Self Recognition and Tactile Guidance

Infants develop knowledge of their own bodies by using touch and body position to guide action. Across the first year they become better at finding a small touch on the face and bringing the hand to the correct location. That improvement indicates a growing sensorimotor body map. Simple practice with gentle touches at known sites can accelerate these gains. Better skill at localizing touch is also linked to success on mirror self recognition. Together these findings show how coordinated perception and action support early self knowledge in everyday life.

Relevant Publications

Tactile localization promotes infant self-recognition in the mirror-mark test.
Chinn, L. K., Noonan, C. F., Patton, K. S., & Lockman, J. J. (2024).
Current Biology, 34(6), 1370–1375.e2. [DOI]

Tactile training facilitates infants’ ability to reach to targets on the body.
Somogyi, E., Hamilton, M., Chinn, L. K., Jacquey, L., Heed, T., Hoffmann, M., Lockman, J. J., Fagard, J., & O’Regan, J. K. (2023).
Child Development, 94(3), e154–e165. [DOI]

The human face becomes mapped as a sensorimotor reaching space during the first year.
Chinn, L. K., Noonan, C. F., & Lockman, J. J. (2021).
Child Development, 92(2), 760–773. [DOI]

Reaching to the self: The development of infants’ ability to localize targets on the body.
Leed, J. E., Chinn, L. K., & Lockman, J. J. (2019).
Psychological Science, 30(7), 1063–1073. [DOI]