ABSTRACT
A fundamental characteristic of the emerging model of the self is the almost constant interplay between the self-system and the social environment. The self is reflexive and dynamic in nature: responsive yet stable, complex yet unified; private and public, conscious and nonconscious, variable and fixed. One possibility is that they are implicit in the "cognitive" structures that are the building blocks of cognitively oriented accounts of the self-system. The mechanisms or strategies that function to maintain homeostasis within the self-system fall into two broad categories: interpersonal and cognitive. The most rudimentary form of self-awareness, subjective self-awareness, involves the fundamental distinction between self and environment. This level of self-awareness, which is a nonconscious characteristic of all living organisms, contributes to the basic survival of the organism by allowing it to manipulate and maneuver within its environment. The reflexivity made possible by self-awareness is both a blessing and a curse.
