Self-reflection is the ability to witness and evaluate one's own cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes. In

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, other terms used for this self-observation include "reflective awareness" and "reflective consciousness", which originate from the work of

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

. Self-reflection depends upon a range of functions, including

introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

and

metacognition Metacognition is an awareness of one's thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The term comes from the root word ''Meta (prefix), meta'', meaning "beyond", or "on top of".Metcalfe, J., & Shimamura, A. P. (1994). ''Metac ...

, which develop from infancy through adolescence, affecting how individuals interact with others, and make decisions. Self-reflection is related to the

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

of consciousness, the topic of

awareness In philosophy and psychology, awareness is the perception or knowledge of something. The concept is often synonymous with consciousness. However, one can be aware of something without being explicitly conscious of it, such as in the case of bli ...

, and the

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...

. The concept of self-reflection is ancient. More than 3,000 years ago, " Know thyself" was the first of three

Delphic maxims The Delphic maxims are a set of moral precepts that were inscribed on the Temple of Apollo in the ancient Greek precinct of Delphi. The three best known maxims – "Know thyself", "Nothing in excess", and "Give a pledge and trouble is at hand" ...

inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. It is also considered a form of thought that generates new meaning and an opportunity to engage with what seemingly appears incongruous.

History

Early writings

Notions about the status of humanity may be revealed by the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of ancient words for humans.

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''homo'' (

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

''*dʰǵʰm̥mō'') means "of the earth, earthling", probably in opposition to "celestial" beings.

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

( mycenaean ''*Anthropos'') means "low-eyed", again probably contrasting with a divine perspective. From the third-millennium

Old Kingdom of Egypt In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty ...

belief A belief is a subjective Attitude (psychology), attitude that something is truth, true or a State of affairs (philosophy), state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some Life stance, stance, take, or opinion ...

in an eternal afterlife of the human ka is documented along with the notion that the actions of a person would be assessed to determine the quality of that existence. A claim of dominance of humanity alongside radical

pessimism Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half ...

because of the frailty and brevity of human

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

is asserted in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Genesis 1:28, where dominion of humans is promised, but contrarily, King Solomon who is the alleged author of

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

according to rabbinic tradition, bewails the vanity of all human effort.

Classical antiquity

Protagoras Protagoras ( ; ; )Guthrie, p. 262–263. was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and rhetorical theorist. He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue '' Protagoras'', Plato credits him with inventing the role of the professional ...

made the famous claim that humans are "the measure of all things; of what is, that it is; of what is not, that it is not".

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

advocated the ancient adage for all humans to " Know thyself", and gave the (doubtlessly tongue-in-cheek) definition of humans as, "featherless bipeds" (

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, ''Politicus'').

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

described humans as the "communal animal" (ζῶον πολιτικόν), i.e., emphasizing society-building as a central trait of human nature, and being a "thought bearer animal" (, ''animal rationale'') a term that also may have inspired the species taxonomy, ''Homo sapiens''.

Middle Ages

The dominant world-view of medieval Europe, as directed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, was that human existence is essentially good and created in "original grace", but because of concupiscence, is marred by

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

, and that its aim should be to focus on a beatific vision after

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. The term "original grace" is not a phrase directly derived by the Bible, but is used because it reflects the Catholic Church's interpretation of humanity’s initial state before the Fall. According to St. Augustine, the Fall corrupted this "original grace" and therefore the nature of man. The thirteenth century pope

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

wrote about the essential misery of earthly existence in his "On the misery of the human condition"—a view that was disputed by, for example, Giannozzo Manetti in his treatise "On human dignity".

Renaissance

A famous quote of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

(II, ii, 115–117), expresses the contrast of human physical beauty, intellectual faculty, and ephemeral nature:

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

famously and succinctly proposed: ''

Cogito ergo sum The Latin , usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am", is the "first principle" of René Descartes's philosophy. He originally published it in French language, French as , in his 1637 ''Discourse on the Method'', so as to re ...

'' (French: "''Je pense donc je suis''"; English: "I think, therefore I am"), not an assessment of humanity, but certainly reflecting a capacity for reasoning as a characteristic of humans, that potentially, could include individual self-reflection.

