SELF-RECOGNITION IN YOUNG-CHILDREN USING DELAYED VERSUS LIVE FEEDBACK- EVIDENCE OF A DEVELOPMENTAL ASYNCHRONY

The ability of young children to recognize themselves in delayed video tapes and recent photographs was investigated using a delayed analog o f the mirror mark test, as well as verbal reports. In Experiment 1, 42 2-4-year-old children were videotaped while playing an unusual game. During the game an experimenter covertly placed a large sticker on the child's head. The videotape was played back 3 min later to the childr en. Older, but not younger, children reached up to remove the sticker when the tape revealed it being placed on their heads. In Experiment 2 , a similar procedure was used with 60 3- and 4-year-olds where Polaro id photographs were taken during and after the act of the sticker bein g placed on the child's head. When allowed to look at the photographs, young 3-year-olds did not reach up to search for the sticker, whereas older 3- and 4-year-olds did. Almost all of the children who did not appear to realize that there was a sticker on their head from the info rmation provided by the photographs did provide a correct verbal label for the image, and reached up to remove the sticker when presented wi th a mirror. Experiment 3 compared the reaction of 48 21/2-31/2-year-o lds to live versus delayed video feedback and indicated an effect of t he temporal aspect of the stimulus. The results are discussed in the c ontext of the different forms of self-conception that may underwrite t he 2 manifestations of self-recognition.