Alternations in one’s sense of self are often considered a significant psychological symptom of dementia. However, the self is not a unified construct; it consists of a set of closely connected, yet substantive, manifestations which might not be equally impacted by dementia. Recognising the multidimensional nature of the self, the current scoping review aimed to explore the nature and scope of the evidence demonstrating change in the psychological self in people living with dementia. A hundred and five (105) quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed, and findings were organised into three main types of self-manifestations: high-order manifestations, functional aspects of the self, and foundational manifestations. Overall, the results show that although there are alterations in some of these different manifestations of the self, these do not imply a global loss of selfhood. Despite notable cognitive changes during dementia, it seems that preserved aspects of self are enough to compensate for potential weaking of some self-processes such as autobiographical recall. Better understanding alterations in selfhood is key to addressing psychological symptoms of people living with dementia, such as feelings of disconnection and reduced agency, as well as to inform new pathways for dementia care interventions.

The self is a complex and multidimensional construct with both explicit and implicit manifestations. The experience of selfhood has been well documented in both developmental psychology and dementia research. However, these research fields have rarely come together. This is unfortunate, since a lack of sensitive measurement of self in adults with dementia has traditionally led to erroneous assumptions that people diagnosed with dementia experience ‘total loss of self’. Dementia causes profound self-alterations, particularly associated with gaps in autobiographical and semantic self-knowledge. However, important implicit manifestations of self may remain intact. Focusing on the emergence of different levels of self-processes in early childhood, and reflecting on conceptual similarities as well as methodological perspectives, the aim of this article is to explore how developmental approaches may be applied to provide valuable insight into the experience of selfhood in dementia.

Recruitment of insufficiently active individuals into exercise interventions is difficult due to many different barriers, including motivational barriers and negative body image. The present study provided an initial conceptual test of whether self-affirmation can help increase recruitment of insufficiently active women to an exercise intervention. Emerging adult women were randomly assigned to complete a self-affirmation or control task prior to reading the same message concerning the consequences of inactivity. In addition to completing demographic and body image measures at baseline, U.S. undergraduate participants (N = 254) indicated their interest in registering for an intervention and their intention to exercise after the experimental manipulation. Data did not support hypotheses that (1) self-affirmed women would find the message less threatening and less manipulative, (2) self-affirmed women would have higher intentions to exercise,(3) self-affirmed women would be more likely to register interest for a future exercise intervention, and (4) condition and body dissatisfaction would interact such that the intervention would be particularly beneficial for women with high body dissatisfaction. Results revealed that 70% of participants were unwilling to

The self is a complex and multidimensional construct with both reflective and experiential aspects. The experience of selfhood has been well documented in both developmental psychology and dementia research. However, these research fields have rarely come together. This is unfortunate since a lack of sensitive measurement of self in adults with dementia has historically led to erroneous assumptions that people diagnosed with dementia experience total loss of self. Dementia causes profound self‐alterations, particularly associated with gaps in autobiographical and semantic self‐knowledge. However, important experiential manifestations of self may remain intact. Focusing on the emergence of different levels of self‐processes in early childhood, and reflecting on conceptual similarities as well as methodological perspectives, the aim of this article is to explore how developmental approaches may be applied to provide a promising new direction into the experience of selfhood in dementia.

This essay explores key philosophical perspectives on the definition of what is the self.