Development of Self‐Recognition, Personal Pronoun Use, and Pretend Play During the 2nd Year

Abstract

This study examined the relation of visual self-recognition to personal pronoun use and pretend play. For a longitudinal sample (N=66) at the ages when self-recognition was emerging (15, 18, and 21 months), self-recognition was related to personal pronoun use and pretend play such that children showing self-recognition used more personal pronouns and demonstrated more advanced pretend play than did children not showing self-recognition. The finding of a relation among these measures provides additional evidence that in the middle of the 2nd year of life a metarepresentation of self emerges in the human child.

Theory of own mind in autism

“…Developmentally speaking, the case of autism seems also to demonstrate that one can have a diminished awareness of the psychological self without any obvious implications for awareness of the physical self. Therefore, contrary to the view expressed by Lewis and Ramsey (2004), for example, reflexive awareness of the physical self does not depend on the kind of meta-. Vice versa, awareness of the physical self is not sufficient for the development of awareness of the psychological self, although such awareness may be necessary (cf.…”

“…It is based on the what one knows. This mental state is a meta , emphasis added) In support of this suggestion, Lewis points to findings by Lewis and Ramsey (2004) that show mirror self-recognition to be closely associated with personal pronoun use and pretend play amongst young typically developing children.…”

The Self as a Collection of Multiple Self-Aspects: Structure, Development, Operation, and Implications

“…Unfortunately, our understanding of the development and evolution of self-concepts is nascent in part because much of the existent literature examines self-concept in a snapshot fashion (e.g., studies involving undergraduates' perceptions of themselves at one point in time) or examines specific issues such as when children become self-aware (e.g., Lewis & Ramsay, 2004). Some research has explored the development of self-esteem and domain-specific competencies (e.g., Harter, 1992;Marsh & Ayotte, 2003), but there have been few investigations involving the development of self-concept representation (but see Amiot, de la Sablonnière, Terry, & Smith, 2007;Marsh & Shavelson, 1985;Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976).…”

Brain activation when hearing one's own and others' names

“…Self representation in children begins in the first year of life (Butterworth, 1992;Lewis, 1995;Meltzoff, 1990) and further developments emerge in the middle of the second year including self recognition, pretend play and use of personal pronouns (Lewis and Brooks-Gunn, 1979; Lewis and Ramsay, 2004). Quantitative measures of brain maturation (Carmody et al, 2004) applied to infants and young children have shown the relations between brain maturation of the left temporo-parietal and right medial frontal cortex and the emergence of self representational behavior (Lewis and Carmody, 2006).…”