Perceived self in infancy

Research is presented suggesting that an implicit sense of self is developing from birth, long before children begin to manifest explicit (conceptual) self-knowledge by the second year. Implicit self-knowledge in infancy is rooted in intermodal perception and action. Studies are reported showing that at least from 2 months of age, infants become increasingly systematic and deliberate in the exploration of their own body and the perceptual consequences of self-produced action. From such exploration, infants develop a sense of their own body as a differentiated entity, situated and agent in the environment. Based on recent empirical findings, the perceptual determinants of such implicit sense of self are discussed.