The correspondence between self- and image movement as a cue to self-recognition for young children

The importance of the correspondence between self- and image movement for the development of self-recognition was investigated in a longitudinal study with eleven 18-month old boys and girls who were seen once a month for a minimum of eight months. They were shown two self-images with movement concurrent with their own (Mirror Condition and Simultaneous Condition), two images with movement which did not correspond with their own, one of which was a self-image (Discordant Condition) and one of which was of another child (Other Child Condition), and a self-image without movement (Photograph Condition). The sequence of self-recognition was the same for all children. They recognized themselves in the conditions in which there was a correspondence between self- and image movement before they recognized themselves in the conditions where there was no such correspondence. The children tested the correspondence between self- and image movement by performing repetitive actions while attending to the movement of the image. This movement testing was significantly greater in the Simultaneous Condition than in the other conditions and showed a significant increase in the session prior to self-recognition.