A A sense of self develops in young children by degrees. A 幼儿的自我意识是按程度发展的。 The process can usefully be thought of in terms of the gradual emergence of two somewhat separate features: the self as a subject, and the self as an object. 人们研究这个过程时，会有两个逐渐出现的在一定程度上相互分离的特征起到帮助作用，它们分别是自我作为主体和自我作为客体。 William James introduced the distinction in 1892, and contemporaries of his, such as Charles Cooley, added to the developing debate. 威廉·詹姆斯在 1892 年提出了两者的差异，和他同一时期的包括查尔斯·库利在内的其他一些人，也加入了讨论的行列。 Ever since then psychologists have continued building on the theory. 自那时起，心理学家们就一直在构建这一理论。

B According to James, a child’s first step on the road to self-understanding can be seen as the recognition that he or she exists. B 根据詹姆斯的观点，认识是一个儿童在自我了解的道路上迈出的第一步。 This is an aspect of the self that he labelled 'self-as-subject’, and he gave it various elements. 这是自我的其中一个方面，他称之为 “作为主体的自我”，并赋予了它多种元素。 These included an awareness of one’s own agency (i. e. one's power to act), and an awareness of one's distinctiveness from other people. 这其中就包含自我主导的意识（即一个人采取行动的力量）和自己区别于他人的意识。 These features gradually emerge as infants explore their world and interact with caregivers. 这些特征随着婴幼儿探索世界及与照顾者之间的互动而逐渐显现。 Cooley (1902) suggested that a sense of the self-as-subject was primarily concerned with being able to exercise power. 库利（1902 年）认为，自我主体的意识主要与能够行使权力有关。 He proposed that the earliest examples of this are an infant's attempts to control physical objects, such as toys or his or her own limbs. 他提出，最早的例子就是婴儿尝试去控制实物，如玩具或者他（她）自己的四肢， This is followed by attempts to affect the behaviour of other people. 之后就是尝试去影响他人的行为。 For example, infants learn that when they cry or smile someone responds to them. 例如，婴幼儿了解到，当他们哭或笑的时候，会有人对他们做出反应。

C Another powerful source of information for infants about the effects they can have on the world around them is provided when others mimic them. C关于婴幼儿对他们周围世界的影响，另一个强大的信息源就是当别人模仿他们的时候。 Many parents spend a lot of time, particularly in the early months, copying their infants vocalizations and expressions. 许多父母花大量的时间模仿他们宝宝的发声和表达，尤其是在宝宝出生的最初几个月。 In addition, young children enjoy looking in mirrors, where the movements they can see are dependent upon their own movements. 此外，孩子们喜欢照镜子，他们所看到的镜子里的动作取决于他们自己的动作。 This is not to say that infants recognize the reflection as their own image (a later development). 这并不是说，婴儿认识到自己的形象在镜子中的反射，（这是后来的发展）。 However, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) suggest that infants’ developing understanding that the movements they see in the mirror are contingent on their own, leads to a growing awareness that they are distinct from other people. 然而，刘易斯和布鲁克斯 - 冈恩（1979 年）表明，婴幼儿逐渐了解到，他们在镜子里所看到的移动其实取决于他们自己的移动，这种了解导致他们越来越意识到他们是有别于其他人的。 This is because they; and only they, can change the reflection in the mirror. 这是因为他们，而且只有他们，能够改变镜子中的反射。

D This understanding that children gain of themselves as active agents continues to develop in their attempts to co-operate with others in play. D 儿童对自己作为活动主体的这种理解，在他们尝试和他人一起玩耍中得到不断的发展。 Dunn (1988) points out that it is in such day-to-day relationships and interactions that the child's understanding of his- or herself emerges. 邓恩（1988 年）指出，正是在这种日常关系和互动中，孩子对自我的认识产生了。 Empirical investigations of the self-as-subject in young children are, however, rather scarce because of difficulties of communication: even if young infants can reflect on their experience, they certainly cannot express this aspect of the self directly. 然而，由于沟通方面的困难，关于幼儿自我作为主体的实证研究相当少，即使婴幼儿能够反思他们的经历，也肯定不能直接表达这方面的自我。

