The mirror test measures self-awareness in animals and humans by observing their reaction to their reflection. It was believed to only be present in higher primates, but has been found in other species such as dolphins, elephants, and magpies. The test is conducted by placing a recognizable spot of dye on the subject’s body and observing if they recognize it in the mirror. The test is less effective in animals that are not concerned with their appearance. The age at which human infants pass the test varies across cultures.
The mirror test is a practice in psychology that has been used since the early 1970s to determine whether an animal or human child possesses a level of innate self-awareness when it sees its own reflection in a mirror. The idea of using mirrors to measure self-awareness is based on experiments Charles Darwin conducted when he used them to observe the reactions of orangutans in zoos. For many decades, the mirror test was believed to reveal the fact that only higher primates had the ability to be self-aware on a fundamental level. Increasing use of the test over time, however, has revealed the presence of self-awareness in other species such as oceanic mammals such as dolphins and killer whales, elephants and the crow family including magpies.
The first conclusive evidence that magpies could pass the mirror test occurred in 2008 and challenged the practice of cognitive testing using mirrors as reliable science. Previous hypotheses of self-awareness present only in some primates were based on the fact that these species possessed a well-developed neocortical region of the brain. The neocortex is the largest region of the cerebral cortex of the brain in higher animals and is thought to be the most recently developed region from an evolutionary point of view. The neocortex, which is the center of all higher brain function, does not exist in the magpie at all.
The manner in which the mirror test is conducted is open to some subjective interpretation, but is generally considered reliable as statistical evidence over time has confirmed its results. With animals, the subject is given a small recognizable spot of dye on its body, and when presented with a mirror to the animal, if it detects the spot of dye and therefore recognizes the reflection in the mirror as one of its own body, it will attempt to interact with the spot. The animal can demonstrate that it recognizes itself by trying to remove the dye spot or by looking for it on its own body, where it would otherwise not have been able to see it without the aid of the mirror. An animal that fails the mirror test will react to its own reflection as if it were another animal with aggressive or fear-based responses.
In human infants, evidence in the past has suggested that infants were unable to recognize their reflection as an image of themselves until at least 18 months of age. Until 2010 it was believed that nearly all human babies were able to pass the mirror test by the age of 24 months, but this has been shown to be a false test-based bias that is predominant on infants in Western nations. Children in some non-Western nations such as Kenya and Fiji may not pass the test until the age of 6, which has led to questions about the unbiased nature of science itself. Only four primate species outside of humans also consistently pass the mirror test, and species like capuchin monkeys or other intelligent mammals like pigs universally fail it.
The mirror test tends to work in animals that are excessively concerned about their appearance, such as magpies, and works less well in others. For example, although elephants pass the mirror test and are commonly accepted as self-aware creatures, research in 2006 revealed that only one in three elephants passed the test. This is believed to be because elephants have little motivation or concern to investigate strange markings that are placed on their skin and can only be examined and manipulated by looking at their image in a mirror. The same defect may exist in the temperament of most dogs, which appear to recognize themselves in mirrors but have little desire to examine the spots placed upon their bodies. Gorillas are one of the most successful primates to pass the mirror test, and part of the reason for this is thought to be the gorilla’s highly social behavior, ranking among groups for eye contact and physical appearance which makes them overly interested in change. evident.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
