Abstract
Summary Interest in the comparative study of mirror self-recognition persists because of the implications for self-awareness and the possibility of a cognitive divide among primates. Evidence from many studies carried out over 40 years shows that humans and great apes are distinguished from other nonhuman primates by their capacity for self-recognition. We review some recent developments in the field, with critical reference to claims that monkeys show self-recognition. Focusing on methodological issues, we conclude that there is no compelling evidence for mirror self-recognition in any non-ape primate species. Evidence for Self-Recognition
Highlights
Since the original demonstration of mirror self-recognition in chimpanzees and the failure of macaques to show selfrecognition [1], many studies have investigated mirror-image reactions in monkeys and apes. This literature points to the following general conclusion regarding how nonhuman primates interpret their reflection in mirrors: members of most species of great apes have shown compelling evidence that they recognize themselves, but no monkey has done so [2]
Great apes typically display mirror selfrecognition by showing diminished social responses toward the reflection and spontaneously using the mirror to investigate parts of their body that cannot be seen without a mirror
Some authors prefer to consider selfawareness as a continuum [13], the weight of evidence supports the view that the ability to direct one’s attention to the self involves a qualitative cognitive shift, one that has occurred only recently in primate evolutionary history and in relatively few species
Summary
Since the original demonstration of mirror self-recognition in chimpanzees and the failure of macaques to show selfrecognition [1], many studies have investigated mirror-image reactions in monkeys and apes. This literature points to the following general conclusion regarding how nonhuman primates interpret their reflection in mirrors: members of most species of great apes have shown compelling evidence that they recognize themselves, but no monkey has done so [2].
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