BUTCH MANRIQUEZ BS PSYCHOLOGY 2

ASSIGNMENT 2

Early Self-Knowledge and Emotional Development: Visual Self-Recognition

and Affective Reactions to Mirror Self-images in Maltreated
and Non-Maltreated Toddlers
By: Karen Schneider-Rosen and Dante Cicchetti

The study investigated the interplay between child maltreatment, socio-economic status
(SES), visual self-recognition, and emotional responses to mirror images in children aged 18, 24,
and 30 months. It found that maltreated children, despite coming from lower SES backgrounds,
showed similar visual self-recognition development as nonmaltreated children. However,
differences were observed in their emotional reactions to mirror self-images.

Hierarchical loglinear modeling was used to explore these relationships, indicating that
multiple factors influence the development of self-knowledge in children. The study underscored
the importance of examining emotional responses alongside visual self-recognition to gain a
comprehensive understanding of self-awareness development.

Furthermore, Children in the study were brought into a playroom with a mirror and
accompanied by an experimenter and their mother. They were encouraged to stand in front of the
mirror, and their spontaneous reaction was observed for at least 30 seconds. Visual self-
recognition was tested by discreetly applying blue rouge to the child's nose and observing their
reaction. Cognitive abilities were assessed using age-appropriate tests, including object
permanence and language development assessments. Emotional responses to the mirror image
were measured, along with visual self-recognition, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of
the child's self-awareness. Observations were recorded on videotape, with specific criteria used
to define visual self-recognition. Affective expressions were coded based on mouth position, eye
direction, eye openness, and eyebrow position. Four main facial expression categories were
identified: positive, negative, neutral/attentive, and coy. Each child was classified into one of
these categories, with interrater reliability for these measures being high. Any disagreements
between raters were resolved through joint review of the videotapes.

Each child received a dichotomous score (yes/no) for visual self-recognition and a rating
of spontaneous affective expression in response to the mirror self-image of either positive,
negative, or neutral. Additionally, the presence of a coy expression was noted. Preliminary
analyses across age groups showed no differences in sex or exact age between children who did
and did not recognize themselves, or between different affective expression categories. There
were no significant differences in cognitive functioning between maltreated and nonmaltreated
children across different SES groups. Furthermore, there was no relationship found between
cognitive functioning and affective measures or visual self-recognition capacity.
 The strength and limitation of this study are; the researchers provided a comprehensive
examination of the intricate connections among child maltreatment, socio-economic status
(SES), visual self-recognition, and emotional responses to mirror images, offering a holistic
perspective on self-awareness development in children. However, potential confounding
variables such as parental involvement or attachment patterns might have influenced the results,
despite efforts to control for differences in cognitive functioning. Additionally, the cross-
sectional design restricted the ability to establish causal relationships, underscoring the need for
longitudinal investigations to elucidate the developmental trajectory of self-awareness.
Moreover, the relatively small sample sizes within each subgroup may have limited the extent to
which the findings could be extrapolated to broader populations.

Overall, the study aimed to elucidate how maltreatment, SES, and age influence
children's development of visual self-recognition and emotional responses to mirror images. It
highlighted the complexity of these relationships and the importance of considering multiple
factors in understanding children's self-awareness development.

REFERENCES

Schneider-Rosen, Karen; Cicchetti, Dante (1991). Early self-knowledge and emotional

development: Visual self-recognition and affective reactions to mirror self-images in
maltreated and non-maltreated toddlers.. Developmental Psychology, 27(3), 471–478.
doi:10.1037/0012-1649.27.3.471

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