Situational changes in self-awareness influence 3- and 4-year-olds’ self-regulation

• Published in: Journal of experimental child psychology Vol. 108; no. 1; pp. 126 - 138
• Main Authors: Ross, J., Anderson, J.R., Campbell, R.N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 2011; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Altruism; Awareness; Behavior; Behavior Standards; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Child psychology; Child, Preschool; Cues; Deindividuation; Developmental psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Metacognition; Objective self-awareness; Preschool Children; Prosocial behavior; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Self awareness; Self Concept; Self Control; Self-conscious; Self-evaluation; Self-recognition; Self-regulation; Social Adjustment; Social Behavior; Social Control, Informal; Socialization; Preschool children; Prosocial behavior; Self-conscious; Deindividuation; Self-recognition; Objective self-awareness; Self-evaluation; Self-regulation; Human; Preschool age; Self-consciousness; Self evaluation; Self perception; Self; Experimental study; Social development; Self regulation; Child; Recognition
• ISSN: 0022-0965; 1096-0457
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.08.003

In adults, heightened self-awareness leads to adherence to socially valued norms, whereas lowered self-awareness is associated with antinormative behavior. Levels of self-awareness are influenced by environmental cues such as mirrors. Do situational changes in self-awareness also have an impact on preschoolers’ self-regulation? Adherence to a socially valued standard was observed under different conditions of self-focus. In Experiment 1 the standard was prescribed (“don’t look in the box”), and in Experiment 2 children had the opportunity to be altruistic. Heightened self-focus was induced using a large mirror. In a neutral condition, the nonreflective side of the mirror was shown. To lower self-focus, children wore a disguise. Preschoolers peeked less and showed more altruism when the mirror image was present. As found for adults, it appears that self-awareness leads 3- and 4-year-olds to adhere to salient social standards. These results suggest that self-focus has a socially adaptive regulatory function from an early age.