Who Am I? A Longitudinal Investigation of the Multidimensional Self

Abstract

Cross-sectional research employing the mirror mark test of self-recognition has dominated research focused on the development of self-reflection in children. However, the mirror mark test may fail to capture the complexity of self as a social object, and the developmental antecedents and consequences of self-reflection remain largely uncharted. Here, we provide an overview of the extant longitudinal data on mirror self-recognition and present our own longitudinal findings based on a multidimensional parent-report measure of children's self-development. Offering a snapshot of development over 3 months for 74 children aged between 14 and 36 months, and mirroring extant longitudinal data for mirror self-recognition, our results suggest that increases in self-reflection are longitudinally related to developments in pretend play, prosocial behaviour, imitation and declarative pointing. However, although baseline self-reflection was statistically predictive of children's prosocial behaviour at follow-up, no strong developmental predictor of self-reflection emerged. We conclude that more longitudinal research, moving beyond or supplementing mirror self-recognition, is needed to identify the cognitive and social precursors of self-reflection. Nevertheless, growth in ‘moral’ behaviour emerges as a significant developmental consequence of this capacity in a western sample. Further research is needed to explore cultural variability in developmental pathways to and from self-reflection.