Psychology understands the concept of self-perception as the perception of one’s own person. The sum of all self-perceptions forms a person’s self-image. Along with introspection, self-awareness is a prerequisite for building awareness and self-awareness. External perception must be distinguished from self-perception. The perception of oneself by others and the perception of oneself are never entirely the same.

The notion of self-awareness can be either inward or outward. In medicine, the inward self-perception usually refers to the perceptions of the proprioceptors, i.e. the sensory perceptions of the deep or muscular senses, which are also included under the term body perception . External self-perception, on the other hand, is shaped by the impressions of the exteroreceptors. It encompasses all information about oneself that the visual system, the sense of hearing and the sense of smell allow.

Self-perception is of great relevance in psychology with regard to various clinical pictures. In this context, the differentiation of body schema and body image plays an increased role.

function & task

Self-awareness is an important building block for one’s own health and, if distorted, has an impact on both mental and social life. People perceive their own body thanks to their sensory structures. The neurophysiological body schema is a theoretical construct that describes this act of objective self-awareness. The body schema is composed of the perceptions of tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, acoustic and visual information of one’s own perceptual apparatus. 

The body schema is thus based on learning experiences and consists of qualities such as body orientation, body expansion and body knowledge. This means that, thanks to the proprioceptors and the learning experience, people can perceive their own body size, dimensions and the structure or function of their body.

The so-called body image contrasts with this neurophysiological construct as a purely psychological construct. The body schema is relatively objective and does not depend on one’s own mind in terms of internal processes, but is shaped solely by objective sensory perceptions of one’s own sensory systems.

The psychological body image, on the other hand, is subjective and depends on the mind and thus on the inner workings of the individual. These inner processes are primarily thoughts and feelings about the perceptions of one’s own person. The body image is the mental attitude towards one’s own body and is also referred to as body awareness.

Assessing one’s own attractiveness, for example, is an important quality of body image. This assessment is rarely independent of the assessment of other people. The evaluation by others therefore usually plays into the mentally subjective body image. If there are strong discrepancies between the physiological body schema and the psychological body image, this can disrupt self-perception.

Accepting other people’s images as one’s own images is one of the most important phenomena in this context. As a result, distortions, denials and repression can set in and trigger self-deception, as is the case with anorexia, for example.

Diseases & Ailments

Self-perception can trigger serious illnesses through discrepancies between the objective body schema and the subjective body image, which, like anorexia, have both psychological and physiological consequences. Desires regarding one’s own shape are usually at the center of such illnesses. 

In addition to your own ideals, external ideals can also be adopted and over time feel like your own ideals. In this case, those affected sometimes also adopt incorrect external perceptions of their own body as self-perceptions and, on this basis, develop ideals that relate to their own body.

They are often afraid of being caught chasing the desired images. This fear stems from the feeling of shame at not yet conforming to the ideal image. Since self-perception plays a major role in the formation of one’s own identity, distortions and other alienations of self-perception also distort the perceived identity of those affected.

A disturbed self-perception not only plays a role in diseases such as anorexia, but can also manifest itself in diseases such as social phobia . In the context of this disease, the so-called spotlight effect often occurs to aggravate it. Those affected feel constantly exposed to observation by other people.

Disturbed self-perception also plays a role in diseases such as dysmorphophobia. Patients feel unattractive and develop self-rejection to the point of self-loathing. Panic fear of rejection and the reactions of other people interact with it. Feelings of envy and loneliness as well as the fear of disappointing others are also important symptoms of reduced self-esteem in the context of dysmorphophobia. The ugliness of those affected only exists in their own eyes, but restricts their social life and often even leads to complete withdrawal from social life. A sense of meaninglessness sets in.