A Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Representation in Symbolic Play, Self-recognition, and Object Permanence during the Second Year

Abstract

The development of cognitive representation was studied longitudinally in 20 infants between the ages of 12 and 24 months with regard to (1) children's understanding of agency in symbolic play (agent use), (2) recognition of their own mirror image, and (3) object permanence. Results were generally consistent with developmental sequences predicted by Fischer's Skill Theory for agent use and self-recognition. Agent use scale items developed in exactly the predicted sequence, although as might be expected, the predicted microdevelopmental steps among the first three scale items were smaller than the predicted macro-developmental step between those items and the final one. Self-recognition scale items also developed in the predicted sequence, except that children's ability to find a toy from its reflection, and their ability to detect red spots on their noses by looking in a mirror, emerged at the same time instead of in sequence. Also found was a predicted horizontal decalage in cognitive representation across the three content domains: Cognitive representation was found to develop first for object permanence, then for self-recognition and agent use in that order. This result was interpreted in terms of the numbers of different schemes theoretically coordinated in each performance.