The development of early visual self-recognition

Abstract

Until quite recently, the preverbal child was believed to have little awareness of the self. The acceptance of a more active and constructionist view of the young child has led to a reconsideration of the young child's concept of the self. In the present paper, the literature on the development of visual self-recognition is reviewed with respect to five topics—(1) phylogenetic trends in the emergence of self-recognition, (2) ontogenetic changes in the first 3 years of life, (3) individual differences in the expression of self-recognition, (4) social and cognitive factors as they relate to self-recognition, (5) methodological issues associated with the measurement of self-recognition. The self-recognition findings are discussed in terms of their possible relevance for social relations, social cognition, and affective growth. Observation 61—Jacqueline seems not to have looked at her hands before 0; 2(30). But on this date and the following days she frequently notices her moving fingers and looks at them attentively. At 0; 3(22) her glance follows her hands which turn aside and she seems very much surprised to see them reappear. Observation 57—Beginning 0; 2(8) Laurent constantly pulls at his face before, during, or after sucking his fingers. This behavior slowly gains interest for its own sake and thus gives use to two distinct habits. The first consists in holding his nose. Thus at 0; 2(17) Laurent babbles and smiles without any desire to suck, while holding his nose with his right hand. (Piaget, 1963/1952/1936, pp. 93–96) When four and a half months old, he repeatedly smiled at my image and his own in a mirror, and no doubt mistook them for real objects; but he showed sense in being evidently surprised at my voice coming from behind him. Like all infants he much enjoyed thus looking at himself, and in less than two months perfectly understood that it was an image; for if I made quite silently any odd grimace, he would suddenly turn around to look at me. When nine months old he associated his own name with his image in the looking-glass, and when called by name would turn towards the glass even when at some distance from it. (Darwin, 1877, pp. 289–290)