Foundations of human self-reflection: Error-monitoring developmentally predicts the emergence of self-representation
bioRxiv March 27, 2026 Cécile Gal, Dimitrios Askitis, Katarina Begus preprint
Self-reflection is central to human cognition and is arguably a defining feature of human consciousness. Yet, the mechanisms enabling our mind to reflect upon itself and to construct a conceptual sense of self remain poorly understood. This study brings empirical traction to the puzzle of self-reflection by studying human infants, across the period when a conceptual self is believed to emerge,...