To be or not to be — Aware

To be, or not to be, aware, is sometimes a question, other times a choice. Human beings can introduce a kind of self-focused awareness that can generate good outcomes. In psychology, this is studied under the roof of what's called objective self-awareness (Carver, 1974; Duval & Wickland, 1973). Objective self-awareness is not the same as experiencing the self as usual (or subjective self-awareness) and requires special effort in thinking of the self as a separate existence or as an entity of immediate thought (Duval & Wickland, 1973).

People who are aware of Cognitive Dissonance Theory may consider this closely related, at least in some of the dilemma-generating mechanisms at work. In cognitive dissonance, a sense of discomfort is experienced when we find discrepancy in beliefs or in beliefs and behavior (e.g., eating meat while believing in animal rights or drinking alcohol despite knowing its ill effects) (Festinger, 1957). The dilemma felt is supposed to be a fertile ground for initiating all kinds of behavioral changes, as studied by Elliot Aronson and others.

Objective self-awareness, however, comes with the necessary added burden of focus along a continuum from self to nonself to facilitate a change in behavior. When I first learned about this concept, I was fascinated because having a strong sense of self is strongly rooted in Western ideology, hence the terms self-esteem, self-enhancement, and so forth all of which serve the goal pursuits of the more individualistically motivated mind. In many Eastern traditions, having a sharp separate sense of self is sometimes seen as the origin of many problems (e.g., see Anattā). Hence, dissolving a strong separate self is encouraged to attain the goals considered important in these settings, such as regularly realizing interconnectedness and universal oneness, managing distress by a sense of shared fate, and so forth. I'll consider this minor cultural difference in the end to illustrate how awareness may be significant in a different way for bringing behavioral shift in less self-focused settings.

My question: How can objective self-awareness propel healthy behaviors in the real-world?

Here are a few possibilities.

The context of behavioral change will matter in how self-awareness is used. All health behaviors may not benefit from a strong self-awareness from the get-go. Knowing causality can be a revelation and also a hindrance. In other words, when people think too much about the cause of behavior or any blame founded in the self, they may feel debilitated in the absence of optimism or become less receptive to positive social influences available in the same context. Introducing greater self-focus in opportune stages and times would be crucial.

For example, when changing habits as a group or community, a more shared sense of shared behaviors should be effective in learning change because initial phases are supposed to be personally threatening, often generate a defensive stance, and so, once the habits are better learned, introducing greater personal responsibility and focus should generate lasting results. Therefore, being able to shift objective self-awareness flexibly with contexts and stages of change is likely to be a stronger predictor of success here.

Health behaviors are often tied to other valued goals and identities. How often have you heard people giving up poor habits after learning about approaching parenthood or being the only left child to take are of a parent? In objective-self-awareness, the change in behavior will be amplified if and when nested within personally valued other identities. In this, the valued identity will only be a strong subconscious presence in pursuing goals after which the objective self-awareness will be more sustained and focused, even if marked by obstacles. Indirectly, valued roles are likely to make the self-objectivity more textured.

Lastly, it is important to consider the scenario in which you may want to consider the self separate yet similar to many others. For example, when you are able to see what you or many others typically engage in when encountering challenges, you may be accurately motivated to bring changes. For instance, in the experience of negative emotions, feeling a strong separate sense of self can sharpen your distress, not so much when experiencing positive emotions. Therefore, for more affective or mood-based changes from unpleasant to pleasant, encouraging more focus toward a non-self or an interconnected self should be beneficial. For example, experiencing sadness or despair as a shared experience instead of seeing yourself as unique in this regard can be healing and lessen a sense of victimization. The idea is not to avert acknowledgement of your problems but to see you're in good company with many others in the world when facing difficult or unpleasant experiences.

The key is to be mindfully aware, not shamefully aware, while keeping the shifting contextual or cultural challenges in mind.

References

Carver, C. S. (1974). Facilitation of physical aggression through objective self-awareness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10(4), 365-370.

Duval, S., & Wicklund, R. A. (1973). Effects of objective self-awareness on attribution of causality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 9(1), 17-31.

Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.

Note. 'To be or not to be' was a term originally used in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.