The beginnings of self-awareness

A sense of self is about understanding other people as well as oneself and also understanding that not everyone sees things from the same perspective.

The first step in self-awareness is the realisation by the infant that they are a separate person from their surroundings. The beginnings of this self-awareness comes through the infant's senses. This occurs during the first 2 or 3 months. For example when they cry, not only can the infant hear this, but someone comes to them. When they touch something it moves.

The concept of 'object permanence', which is the understanding that things will continue to exist even if they can't be seen, comes a bit later. In the original work in this area, Piaget said this occurred at about 8 months, but more recent research by Baillargeon demonstrates it may occur as early as 5 months. This is closely linked to the understanding that people have a separate, but permanent, existence which has been defined as people permanence. This is shown when infants recognise significant others and actively look for them. Infants of 3 months won't seem to mind when a parent goes out of sight into another room, but a 6 month old will. By 9 months they will crawl after them, into the kitchen, the garden and the bathroom.