Fish, mirrors, and a gradualist perspective on self-awareness

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Frans B M De Waal, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-02-01
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 Frans B. M. de Waal.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000112
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS Biology
• ISSN: 1544-9173
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: e3000112
• End Page: e3000112
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
• Keywords: ambiguous behavior; self-awareness; binary; mirror mark test; gradualist model
• Research Categories: Psychology, General

Abstract

The mirror mark test has encouraged a binary view of self-awareness according to which a few species possess this capacity whereas others do not. Given how evolution works, however, we need a more gradualist model of the various ways in which animals construe a self and respond to mirrors. The recent study on cleaner wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus) by Kohda and colleagues highlights this need by presenting results that, due to ambiguous behavior and the use of physically irritating marks, fall short of mirror self-recognition. The study suggests an intermediate level of mirror understanding, closer to that of monkeys than hominids.