consciousness subscales have prognostic value in the relationship between perceived norms and drinking and if that differs among college men and women. Results indicate that self-consciousness moderates gender differences in the relationship between perceived social norms and drinking. A strong positive relationship was found between perceived norms (descriptive and injunctive) and drinking for men relative to women and this was more pronounced among individuals who were lower in public self-consciousness. Similarly, the relationship between perceived injunctive norms and drinking was significantly stronger among men than women and this was more pronounced among individuals who were higher in private self-consciousness or social anxiety. These results highlight the important influence of social factors in salient peer reference groups. This is promising information for future research attempting to identify useful indicators of candidates who would most benefit from social norms interventions. This also underscores the relevance of future norms based interventions using self-consciousness as a potential moderator of intervention efficacy.

Can a Theory of Mind Disruption Help Explain OCD Related Metacognitive Disturbances?

AbstractThis study investigated whether individual differences in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and in thought–action fusion are related to theory of mind abilities. One hundred and ninety-two adult participants completed self-reports of obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCI-R), thought–action fusion (TAF), private self-consciousness (PSC) and self-reflectiveness (SR) as mentalising abilities, and anxiety and depression. A nonintrospective method examining participants' implicit structure of their lexicon for ‘knowing’ was used to assess theory of mind. Private self-conciousness and SR added to the prediction of OCD symptoms independently of TAF and depression but did not mediate the relationship between TAF and OCD symptoms. Participants high in thought–action fusion gave a greater emphasis to the certainty dimension of the mental lexicon and placed lesser importance on the source of information dimension than those low in TAF. Our results provide preliminary evidence of a relationship between theory of mind and thought–action fusion. People disposed to thought–action fusion are more likely to make a significance judgment about ‘knowing’ based on the degree of certainty than on reference to the source of knowledge. Identifying disruptions to theory of mind abilities in OCD provides links to solid theory and evidence about metacognitive development and may help integrate cognitive processing and cognitive appraisal models of OCD.

Emotion Regulation: Antecedents and Well-Being Outcomes of Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression in Cross-Cultural Samples

Habitual emotional state is a predictor of long-term health and life expectancy and successful emotion regulation is necessary for adaptive functioning. However, people are often unsuccessful in regulating their emotions. We investigated the use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression in 489 university students in Norway, Australia, and the United States and how these strategies related to measures of well-being (affect, life satisfaction, and depressed mood). Data was collected by means of selfadministered questionnaires. The major aims of the study were to begin to explore the prevalence of use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression across gender, age and culture, possible antecedents of emotion regulation strategies, and the influence of emotion regulation upon well-being. Results showed that the use of emotion regulation strategies varied across age, gender and culture. Private self-consciousness (self-reflection and insight) was found to be a central antecedent for the use of cognitive reappraisal. Use of emotion regulation strategies predicted well-being outcomes, also after the effect of extraversion and neuroticism had been controlled for. Generally, increased use of cognitive reappraisal predicted increased levels of positive well-being outcomes, while increased use of expressive suppression predicted increased levels of negative well-being outcomes.

Self-Referential Cognition and Empathy in Autism

BackgroundIndividuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have profound impairments in the interpersonal social domain, but it is unclear if individuals with ASC also have impairments in the intrapersonal self-referential domain. We aimed to evaluate across several well validated measures in both domains, whether both self-referential cognition and empathy are impaired in ASC and whether these two domains are related to each other.Methodology/Principal FindingsThirty adults aged 19-45, with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism and 30 age, sex, and IQ matched controls participated in the self-reference effect (SRE) paradigm. In the SRE paradigm, participants judged adjectives in relation to the self, a similar close other, a dissimilar non-close other, or for linguistic content. Recognition memory was later tested. After the SRE paradigm, several other complimentary self-referential cognitive measures were taken. Alexithymia and private self-consciousness were measured via self-report. Self-focused attention was measured on the Self-Focus Sentence Completion task. Empathy was measured with 3 self-report instruments and 1 performance measure of mentalizing (Eyes test). Self-reported autistic traits were also measured with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Although individuals with ASC showed a significant SRE in memory, this bias was decreased compared to controls. Individuals with ASC also showed reduced memory for the self and a similar close other and also had concurrent impairments on measures of alexithymia, self-focused attention, and on all 4 empathy measures. Individual differences in self-referential cognition predicted mentalizing ability and self-reported autistic traits. More alexithymia and less self memory was predictive of larger mentalizing impairments and AQ scores regardless of diagnosis. In ASC, more self-focused attention is associated with better mentalizing ability and lower AQ scores, while in controls, more self-focused attention is associated with decreased mentalizing ability and higher AQ scores. Increasing private self-consciousness also predicted better mentalizing ability, but only for individuals with ASC.Conclusions/SignificanceWe conclude that individuals with ASC have broad impairments in both self-referential cognition and empathy. These two domains are also intrinsically linked and support predictions made by simulation theory. Our results also highlight a specific dysfunction in ASC within cortical midlines structures of the brain such as the medial prefrontal cortex.

