How Self-Monitoring Can Help You Adapt Your Behavior

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Table of Contents

Signs

Types

Uses

Impact

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Self-monitoring is apersonality traitthat involves the ability to monitor and regulate self-presentations, emotions, and behaviors in response to social environments and situations.

It involves being aware of your behavior and the impact it has on your environment. It also refers to your ability to modify your behaviors in response to environmental, situational, or social variables.

People who are high in self-monitoring are more likely to change their behavior in order to adapt or conform to the situation. Those who are low in self-monitoring tend to behave in accordance with their own internal needs and feelings.

Some signs of self-monitoring include:

While people tend to be high or low self-monitoring in general, self-monitoring may also vary depending on the situation. For example, some people may monitor themselves more during social situations or during periods of highstress.

Levels of self-monitoring may decline when people are in situations where they feel more comfortable such as at home or with friends and family.

Types of Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring can be generally divided into two key types depending on the purpose that it serves. These are:

Self-monitoring is something that people tend to do naturally, but it is also something that you can work on applying to different situations. Some ways that it may be useful include:

For example, learning how to self-monitor can help you notice things about your own behavior that you weren’t aware of before. If these behaviors seem to be unusual or create problems in your life, you might discuss them with your doctor ortherapist.

Research suggests that self-monitoring interventions can be effective for targeting and changing behaviors. One study, for example, found that self-monitoring could be used to help reduce sedentary behavior in adults.Self-monitoring can also be useful for improving emotional awareness in people with depression.

Impact of Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring can affect people in a variety of ways. For people who have anextroverted personality, monitoring the self serves as a way to interact with others and adapt to different social situations. People who use self-monitoring in this way are often well-liked and able to get along well with a wide variety of people.

In other cases, people may self-monitor because ofsocial anxiety. Because they are uncomfortable in social settings, they pay a great deal of attention to how others are acting as well as how they think others may see them.

Thishypervigilancecan sometimes make it difficult for people to relax and be themselves when interacting with others and can often increase the amount of anxiety the person is feeling.

Excessive self-monitoring means that people with social anxiety feel even moreself-consciousabout their behaviors in social settings.

It is important to note that whether self-monitoring is considered advantageous or detrimental may depend on the situation.

High-self monitors are good at adapting to the situation and getting along with others. In some contexts, they might be seen as being “fake,” but it is also a social skill that can promote interpersonal harmony.

Low self-monitoring means that people are less likely to change their behavior to fit in. This can be seen as combative or even antisocial in some contexts. However, it can also be a sign of high individualism and resistance toconformityin others.

How to Be Less Self-Conscious in Social Situations

Using Self-Monitoring to Change Behavior

Researchers suggest that the self-awareness that is developed during self-monitoring is a critical skill for initiating and maintaining behavior change.

If you want to use self-monitoring to change your behaviors, there are things that you can do to identify, measure, and evaluate your own behaviors. Sometimes this is something you might choose to do informally, but in other cases, you might actually want to use a written checklist to help you monitor and track these behaviors.

In order to do this, you should:

You might also find it helpful to usepositive reinforcementto help encourage behavior change. As self-monitoring improves and the target behavior changes, reward yourself for a job well done.

The good news is that as you get more skilled at observing your own behaviors, you can gradually decrease your use of these self-monitoring techniques. Once learned, you may find that you can maintain these behaviors on your own without measuring and rewarding your actions.

Self-monitoring can have both benefits and drawbacks depending upon the situation and how it is used. It may be useful if you want to become more aware of a behavior so you can work to change it. In other instances, it may cause problems if it contributes to feelings of self-consciousness and anxiety.

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Self-monitoring.Snyder M.Self-monitoring of expressive behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1974;30(4):526. doi:10.1037/h0037039McLoughlin GM, Rosenkranz RR, Lee JA, et al.The importance of self-monitoring for behavior change in youth: findings from the SWITCH® School Wellness Feasibility Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(20):3806. doi:10.3390/ijerph16203806Compernolle S, DeSmet A, Poppe L, et al.Effectiveness of interventions using self-monitoring to reduce sedentary behavior in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019;16(1):63. doi:10.1186/s12966-019-0824-3Kauer SD, Reid SC, Crooke AHD, Khor A, Hearps SJC, Jorm AF, et al.Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial.J Med Internet Res(2012) 14(3):e67. doi:10.2196/jmir.1858Hofmann SG.Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: a comprehensive model and its treatment implications.Cogn Behav Ther. 2007;36(4):193-209. doi:10.1080/16506070701421313Burgard M, Gallagher KI.Self-monitoring.ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. 2006;10(1):14-19.

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Self-monitoring.Snyder M.Self-monitoring of expressive behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1974;30(4):526. doi:10.1037/h0037039McLoughlin GM, Rosenkranz RR, Lee JA, et al.The importance of self-monitoring for behavior change in youth: findings from the SWITCH® School Wellness Feasibility Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(20):3806. doi:10.3390/ijerph16203806Compernolle S, DeSmet A, Poppe L, et al.Effectiveness of interventions using self-monitoring to reduce sedentary behavior in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019;16(1):63. doi:10.1186/s12966-019-0824-3Kauer SD, Reid SC, Crooke AHD, Khor A, Hearps SJC, Jorm AF, et al.Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial.J Med Internet Res(2012) 14(3):e67. doi:10.2196/jmir.1858Hofmann SG.Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: a comprehensive model and its treatment implications.Cogn Behav Ther. 2007;36(4):193-209. doi:10.1080/16506070701421313Burgard M, Gallagher KI.Self-monitoring.ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. 2006;10(1):14-19.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.Self-monitoring.Snyder M.Self-monitoring of expressive behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1974;30(4):526. doi:10.1037/h0037039McLoughlin GM, Rosenkranz RR, Lee JA, et al.The importance of self-monitoring for behavior change in youth: findings from the SWITCH® School Wellness Feasibility Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(20):3806. doi:10.3390/ijerph16203806Compernolle S, DeSmet A, Poppe L, et al.Effectiveness of interventions using self-monitoring to reduce sedentary behavior in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019;16(1):63. doi:10.1186/s12966-019-0824-3Kauer SD, Reid SC, Crooke AHD, Khor A, Hearps SJC, Jorm AF, et al.Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial.J Med Internet Res(2012) 14(3):e67. doi:10.2196/jmir.1858Hofmann SG.Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: a comprehensive model and its treatment implications.Cogn Behav Ther. 2007;36(4):193-209. doi:10.1080/16506070701421313Burgard M, Gallagher KI.Self-monitoring.ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. 2006;10(1):14-19.

American Psychological Association.Self-monitoring.

Snyder M.Self-monitoring of expressive behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1974;30(4):526. doi:10.1037/h0037039

McLoughlin GM, Rosenkranz RR, Lee JA, et al.The importance of self-monitoring for behavior change in youth: findings from the SWITCH® School Wellness Feasibility Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(20):3806. doi:10.3390/ijerph16203806

Compernolle S, DeSmet A, Poppe L, et al.Effectiveness of interventions using self-monitoring to reduce sedentary behavior in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019;16(1):63. doi:10.1186/s12966-019-0824-3

Kauer SD, Reid SC, Crooke AHD, Khor A, Hearps SJC, Jorm AF, et al.Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial.J Med Internet Res(2012) 14(3):e67. doi:10.2196/jmir.1858

Hofmann SG.Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: a comprehensive model and its treatment implications.Cogn Behav Ther. 2007;36(4):193-209. doi:10.1080/16506070701421313

Burgard M, Gallagher KI.Self-monitoring.ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. 2006;10(1):14-19.

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