# self-model (reflexive)

A model in a thing whose subject is the thing that holds the model.

- Computed level: L14 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: psychology  ·  Arena: E14

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation), [hold](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hold.physical), [subject](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-subject.entity)

**Through:** A compressing system turns its compression on itself and acts on the result.

**Novel properties:**
- reflexive reference
- self-directed modeling
- integrated self-reference

## Examples
- The human brain continuously updates its internal map of the body's position using sensory feedback from muscles and joints. *(biology)*
- An autonomous drone adjusts its flight path based on a real-time simulation of its own motion and sensor inputs. *(engineering)*
- In 2020, Twitter’s algorithm began flagging misinformation by referencing its own prior content moderation decisions. *(computing)*

## Used by
- [ahead of its time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-ahead-of-its-time.premature) (L23)
- [authenticity](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-authenticity.state) (L15)
- [blind spot](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-blind-spot.model) (L16)
- [comfort zone](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-comfort-zone.named) (L15)
- [despair](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-despair.state) (L15)
- [doubt](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-doubt.epistemic) (L15)
- [gut feeling](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-gut-feeling.trust) (L16)
- [hindsight is twenty twenty](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hindsight-is-twenty-twenty.retrospection) (L15)
- [hope](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hope.emotional) (L15)
- [identity](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-identity.self) (L15)
- [legacy code](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-legacy-code.unmeasured) (L15)
- [lost the plot](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-lost-the-plot.drift) (L15)
- [mission creep](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-mission-creep.drift) (L15)
- [pride](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pride.state) (L15)
- [regret](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-regret.emotional) (L16)
- [responsibility](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-responsibility.moral) (L15)
- [sanity check](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-sanity-check.trust) (L16)
- [self fulfilling prophecy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-fulfilling-prophecy.stacked-dependency) (L15)
- [shame](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-shame.emotional) (L15)
- [team spirit](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-team-spirit.excess) (L15)
- [the three tiers](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-three-tiers.structure) (L19)
- [the way we have always done it](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-way-we-have-always-done-it.path) (L19)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*