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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–11Cite as

Self-Monitoring

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Synonyms

Conscious experience; Consciousness; Metacognition; Self-awareness

Definitions and Conclusions

Consciousness research is today one of the cornerstones in neuroscience. Almost all studies in the field have focused on identifying neural events accompanying appearences in the outer world, the “qualia,” like the redness of wine. These attemps have typically neglected the issue of the “Self.” Obviously, the self and qualia are two sides of the same coin. As formulated by Ramachandran (2004, p. 96):“You cannot have free-floating sensations, with no one to experience them.” Self-awareness is the essential tool for conscious metacognition. Metacognition monitors and controls behavior, the “self,” and thereby adjusts our beliefs of the world, essential for learning by conscious experience. This occurs not only within ourselves, but, importantly, also between individuals. Self-awareness is a primordial human capacity and is of decisive importance by giving humans an upper hand in...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Hans C. Lou

Authors
  1. Hans C. Lou
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Correspondence to Hans C. Lou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Redlands, Redlands, CA, USA

    Catherine Salmon

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Lou, H.C. (2017). Self-Monitoring. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3125-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3125-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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