Self-Concept
Being a new parent is an exciting step in life. Parents get the opportunity to experience all of a baby’s firsts. However, one thing that parents are always wondering about is what their child is thinking. Parents will watch their infants look in a mirror and smile with fascination. Piaget (?) wondered if kids recognized themselves and in 1877 he conducted a study about it.
Piaget's StudyHe had different age groups of infants. A small amount
of paint was placed on the child’s nose, and then the infant was placed in front of a mirror. The 6 month olds would reach out and touch the mirror thinking it was another child in the mirror. While the 15-18 month olds would touch their own nose realizing that there was something on them because they were the kid in the mirror. Even though they are able to recognize what they physically look like, they still don’t gain a true self-concept until later in childhood. |
Self-Concepts Impact On A Child
The way that a child sees themselves can have an effect on the way that they act (Myers, 2013, p. 189). If they have a positive view of themselves, then their actions tend to be portrayed more positively, such as being confident, but if they have a negative view, then their actions can be more negative, such as self-depravating behaviors (Myers, 2013, p. 189). Parents begin to notice a change once the kids have been in elementary school for a few years.