‘this’ in JavaScript: 10 Scenarios Simplified for Beginners

In JavaScript, understanding "this" keyword can be challenging for developers. In this post, we’ll learn about ‘this’ keyword and its various scenarios.

Let’s get started!🚀

What is “this”?

In JavaScript, “this” is a special keyword that refers to the current execution context which means what is happening right now.

It changes its value depending on how a function is invoked. Understanding how “this” works might seem a bit tricky, but it’ll get easier for you as we’ll explore its different situations.

So, let’s explore its different scenarios.

“this” in Global Context

When we use “this” in the global scope, then “this” refers to the global object.

For example, when we use “this” in a browser environment, then this is often the window object.

console.log(this);

Output:

Now, what is window object?🤔

The window object represents that browser window which contains the document. This object provides properties and methods, by using them you can interact with the browser environment.

“this” in Regular Functions

When used in regular functions, “this” refers to the global object (window object in a browser environment).

function myFunction() {
  console.log(this);
}

myFunction();

Output:

“this” in Regular Functions (strict mode)

When we use “this” in functions, in strict mode, then “this” refers to undefined.

"use strict";
function myFunction() {
  console.log(this);
}

myFunction();

Output:

“this” in Arrow Functions

Arrow functions don’t have their own “this” context. Instead, they inherit it from their parent scope (which is called “lexical scoping”).

For example:

const myfunc = () => {
  console.log(this);
};
myfunc();

Output:

In the above example, myfunc is an arrow function. Since arrow functions inherit “this” from their parent scope, so in this case, it will be the global object (in a browser environment, window object).

“this” in Event Handlers

When we use “this” in event handlers, then “this” refers to the DOM element that triggered the event.

For example:

<button>Click me</button>

JavaScript:

const myBtn = document.querySelector("button");

myBtn.addEventListener("click", function () {
  console.log(this);
});

Output:

In the above example, when you click on the button, the event handler will execute and console.log(this) will output the element (<button> element) to the console because an event listener is attached to the <button> element.

Let’s take another example.

<div>This is a div.</div>

JavaScript:

const myDiv = document.querySelector("div");

myDiv.addEventListener("mouseover", function () {
  console.log(this);
});

Output:

In the above example, when your cursor will be over the div, the event handler will execute and console.log(this) will output the element (<div> element) to the console because an event listener is attached to the <div> element.

“this” in Methods of an Object

When a function is a method of an object, then “this” refers to that object on which the method is called on.

Example using regular function

const myObj = {
  name: "Shefali",
  myMethod: function () {
    console.log(this.name);
  }
};

myObj.myMethod(); //Output: Shefali

In the above example,

myObj is an object with a property name set to the string “Shefali” and with a method myMethod defined using a regular function.
Inside the myMethod function, “this” refers to the object on which the method is called. In this case, it refers to myObj.
So, the output of this.name will be Shefali, as myObj has a property name with the value Shefali.

Example using arrow function

const myObj = {
  name: "Shefali",
  myMethod: () => {
    console.log(this.name);
  }
};

myObj.myMethod(); //Output: undefined

In the above example,

myObj is an object with a property name set to the string “Shefali” and with a method myMethod defined using an arrow function.
Now, we are trying to log this.name using arrow function.
Since arrow functions inherit “this” from their parent scope, so in this case, it will be the global scope (because myObj is defined in the global scope).
The output of this.name will be undefined, as this.name in the arrow function does not refer to the name property of myObj but rather to the global scope and the global scope usually does not have a name property.

“this” in Constructors of an Object

Constructor functions are used to create objects. “this” keyword inside a constructor refers to that object which is created by that constructor.

For example:

function Person(name) {
  this.name = name;
}

const myPerson = new Person("Shefali");
console.log(myPerson.name); //Output: Shefali

Let’s understand the above example,

Here, the Person function is a constructor function.
In the constructor function, “this” refers to that object which is created by that constructor. In this case, when you create a new object myPerson using new Person("Shefali"), “this” inside the constructor refers to the newly created myPerson object.
When we pass the name parameter during object creation, this is assigned to the name property of the myPerson object using this.name = name.
When we access myPerson.name, it retrieves the value of the name property from the myPerson object and logs Shefali to the console.

