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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2010
Neisser (1988; see also this volume) has done a great service by attempting to specify the different kinds of knowledge that human beings may have of themselves. My concern is with both interpersonal and conceptual knowledge of the self, as I believe that these are intimately related. I am interested in how human beings form a concept of themselves – the “me” of Mead and James – and I believe, as they did, that this can be done only by organisms that are social or interpersonal in a very special way. This chapter is an attempt to specify the nature of this special form of sociality by focusing on recent research and theory in developmental psychology.
The 9-month miracle
Human infants are social creatures from the beginning. They show an interest in people's faces and behavior from as early as we care to measure it (Stern, 1985; see also this volume). They engage in rhythmic interactions with their caregivers (Trevarthen, 1979; see also this volume) and match their behaviors to those of their caregivers within minutes after birth (Meltzoff & Moore, 1989).
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