ABSTRACT

Mastery motivation is a major impetus in the formation of children's early self-concept. In the self-concept literature, a fundamental distinction is made between the self as actor and the self as an object to be known by others and evaluated. This distinction is frequently referred to as 'the l' and 'the me' (Harter 1983; James 1890; Lewis and Brooks-Gunn 1979). It is through acting upon the environment that the infant becomes aware of the self as agent, which is one of the first steps in self-concept formation (the self as '1'); this begins in the first year of life. The self as 'me' develops later - beginning in the second year of life.