The innate sense of the body develops to become a public affair by 2-3 years

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Neuroscience
• Child development

Background:

• Infants possess an innate sense of their physical self as distinct from the environment.
• This implicit bodily self-awareness evolves into explicit, social self-concept.
• Maturation of prefrontal cortex regions is implicated in self-development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the developmental trajectory of the embodied self from infancy to toddlerhood.
• To investigate the emergence of self-consciousness and its relation to social perception.
• To examine the parallel development of the sense of possession ('mine') with self-awareness.

Main Methods:

• Observational studies of infant and toddler behavior.
• Neuroimaging studies correlating brain maturation with self-related behaviors (inferred).
• Developmental assessments of self-recognition and possession behaviors.

Main Results:

• Infants' implicit sense of self becomes explicit and socially oriented by age two.
• Self-consciousness emerges as children perceive themselves through others' evaluations.
• The concept of 'mine' develops concurrently, extending the embodied self to include possessions.

Conclusions:

• The transition to self-consciousness around age two is a significant developmental leap.
• Social evaluation and the development of ownership are key components of this self-awareness transition.
• Understanding this developmental phase offers insights into early social cognition and brain development.