Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II The concept of an ecological self
- Part III The interpersonal self and its implications
- 8 The self born in intersubjectivity: The psychology of an infant communicating
- 9 On the interpersonal origins of self-concept
- 10 Infants' knowledge of self, other, and relationship
- 11 The role of feelings for an interpersonal self
- 12 Spontaneous communication and the foundation of the interpersonal self
- 13 Autism, affordances, and the self
- 14 Through feeling and sight to self and symbol
- 15 G. H. Mead and Martin Buber on the interpersonal self
- 16 Cognitive science, other minds, and the philosophy of dialogue
- Author index
- Subject index
9 - On the interpersonal origins of self-concept
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II The concept of an ecological self
- Part III The interpersonal self and its implications
- 8 The self born in intersubjectivity: The psychology of an infant communicating
- 9 On the interpersonal origins of self-concept
- 10 Infants' knowledge of self, other, and relationship
- 11 The role of feelings for an interpersonal self
- 12 Spontaneous communication and the foundation of the interpersonal self
- 13 Autism, affordances, and the self
- 14 Through feeling and sight to self and symbol
- 15 G. H. Mead and Martin Buber on the interpersonal self
- 16 Cognitive science, other minds, and the philosophy of dialogue
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
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).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Perceived SelfEcological and Interpersonal Sources of Self Knowledge, pp. 174 - 184Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1994
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