Psychological and Social Influences on Blog Writing: An Online Survey of Blog Authors in Japan

We conducted a questionnaire survey of personal blog authors (N = 1,434) and examined two hypothesized models using structural equation modeling to clarify the psychological and social process associated with why authors continue to write their blogs. Two final models with good fit were obtained. It was confirmed that being satisfied with benefits to self, relationships with others, and skill in handling information had significant positive effects on the intention to continue blog writing. The psychological traits of private self-consciousness, reassurance-seeking, and information need were hypothesized to be effective in establishing consciousness of the benefits; these also had significant positive effects. In contrast, only positive feedback had a significant influence on satisfaction related to information handling skill, whereas both negative and positive feedback had significant influences on satisfaction related to information handling skill. This suggests that communication with readers who gave positive feedback strongly encouraged blog authors to continue writing. Similarities and differences between the two models and recommendations for further theoretical development are discussed.

Influence of gender, self-consciousness and stigmatisation on perceived acceptance among people living with HIV in Nigeria

This study investigates the influence of perceived acceptance of people living with HIV in Nigeria. The results reveal that gender and public self-consciousness jointly and significantly influenced an individual's perception of acceptance. Also, males with a high level of private self-consciousness scored higher on a scale measuring perceived acceptance than females with a high level of private self-consciousness. In addition, private self-consciousness and perceived stigmatisation jointly and significantly influenced an individual's perception of acceptance. The findings emphasise that the society is far from having an accepting attitude towards individuals living with HIV.

Self‐focused attention and self‐monitoring influence on health and coping with stress

AbstractThe issue of the presented study was to find relations between the elements of self‐focused attention, self‐monitoring and different styles of coping with stress and psychosomatic symptoms.The two factors of self‐focused attention must be considered: (1) the private self‐consciousness, the tendency to be aware of those aspects of one's own self which cannot be observed by others; (2) the public self‐consciousness, the tendency to be aware of the publicly displayed aspects of the self.The level of self‐monitoring determines the significance which a person attaches to indicators coming from his or her social surrounding while modifying and shaping his or her behaviour.The results indicate both similarities and differences within the scope of both constructs: self‐monitoring and self‐focused attention. The differences between the constructs in question also pertain to their relation with psychopathology. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Adaptação do Questionário de Ruminação e Reflexão (QRR) para estudantes universitários brasileiros

A autoconsciência privada, ou a tendência de um indivíduo para refletir sobre seus pensamentos, motivações, sentimentos e outros aspectos privados da experiência pessoal do si mesmo tem sido muito estudada nas últimas décadas. Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo adaptar o Questionário de Ruminação e Reflexão para estudantes universitários brasileiros, obtendo evidências de validade fatorial e convergente. A versão original em inglês foi traduzida e aplicada a 296 universitários. Uma análise de componentes principais indicou a presença de 2 componentes mais relevantes, correspondendo às dimensões de ruminação e reflexão. Os índices de consistência interna obtidos para ambas as escalas foi de 0,87. Conforme esperado, a ruminação correlacionou-se positivamente com neuroticismo e negativamente com auto-estima. Por sua vez, a reflexão correlacionou-se positivamente com abertura à experiência. Conclui-se que o instrumento adaptado apresenta validade fatorial e convergente satisfatórias (além de excelente fidedignidade), podendo ser utilizado em futuras pesquisas.Palavras-chave: autoconsciência; traço de personalidade; escala; psicometria.

Precursors of adolescents’ use of visual and audio devices during online communication

Theories of computer-mediated communication typically rest upon the assumption that communication via computers lacks visual and auditory cues. However, recent technological advances, such as webcams and microphones, as well as their increased use question this assumption. Moreover, the question arises of what characterizes individuals who use such devices. Drawing on a survey of 1060 adolescents, we found that 57% of adolescents at least occasionally used webcams during instant messaging, while 32% at least sometimes used microphones. If adolescents perceived the lack of visual cues in online communication to be important, they used webcams less frequently. For early and middle adolescents, greater levels of social anxiety reduced the use of webcams, whereas higher levels of private self-consciousness increased it. Our results suggest that the nature of computer-mediated communication may change considerably in the next years. Theories of computer-mediated communication need to more strongly integrate these changes into theory building.

