Infants learn new things about their external environment every day; whether it be that hitting the drums makes loud noises or that objects are able to be picked up if you reach for them. But when do babies understand that they are people too? In other words, when do they become self-aware of themselves?

The given article answers these questions, addressing a popular test used to assess self-awareness in infants. The mirror test, also called the ‘rouge test’, is where a mark of red coloring is smudged on the infant’s nose. If the infant sees their reflection in a mirror and wipes the mark off, they are thought to have developed a sense of self. Babies who do not attempt to clean the smudge believe the reflection is another infant and not themselves; suggesting that these younger infants have not yet become self-aware. 

Self-awareness is typically acquired around two years of age, however studies have shown cross-cultural differences for this phase in children’s developmental trajectories.

 

Read the full article here!

Nolyette Verastegui

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

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