The Development of Self-Understanding from Infancy Through Adolescence

DAMON, WILLIAM, and HART, DANIEL. The Development of Self-Understanding from Infancy through Adolescence. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 841-864. This review focuses on selfunderstanding, the cognitive basis for self-conception. Its purpose is to construct from the psychological literature a descriptive account of self-understanding development between infancy and adolescence. The paper begins by distinguishing self-understanding from other aspects of self-concept, in particular self-esteem. It is argued that a developmental model of self-understanding is a necessary step in the assessment and study of children's self-esteem. Next, the review presents a justification for studying self-understanding separately from other social cognitive achievements (such as understanding other people). With reference to William James's theory, the self as a cognitive concept is analyzed into its diverse components. Empirical studies of self-understanding in infants, children, and adolescents are then summarized and placed within the theoretical framework of this conceptual analysis. The review identifies the developmental trends consistently uncovered by empirical studies and presents a chronological account based on these trends. Finally, the review proposes a developmental model that outlines genetic and conceptual relations among different aspects of self-understanding. This model is extrapolated from the available literature, which is still in a germinal phase; therefore, the model is considered speculative at this point. It is hoped that the model will be subject to further empirical testing in time and will provide a theoretical basis for more precise definition of developmental patterns in self-understanding between infancy and adolescence.