Judy:
You already have recieved good answers. I would like to elaborate upon some of these.
Primarily, the fundamental negativism in human experience is Ego-Centrism. In plain English, Selfishness.
However, from Religious and Philosophical concepts, comes the idea that a SOUL, or a
Transcendant and unique individual SELF exists.
But that is just religion and philosophy.
In Science, there is no such thing as a SOUL or a Transcendant personal SELF that exists.
Thus you see the contrasts between the Natural and Materialistic understanding of the human experience, and the Religious and Philosophical Conceptions.
So, as Simona Aruxandei, Ravi-王阳-Рави and Piotr point out to us, a SELF CONSCIOUSNESS is not a negativism, but a vital part of our self-conceptions. It is not a Selfishness to be in possession, of a knowledge of a Self, or to seek that out in experience.
When we say a person is Self-Centered, ...that indicates they are selfish. It means they think about themselves most of the time, and seldom think about what is going on in the minds and emotions of the people around them.
Moreover, Self-Love in its extreme, is referred to as "Narcissism".
[Nar----Ciss---ism].
In contrast, when one is Self-Conscious, the very same sensitivity in awareness, makes one aware or conscious of others, unless of course, the Self-Consciousness is exhibited in the extreme, which would be Narcissism.
In point of fact, one of the funtamental tools for assessing the character of a person, is to see if they only think of themselves or whether they also think of other people and the needs of other people.
----Warm Regards, Bruce