What Is Self-Knowledge in Psychology? Examples & Theories

• Knowing oneself helps with realistic decision-making, such as life partner choices, education and career, and where to live.
• It helps to form our understanding of others.
• It helps to make sense of experiences.
• It helps with proactive responses instead of reactivity.
• It is important for encouraging positive change.

A lack of self-knowledge leads to over-estimation of one's strengths, which can cause lower life satisfaction.

• Self-knowledge includes honest self-assessment that can lead to positive changes.
• Self-knowledge leads to a meaningful narrative of our lives and a sense of continuity.
• Knowing ourselves helps us live consistent and fulfilling lives, help to understand our basic motivations, and enable us to control our emotions. 

• Blind spots. These are unconscious processes that prevent us from self-knowledge.
• Self-deception. In this state, we believe our wishful thinking.
• Conflict triggers. These are others' words or actions that are perceived as offensive and create conflict.

Self-knowledge is information about subjective tendencies, for example, our emotional state or behavioural patterns.

Self-awareness is awareness about our moods or thoughts about that mood. It is the path toward self-knowledge.

• Sheldon Stryker states that identity is a part of one's self that is evoked while interacting with other people.
• Self-concept is the image we develop about ourselves. It may or may not be based on reality.
• Self-knowledge comes from a variety of sources, such as external evidence.
• Low self-esteem is associated with a lack of clarity, stability, and consistency of the self-concept.

1. Unmediated observation model - We get self-knowledge through our thoughts, separate from outside knowledge.
2. Transparency model - Reflecting and then deciding for yourself about the state of the world.
3. Social constructionism - understanding ourselves and the world through the use of language to produce a shared reality.
4. "Looking-glass self" - our self-knowledge is developed through interactions with others.
5. Narrative self - using explanations and interpretation to create a basis of reality.
6. Self-perception theory - people learn about themselves by noticing behaviour and reaching conclusions.