Factors That Best Predict Self-Awareness in College Students

Age, gender, and major are factors that affect concepts of emotional intelligence. The present study examined how age, gender, and major could be used to predict self-awareness levels in college students. While previous research focused on these factors and their effects on other components of emotional intelligence individually, no study considered age, gender, and major altogether, focusing on self-awareness. A survey was created containing two assessments for self-awareness, the Reflection-Rumination Questionnaire (RRQ) and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). The RRQ measures how often one engages in repetitive thinking about their past and reflects on oneself. In contrast, the MAAS measures awareness or attention to what is happening in the present. Participants rated their level of agreement on a numeric scale for statements on both the RRQ and MAAS. A significant difference was found between genders on RRQ scores, but gender had no effect on MAAS scores. No effect of age or major was observed on RRQ and MAAS scores. It's possible that age and major do not impact levels of self-awareness. However, future research should consider a larger sample size with more even distribution between genders and majors is recommended to yield more significant results. It would be beneficial if further research focused on how to increase levels of self-awareness, as this can be advantageous because this is an essential part of daily functioning in psychologically healthy individuals.