Individual Differences in the Expression of Self Recognition

Abstract

In the last four chapters, we have presented several different procedures for measuring one important aspect of the concept of self—visual self recognition. Infants’ reactions to seeing themselves in a variety of visual representational forms, including pictures, mirrors, and videotapes, have been explored, with quite striking developmental trends occurring in all three representational forms. Clear trends involve self-directed behavior in mirrors: specifically touching one’s nose after the application of rouge, contingent play in contingent self videotape representations, imitative behavior in noncontingent self videotape representations, and verbal labeling and comprehension of pictorial representations. For example, in Mirror Study I, none of the 9- to 12-, one-quarter of the 15- to 18-, and three-quarters of the 21- to 24-month-olds noticed the rouge on their noses. In Videotape Study I, 30% of the 9- to 12-, 82% of the 15- to 18-, and 100% of the 21- to 24-month-olds played contingently in the contingent videotape condition, and 3% of the 9- to 12-, 35% of the 15- to 18-, and 50% of the 21- to 24-month olds imitated a videotape of themselves. These data, in conjunction with our other findings, show that self recognition, regardless of how it is measured, increases dramatically over the first two years of life.