Developmental Trajectories of Early Self-Recognition in Korean Toddlers: Mirror Self-Recognition and Body-Based Self-Recognition (한국 유아의 자기인식 발달 궤도: 거울 자기인식과 신체 기반 자기인식 비교)

Minji Kim (김민지); Youngon Choi (최영은)

doi:10.35574/KJDP.2025.12.38.4.151

Developmental Trajectories of Early Self-Recognition in Korean Toddlers: Mirror Self-Recognition and Body-Based Self-Recognition

THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
2025, 38(4), pp.151~170
DOI : 10.35574/KJDP.2025.12.38.4.151
Publisher : The Korean Society For Developmental Psychology
Research Area : Social Science > Psychological Science
Received : October 14, 2025
Accepted : November 24, 2025
Published : December 15, 2025

Minji Kim ¹, Youngon Choi ¹

¹중앙대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Self-recognition, the ability to understand oneself as an entity distinct from the environment, is considered a major milestone in human development. This study re-examined the developmental trajectory of early self-recognition in Korean infants within current sociocultural contexts, investigating both independent and relational self-recognition. One hundred four infants aged 15-26 months completed mirror self-recognition tasks assessing autonomous self-recognition and Cart self-recognition tasks (Body-as-Obstacle tasks) assessing relational self-recognition between body and objects. Results showed that success rates increased with age on both tasks, with most infants succeeding after 24 months. Success rates for mirror self-recognition were higher than for cart tasks. Unlike Korean infants in the early 2000s, the current sample demonstrated relatively high mirror self-recognition success from 15-17 months onward, exhibiting patterns more similar to those of North American infants. These findings suggest that early self-recognition in Korean infants is emerging more rapidly than in the past, a phenomenon likely associated with sociocultural changes in Korea.

KEYWORDS

Self-Recognition, Autonomous Self, Related Self, Development, Sociocultural influence

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