Sociality and self-awareness in animals
Recognizing one’s mirror reflection appears to be a simple task, but beyond humans, few animals have demonstrated this capability. Mirror self-recognition is indicative of self-awareness, which is one’s capacity for self-directed knowledge. This theoretical paper examines literature from the past 50...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1065638/full |
| _version_ | 1797953443309027328 |
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| author | Yanyu Lei |
| author_facet | Yanyu Lei |
| author_sort | Yanyu Lei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recognizing one’s mirror reflection appears to be a simple task, but beyond humans, few animals have demonstrated this capability. Mirror self-recognition is indicative of self-awareness, which is one’s capacity for self-directed knowledge. This theoretical paper examines literature from the past 50 years regarding self-recognition in over 30 species. Animals are classified based on the quantity and quality of research supporting evidence of their self-recognition abilities. Additionally, animals are classified as either social or solitary. It was found that only social animals have consistently demonstrated self-recognition, while solitary species studied so far do not seem to possess this trait. This finding aligns with the social intelligence hypothesis. This paper also reveals a lack of research on solitary species and recommends future studies examine self-recognition in these animals. A meta-analysis quantifying sociality on a numerical scale is also recommended. Given the existing evidence, this article proposes that social animals are more likely to be self-aware than solitary species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:03:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-387982e403c34c19813613d095be9a1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:03:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-387982e403c34c19813613d095be9a1f2023-01-13T16:59:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-01-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.10656381065638Sociality and self-awareness in animalsYanyu LeiRecognizing one’s mirror reflection appears to be a simple task, but beyond humans, few animals have demonstrated this capability. Mirror self-recognition is indicative of self-awareness, which is one’s capacity for self-directed knowledge. This theoretical paper examines literature from the past 50 years regarding self-recognition in over 30 species. Animals are classified based on the quantity and quality of research supporting evidence of their self-recognition abilities. Additionally, animals are classified as either social or solitary. It was found that only social animals have consistently demonstrated self-recognition, while solitary species studied so far do not seem to possess this trait. This finding aligns with the social intelligence hypothesis. This paper also reveals a lack of research on solitary species and recommends future studies examine self-recognition in these animals. A meta-analysis quantifying sociality on a numerical scale is also recommended. Given the existing evidence, this article proposes that social animals are more likely to be self-aware than solitary species.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1065638/fullself-awarenessself-recognitionmirror testsocialityanimal cognition |
| spellingShingle | Yanyu Lei Sociality and self-awareness in animals Frontiers in Psychology self-awareness self-recognition mirror test sociality animal cognition |
| title | Sociality and self-awareness in animals |
| title_full | Sociality and self-awareness in animals |
| title_fullStr | Sociality and self-awareness in animals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sociality and self-awareness in animals |
| title_short | Sociality and self-awareness in animals |
| title_sort | sociality and self awareness in animals |
| topic | self-awareness self-recognition mirror test sociality animal cognition |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1065638/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanyulei socialityandselfawarenessinanimals |