Who is That in the Mirror? Self-awareness Affects How We See Our Own Faces

Did you know that the way you see yourself in the mirror is different from the self in photos? This episode touches on fascinating research on the different pathways involved in what scientists call the mirrored versus the non-mirrored self.

Ever wondered what’s actually going on in your mind when you look at yourself in the mirror? According to science, our faces in the mirror versus our faces seen on photographs of ourselves are supposed to be nearly identical. Yet, the truth is we know we somehow look different. Why is that so? The rise of mental health disorders related to body-image has been linked to social media use, in particular following and engaging with celebrity accounts. Being excessively concerned about how we are portrayed on social media, the overvaluation of likes and comments also puts us at risk. But there is a deeper root to the problem—what actually happens when we take on our digital identities? It all boils down to thinking of what others are thinking of us, and that proves to be a psychologically risky path.

In a 2008 paper, Self-awareness affects vision, Eric et al. wanted to determine if high level mental factors such as states of self-awareness can influence perception— and it turns out that our consciousness can be manipulated to cause us to “see” our faces differently. More specifically, in this experiment he wanted to see if there was a difference between how we see the mirrored self, versus the one in a photograph for example. In essence, what he found was that when we are looking at ourselves in the mirror, our awareness is directed internally, the same for instance when we are told to focus on our own breathing, which was what he asked the participants to do. On the other hand, when we look at our faces on photographs our awareness is directed externally. Now what exactly does that mean?

An example is when we are told to think about our strengths and weaknesses. When we do so we are actually thinking of ourselves through the eyes of others i.e. what are others thinking when they look at me? So the researchers actually found the fascinating shift in our self-awareness when we are looking at images of our faces, which change from internally-directed self-awareness in the case of our faces in the mirror, to externally, socially directed self-awareness. Now what do you think are the implications of this? The experiment was performed way before the advent of social media—Instagram was launched in 2010 but really took off about 2014 or so.

The digital self on social media is the epitome of the image that is primarily perceived by an externally-directed self-awareness. And that of course raises questions as to what happens to our psyches when we become obsessed instead with what others think of us?

Instagram has been linked to body-image related mental health burden like anxiety, depression and body dysmorphic disorder. But what research really shows is that it is not the platform itself but the following of celebrity accounts, engaging with them and excessively curating photos that puts one at risk. Also, back in 2008, smartphones were still not invented, and selfies were not possible the way it is now. Do you think the brain perceives selfies via internally-directed self-awareness, like one looking into a mirror, or via externally directed self-awareness i.e. thinking of what others think of you? Let me know in the comments.

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Podcast Transcript: https://scienceofbeauty.net/who-is-that-in-the-mirror-self-awareness-affects-how-we-see-our-own-faces/