Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
Published on: March 1, 2017
Self-recognition: a study of a population without mirrors
Abstract:
The study of the influence of familiarity with mirrors on children's capacity to identify their reflected images permitted differentiation between two problems that confront the child in the mirror situation: (a) the identity of the image and (b) the capacity to relate mirror space to real space. Sixty children, 6 to 26 months old, without previous experience with mirrors, were observed systematically while discovering their mirror image and a reflected object. Their behavior was compared to a control group with habitual mirror familiarity. The results suggest that (a) self-recognition in the mirror is independent of the child's familiarity with reflecting surfaces and (b) the capacity to relate mirror to real space seems to be strongly influenced by previous experience with mirrors.
Related Concept Videos
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Self-Concept
Infancy and Emerging Recognition
During infancy, self-concept is virtually nonexistent. Babies do not distinguish themselves as separate entities and often mistake their...
Understanding Self-Concept
The Looking Glass Self
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other

