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.