Within the field of psychology, awareness refers to the conscious recognition and comprehension of psychological and physiological internal states, as well as external stimuli and ongoing experiences. Awareness is often defined as a kind of attention, and as such, is attentiveness to consciousness, internal sensations, and feelings and thoughts in real time.
For example, awareness of the feeling of anxiousness prior to its occurrence enables a person to mentally prepare some coping strategies in advance. Awareness is also central in the practice of mindfulness meditation, which teaches practitioners to observe their thoughts and sensations in a non-judgmental fashion. Cognitive research has shown that awareness is limited, and people cannot `attend` to everything, as is the case in inattentional blindness.
Awareness, too, is important in the clinical setting when people in therapy gain insight into client’s behaviors. In terms of psychology, in addition to the individual, social awareness needs to be present to facilitate empathy for and effective communication with others. Awareness is also the gap that exists between experiencing something and taking action, thus, it is essential in the art of self-regulation and growth.