ABSTRACT
Infants’ early self-knowledge emerges with their ability to notice contingency between their own actions and external responses. This self-knowledge is perceptually based and arises before representational thought (Neisser, 1988, 1991, 1993). By perceiving change as a result of their actions, infants develop a sense that they are agents of that change. This sense of self-efficacy underlies infants’ social exchanges with others, which are essential to their social and emotional development. This awareness also stimulates curiosity about the environment, which leads to exploration and cognitive development. Thus, infants’ self knowledge, generated by their awareness of the contingency between their behavior and external changes, influences their subsequent developmental processes.
