Others in Mind: Social Origins of Self-Consciousness

Why are we so prone to guilt and embarrassment? Why do we care so much about how others see us, about our reputation? What are the origins of such afflictions? Philippe Rochat argues that it is because we are members of a species that evolved the unique propensity to reflect upon themselves as an object of thoughts; an object of thoughts that is potentially evaluated by others. But, the argument goes, this propensity comes from a basic fear: the fear of rejection, of being socially "banned" and ostracized. Others in Mind is about self-consciousness, how it originates and how it shapes our lives. Self-consciousness is arguably the most important and revealing of all psychological problems.

Philippe Rochat is a professor in the department of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Geneva, where he was trained in psychology by Jean Piaget and his close collaborators. The author of The Infant World (2001), Rochat's current research focuses on learning and creativity and the development of social intelligence and the emergence of a moral sense during the preschool years in children from all over the world in highly contrasted cultural environments, as well as in highly contrasted socioeconomic circumstances.