Early Self-Relevance

Awareness of Self

According to Bretherton and colleagues (1981) “the recognition that self and others are objectively and subjectively similar but distinct is implicit in intentional communication when it first emerges. It becomes explicit in three aspects of language development during the subsequent two years. Accordingly twenty month olds have been found to have abilities for applying sensations of cold, heat, wetness, perceived pain, hunger, thirst, and sleepiness and emotions of affection and disgust to oneself. Emotions associated with affection, acceptance, and badness to others can, at this age, be attributed to others. (Read more)

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Social Appraisals

The infant and toddler acquires an internalized knowledge of social objects, supporting the conceptualization of self as both a receptive social object (allowing formation and expression of a primary appraisal) and self as causal social agent (allowing formation and expression of a secondary appraisal). Infants as young as four-five months of age are likely able to detect social motivational discrepancies of what the infant would like to happen from what happens. In fact four month olds after learning a rewarding and engaging contingent task, ….. (Read more)

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Theory of Mind & Memory

Primary appraisals of self in interaction, in total, along with associated perceptions of another in interaction with the self, form an internal working model. This internal working model derives from social interaction patterns between self and other and how both or either seeks to complement one another during interaction. It has predictive value and attributes meaning to social interactions, based on one’s responses to another in the past. “If the caregiver has fairly consistently acknowledged the infant’s needs for comfort and protection, and respected….” (Read more)

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