Objective self-awareness and individuation: An empirical link1

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine whether the phenomenal experiences associated with the states of objective and subjective self-awareness are those which typically are associated with the states of individuation and deindividuation. In order to test this hypothesis, 20 male and 20 female matched pairs of subjects completed 15 self-descriptive statements on a Who Am I questionnaire under conditions of experimentally manipulated self-awareness (high vs. low). The obtained responses were then coded on 21 dimensions of self-conception, including several suggested by Gordon (1968). Converging result from a number of different measures indicated that increased objective self-awareness led to a more individuated conception of self. More specifically, objective self-awareness appeared to increase responding on dimensions which reflect individuation but to decrease responding on dimensions which reflect deindividuation suggested that this effect held strongly for low self-monitoring subjects. The self-descriptions of high self-monitoring subjects, however, appeared to be relatively unaffected by situationally induced self-awareness.