Modern era

The Enlightenment was driven by a renewed conviction, that, in the words of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

, "Man is distinguished above all animals by his self-consciousness, by which he is a 'rational animal'." In conscious opposition to this tradition during the nineteenth century,

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

defined humans as a "labouring animal" (''animal laborans''). In the early twentieth century,

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

dealt a serious blow to

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

by postulating that, to a large part, human behaviour is controlled by the

unconscious mind In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection. Although these processes exist beneath the surface of conscious awareness, they are t ...

. Freud describes the unconscious mind as the part of the mind containing any repressed images or thoughts too taboo for societal norms. He viewed this part of the mind as essential to the individual as they are restrained primitive impulses and desires. Joseph Conrad uses the analogy of chemistry to describe how the tiniest idea can stimulate a person during reflection like a "little drop precipitating the process of crystallization in a test tube containing a colourless solution". Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the sea of fog

Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the sea of fog

Mandatory or advisory periods for reflection are built into some regulatory requirements, for example changes to divorce law in England and Wales adopted in 2022 prescribe a 20-week period of reflection before certain proceedings are concluded, and the European Union's Mortgage Credit Directive allows for a seven-day period of reflection before a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

offer needs to be accepted.

Impact

Self-reflection is a process of communicating internally with oneself. When one takes time to think about their character or behavior, they analyze the reasons that caused the behavior, where this comes from, what the outcome of the behavior means to them, is it effective for them and what they can do about it. Individuals process this information about themselves to help them find methods to deal with the information gained during the self-reflection process and applying this information to future behavior has been shown to elicit strength and joy. Self-reflection helps people in multiple ways: First, self-reflection fortifies an individual's emotional stability. When setting aside some effort to self-reflect they are looking inwards. This assists with building two parts to their

emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. High emotional intelligence includes emotional recognition of emotions of the self and others, using ...

: self-awareness and self-concept.

Self-awareness In philosophy of self, philosophy, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While ...

enables a person to comprehend their feelings, qualities, shortcomings, drives, and objectives, and recognize their effect on others.

Self-concept In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...

includes the capacity to control or divert their troublesome feelings and motivations and adjust to changing circumstances. Building these skills will improve both their personal and professional life and language learning. Second, self-reflection enhances a person's

self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...

and gives transparency for

decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...

. Self-esteem is significant for dealing with a filled, complex life that incorporates meetings, vocation, family, network, and self-necessities. It helps in decision-making, effective communication, and building influence. The more they think about their qualities and how they can grow them the more confident they will be later on. A person may become happy with their good qualities and identify the ones that require growth. Third, the self-reflection process requires honesty from the individual in order to be effective. When a person is honest with themselves when self-reflecting, they are able to understand their experiences; this person can grow and make changes based on what they have learned, leading them to better choices. Fourth, self-reflection adapts a person's actions in future situations. Making time to step back and consider their behaviors, the consequences of those behaviors, and the expectations of those behaviors can give them a source of a clear insight and learning. A person engaging in self-reflection may ask themselves: What appeared to have a more remarkable impact? How can we accomplish a more significant amount of that and enhance it? This cycle of reflection and variation—before, during, and after actions—is a recognized part of the process. Failure often comes from our actions, showing up as mistakes. The positive side is that everyone makes mistakes. These mistakes teach us what to avoid in the future. They allow us to learn through "negative examples" or "errorful learning". Many have noted that failures are valuable learning moments because they are temporary. However, we must pause and reflect deliberately to learn from these mistakes truly. This self-reflection is crucial for growth.

Organizational development

Self-reflection is considered to have a significant impact on how organizations achieve their goals. Incivility has been found to be the most pernicious outcome when members of a group exhibit a lack of self-reflection, decreasing productivity on average by 30%. According to recent self-awareness research, most people believe that they practice self-reflection, when in fact only 10–15% of people studied actually fit the criteria of consistent self-reflection.

Psychotherapy

A study involving clients in a

twelve-step program Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded by B ...

explored the role of self‑reflection through diary writing, not only as daily therapy, but in a retrospective context. The study concluded that clients who read and reflected on their past diary entries demonstrated increased participation in the treatment program. The twelve-step program is based on self reflection and the accountability of actions past. The article by Mitchell Friedman indicates that success in one's recovery relies on self-reflection.

References

External links

How to Self-Reflect

Gibbs Reflective Cycle
{{Authority control Consciousness Philosophical analogies Philosophy of life Concepts in the philosophy of mind Self