E Once children have acquired a certain level of self-awareness, they begin to place themselves in a whole series of categories which together play such an important part in defining them uniquely as 'themselves'. E 一旦孩子已经获得一定程度的自我意识，他们便开始将自己处在整个一系列的范畴中，这些类别在定义独一无二的“自己”中共同发挥着重要的作用。 This second step in the development of a full sense of self is what James called the 'self-as-object'. 发展完整的自我意识的第二个步骤，就是詹姆斯声称的 “作为客体的自我”。 This has been seen by many to be the aspect of the self which is most influenced by social elements, since it is made up of social roles (such as student, brother, colleague) and characteristics which derive their meaning from comparison or interaction with other people (such as trustworthiness, shyness, sporting ability). 许多人已经看到，这方面的自我受到了社会因素的最大影响，因为它由社会角色（如学生、兄弟、同事）及通过比较或与他人的互动中派生出的特点（如诚信、害羞、运动能力）构成。

F Cooley and other researchers suggested a close connection between a person’s own understanding of their identity and other people's understanding of it. F库利和其他研究人员提出一个人对自己身份的理解和别人对其的理解之间有着密切联系。 Cooley believed that people build up their sense of identity from the reactions of others to them, and from the view they believe others have of them. 库利认为，人们通过别人对自己的反应和看法建立自己的身份意识。 He called the self-as-object the 'looking-glass self’, since people come to see themselves as they are reflected in others. 他把作为客体的自我称之为“寻找镜中的自我”，因为每个人会像反射在别人心中的印象一样来看待自己。 Mead (1934) went even further, and saw the self and the social world as inextricably bound together: ‘The self is essentially a social structure, and it arises in social experience ... it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience.’ 米德（1934 年）研究得更加深入。他认为，自我和社会之间是千丝万缕地结合在一起的：“自我在本质上是一种社会结构，它产生于社会经历中……不可能设想出一个独立于社会经历之外的自我。”

G Lewis and Brooks-Gunn argued that an important developmental milestone is reached when children become able to recognize themselves visually without the support of seeing contingent movement. G刘易斯和布鲁克斯 — 冈恩认为，当孩子们不需要借助观察偶然的移动就能够从视觉上认识自己时，这就是一个重要的发展式的里程碑。 This recognition occurs around their second birthday. 这种认识大概产生于他们两周岁左右。 In one experiment Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) dabbed some red powder on the noses of children who were playing in front of a mirror, and then observed how often they touched their noses. 在一项实验中，刘易斯和布鲁克斯 - 冈恩（1979 年）在镜子前玩耍的孩子们的鼻子上涂了一些红色粉末，然后来观察他们摸自己鼻子的频率。 The psychologists reasoned that if the children knew what they usually looked like, they would be surprised by the unusual red mark and would start touching it. 这些心理学家们推断，如果孩子们知道他们平常的样子，就会惊讶地发现这不寻常的红色标记，并且开始触摸它。 On the other hand/ they found that children of 15 to 18 months are generally not able to recognize themselves unless other cues such as movement are present. 此外他们还发现，15 至 18 个月大的幼儿一般都不能识别自己，除非有其他线索的存在，如移动。

H Finally, perhaps the most graphic expressions of self-awareness in general can be seen in the displays of rage which are most common from 18 months to 3 years of age. H 最后，也许最生动的自我意识表达通常能够在愤怒的表现中看到，尤以 18 个月到 3 岁最为常见。 In a longitudinal study of groups of three or four children, Bronson (1975) found that the intensity of the frustration and anger in their disagreements increased sharply between the ages of 1 and 2 years. 在一项对三四个孩子的纵向研究中，布朗森（1975 年）发现，小孩在 1 岁和 2 岁期间，产生分歧时挫败和愤怒的强度会急剧上升。 Often, the children's disagreements involved a struggle over a toy that none of them had played with before or after the tug-of-war: the children seemed to be disputing ownership rather than wanting to play with it. 通常情况下，孩子们的分歧包括抢一个他们从来没有玩过或者争抢之后也不会玩的玩具：孩子们似乎争论的是玩具的所有权，而不是想要玩这个玩具。 Although it may be less marked in other societies, the link between the sense of 'self' and of 'ownership' is a notable feature of childhood in Western societies. 虽然这点可能在其他国家并不那么明显，但是在西方社会，“自我”和“所有权”之间的联系却是幼年时期的一个显著特征。