Emotional Inhibition and Personality Traits: A Comparison of Women with Anorexia, Bulimia, and Normal Controls

Clinical experience has suggested that women with eating disorders (ED) are prone to displace negative feelings about the self onto the body. This study sought to evaluate these clinical observations by examining emotional inhibition and personality traits in women with ED. Female inpatients and intensive outpatients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (N = 14) or bulimia nervosa (N = 11) were compared to women without an ED (N = 31). The results of the study indicate that participants with ED inhibit their expression of both positive and negative emotions, even after controlling for neuroticism. Women with ED also reported higher levels of hostility and neuroticism. In addition, participants with ED were less aware of their inner thoughts and feelings (private self-consciousness) and had a heightened awareness of the thoughts and expectations of others (public self-consciousness). Finally, women with bulimia nervosa reported higher levels of emotional inhibition, neuroticism, public self-consciousness, and hostility when compared to women with anorexia nervosa. These data suggest that individuals who are not able to identify, and consequently, express their emotions may learn to handle emotional distress, interpersonal conflicts, and unexpressed hostility by turning their expression and lack of insight inward (viz., feeling "fat").

Excessive Self-Focused Attention and Defensiveness among Psychiatric Patients: A Vicious Cycle?

The contribution of defensive coping to the phenomenon of excessive self-focused attention was studied in 20 depressed or anxious psychiatric outpatients comprising the negative affect group, 20 patients with psychotic disorders, and a control group of 21 patients of an orthopaedic clinic. Self-focused attention was assessed using the Self-reflectiveness and Internal State Awareness subfactors of the Private Self-consciousness Scale. In accordance with other research on self-focused attention, the negative affect group obtained higher scores on the Self-reflectiveness scale than the control group (t39=2.40, p<.03). To examine the relationship between self-focus and defensiveness, Weinberger, Schwartz, and Davidson's approach was employed, using median splits of short forms of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Marlowe-Crowne scale to differentiate among four groups of subjects. The highest self-reflectiveness was found for those participants who were high in both defensiveness and anxiety. This group scored higher than the nondefensive high anxious group (t30= -2.31, p<.03). The heightened self-focused attention might result from automatically instigated states of self-focused attention and paradoxical effects of defensive efforts to avoid self-focus.

Individual differences in the "Greek effect" on risky drinking: The role of self-consciousness.

Although the environmental influence of Greek affiliation on drinking has been established, little is known about intrapersonal characteristics that make individuals susceptible to this influence. Self-consciousness (attending to one's self) was hypothesized to represent dispositional vulnerability to environmental influence. The potential moderating effect of self-consciousness on the relation between Greek involvement and drinking was examined longitudinally among college students (N = 319). The effect of Greek status was moderated by private and public self-consciousness and by gender. Specifically, non-Greek members' drinking was not influenced by self-consciousness. However, sorority members increased drinking as private self-consciousness increased, whereas fraternity members increased drinking as private and public self-consciousness decreased. These findings indicate that the "Greek effect" interacts with individual characteristics to affect drinking.

The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Anger Management Program on Self-consciousness and Anger in Korean Military Man

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a cognitive behavioral anger management intervention in order to increase self-consciousness and decrease anger among Korean military men. A quasi-experimental design was used for this study. Ninety two soldiers were screened for unhealthy anger expression using a questionnaire. Among them, 26 soldiers who showed unhealthy anger expression were selected for this study. They were matched by rank and assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received the intervention three consecutive times, once a week and for 120 minutes per session. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention for anger (the State-Trait Anger Scale) and self-consciousness (Self-consciousness Scale). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi- square-test, Mann-Whitney test, and Wilcox on signed rank test. There was no statistically significant decrease in anger or increase in self-consciousness between the two groups following treatment. However, there was a significant increase in private self-consciousness in the treatment group after the intervention(p=.006). The cognitive behavioral anger management program improves private self-consciousness in soldiers. However, Additional research is needed to explore whether long-term intervention is more effective for anger control in the military setting. The findings from this study suggest that more attention should be given to mental health care for Korean soldiers.