Cognitive Features Of Self-face Recognition For Children Aged5,7and9

Mirror self-recognition is an important milestone in cognitive development of children. After obtaining the ability of self-face recognition, normal children can develop other advanced psychological abilities. Most of the former researches focused on the ages when children can achieve immediate and delayed self recognition and the influential factors. There are no researches of development of self-recognition for older children. In fact, there is no significant difference between recognition of self face and other faces for5-year-old children, whereas adults show superiority effect in self-face-recognition. Many researches from cognitive neural science proved that there are many differences in brain mechanisms of self and other face recognition. Those indicate that development of recognition for self and other faces differes with each other. The former researches paid more attention on development of other-face recognition abilities, while lacked the observation of development of self-recognition. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate developmental characteristics of self-recognition for5,7and9-year-old children.The present study explores developmental characteristics of self-recognition of5,7and9-year old children from the aspects of whole faces, external features, internal features, configural information and self-enhancement.Study one investigates the influences of external and internal features to self-face recognition of5-9-year children via experiment1to3. In experiment1, upright and inverted self original faces, internal, external features were showed to children to investigate the role of internal and external features in self-face recognition. Experiment2and3further explored the role of features through changing hairstyle and internal features. The results showed that the external features play an important role in self recognition of5-year-old children, especially for girls. The level for recognition of self internal features improves with age. The influence of external features comparatively lessened for7and9-year-old children.Study two investigates the developmental trend of configural information process with external features unchanged through experiment4. In experiment4, the mouths and eyes were moved vertically for visual angel of0.2°,0.4°, or the eyes were taken apart or closed for visual angel of0.2°,0.4°,0.6°,0.8°, to explore the influence of changes of configural information on self recognition. The results showed that process of configuration improved with age. The detecting ability for minor configural information (vertical0.2°, horizontal0.4°) improved significantly between age7to9. There was no significant difference between configural information processing ability of9-year-old children and adults. Furthermore, children were more susceptible to configural information in mouth part. furthermore, children were comparatively more sensitive to vertical information than horizontal configural information.Study three explored the influence of memory to configural information process through experiment5. In experiment5, the original face and faces with configural information changed were showed simultaneously for children to explore children's detecting ability of configural information without burden of memory. The results showed that even if there was no burden of memory, children's detecting ability still improved with age.Study four investigated if there is self-enhancement effect in self face recognition, which consists one experiment. In experiment6, children's facial images were morphed with a highly attractive or unattractive same-gender, same-age target face with hairstyle unchanged. Those pictures were showed to children to choose which their original facial image was. The results found that self-enhancement was prevalent in children, e.g., they were more likely to choose an attractively enhanced version of their own face, especially5-year-old children. The self-enhancement reduced with age in children.Generally speaking, younger children process their own faces analytically. They incline to use external features as the main cue in self-face recognition. Older children tend to process their own faces holistically; external and internal features are both used in self recognition. For9-year-old children, the processing ability of features and configural information of own faces are closed to adults.The study investigates the development of self-face recognition of children aged from5to9systematically and some new findings are obtained. Yet there are still many problems need to be solved in future study. For example, eye movement and ERP researches can be used to verify the conclusions and explore factors that may influence self-face recognition.