If you want to understand objects more clearly, then you can click here.

“this” in Object Prototypes

When we use “this” in object prototypes, it behaves similarly to constructors. The “this” keyword inside a prototype refers to that object which is created by that prototype.

function Person(name) {
  this.name = name;
}

Person.prototype.greet = function() {
  console.log(`Hello, ${this.name}!`);
};

const myPerson = new Person('Shefali');
myPerson.greet(); //Output: Hello, Shefali!

In the above example,

We have a function called Person and we are adding a method called greet to the Person prototype.
Using the Person function, we create a object called myPerson with the name Shefali.
Now we call the greet method on the myPerson object.
Inside the greet method, this.name refers to the name of the myPerson object which is Shefali.
So the output will be Hello, Shefali!.

“this” in Class Methods

In JavaScript, the class keyword is used to define a constructor and methods for objects. When we define a method inside a class, then “this” keyword refers to the instance of the class on which the method is called.

For example:

class Person {
  constructor(name) {
    this.name = name;
  }

   greet() {
    console.log(`Hello, I'm ${this.name}!`);
  }
}

const myPerson = new Person('Shefali');
myPerson.greet(); // Output: Hello, I'm Shefali!

In the above example,

We create a new instance myPerson using Person class.
myPerson.greet() calls the greet method on the myPerson instance.
Here, “this” refers to the instance and properties of the class Person.
So the output is Hello, I'm Shefali!.

“this” in Call, Apply, or Bind Methods

JavaScript provides methods like call, apply, and bind to explicitly set the value of “this” keyword in a function.

call() Method:

The call() method is used to invoke a function with a specified value of “this” and arguments provided individually.

For example:

function greet() {
  console.log(`Hello, ${this.name}!`);
}

const person = { 
  name: 'Shefali' 
};

greet.call(person); // Output: Hello, Shefali!

In the above example,

We have a function named greet and it logs a greeting message to the console using the name property of an object.
We have an object named person with a property name set to Shefali.
Now, the call method is used to invoke the greet function.
Here, we pass the person object as an argument to call. Which means, within the greet function, “this” keyword will now refer to the person object.
So it uses this.name to access the name property of the person object and gives the output Hello, Shefali!.

apply() Method:

The apply() method is similar to call() method. The difference is that it takes arguments as an array.

For example:

function greet(greeting, message) {
  console.log(`${greeting}, ${message} ${this.name}!`);
}

const person = { 
  name: 'Shefali' 
};

greet.apply(person, ['Hello', 'Welcome']); 
// Output: Hello, Welcome Shefali!

In the above example,

We have a greet function, which takes two parameters, greeting and message.
We have an object named person with a property name set to Shefali.
Now, the apply method is used to invoke the greet function.
Here, we pass the person object as an argument to apply. Which means, within the greet function, “this” keyword will now refer to the person object and the array ['Hello', 'Welcome']provides values for the greeting and message parameters.
So the function prints the greeting, message, and the name from the person object to the console as Hello, Welcome Shefali!.

bind() Method:

The bind() method is used to create a new function with a specified value of “this” and initial arguments.

It doesn’t immediately invoke the function but returns a new function which we can call later.

For example:

function greet(greeting) {
  console.log(`${greeting}, ${this.name}!`);
}

const person = { 
  name: 'Shefali' 
};

const greetPerson = greet.bind(person, 'Good morning');
greetPerson(); // Output: Good morning, Shefali!

In the above example,

We have a greet function, which takes a parameter, greeting.
We have an object named person with a property name set to Shefali.
The bind method is used to create a new function greetPerson by associating the “this” value with the person object and providing a default value for the greeting parameter as Good morning.
When we call greetPerson(), it uses the greet function, with value of “this” set to the person object and gives the output as Good morning, Shefali!.