Cultural Variations in Children’s Mirror Self-Recognition

Author:

Broesch Tanya1,Callaghan Tara2,Henrich Joseph3,Murphy Christine4,Rochat Philippe1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

2. Department of Psychology, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

3. Department of Psychology and Department of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

4. Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Abstract

Western children first show signs of mirror self-recognition (MSR) from 18 to 24 months of age, the benchmark index of emerging self-concept. Such signs include self-oriented behaviors while looking at the mirror to touch or remove a mark surreptitiously placed on the child’s face. The authors attempted to replicate this finding across cultures using a simplified version of the classic “mark test.” In Experiment 1, Kenyan children ( N = 82, 18 to 72 months old) display a pronounced absence of spontaneous self-oriented behaviors toward the mark. In Experiment 2, the authors tested children in Fiji, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Peru ( N = 133, 36 to 55 months old), as well as children from urban United States and rural Canada. As expected from existing reports, a majority of the Canadian and American children demonstrate spontaneous self-oriented behaviors toward the mark. However, markedly fewer children from the non-Western rural sites demonstrate such behaviors. These results suggest that there are profound cross-cultural differences in the meaning of the MSR test, questioning the validity of the mark test as a universal index of self-concept in children’s development.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Anthropology,Cultural Studies,Social Psychology

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