A theoretical analysis of the cognitive capacities underlying self-awareness and other-awareness suggested that (a) self- and other-awareness are closely linked because both require a cognitive capacity for secondary representation, and (b) other-awareness facilitates the synchronic imitation of object use with an unfamiliar peer. The relation between mirror self-recognition and synchronic imitation was investigated in 56 dyads of unfamiliar 19-month-old children who were systematically paired according to their mirror self-recognition status and who were observed during free play with sets of duplicate toys. Long phases of synchronic imitation occurred in nearly all dyads consisting of recognizers but in only one dyad composed of nonrecognizers; in mixed dyads these phases were shorter than in recognizer dyads. Discussion focuses on the synchrony of the development of self- and other-awareness. During the second year of life, children's social-cognitive competence shows a dramatic increase. Kagan (1981) has described many of these changes, for example, becoming concerned with parental standards for behavior, developing a sense of one's effectiveness in solving a task, and beginning to appreciate
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Asendorpf et al. (1993) studied this question.