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Mirror Self-Recognition

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Synonyms

Self-awareness; Self-recognition

Definition

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror.

Introduction

Mirror self-recognition (MSR), the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror and “the ability to become the object of your own attention” (Gallup 1982, pp. 242–243) is considered to be a reliable indicator that humans and some other animals recognize their reflection in a mirror as an external representation of self (Amsterdam 1972; Anderson 1984; Gallup 1970; Rochat 2003). Researchers have used mirrors as tools to study the development and perception of self in human and nonhuman species. Developmental studies of MSR in humans indicate that the earliest age children first show self-directed behavior is 12–15 months and mark-directed behavior (passing the mark test) first emerges between 18–24 months (Amsterdam 1972; Anderson 1984; Bard et al. 2006; see review in Reiss and Morrison 2017). It has been theorized that proprioceptive awareness may be an antecedent of the onset of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Hunter College of The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Diana Reiss

  2. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC, USA

    Rachel Morrison

Authors
  1. Diana Reiss
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  2. Rachel Morrison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana Reiss .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Dawson Clary

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Reiss, D., Morrison, R. (2018). Mirror Self-Recognition. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1493-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1493-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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