"Like me" detection in infancy: Toward understanding other's mental states

The first important step toward an understanding of the other's mental state involves identification of the other person. The ability of infants to detect humans and familiar individuals is present since the time of birth; moreover, infants prefer other infants of the same age in the sense that they are similar to the infants themselves. Recent developmental hypothesis assumes that the correspondence between the self and the other, that is, the recognition of other individuals as "like me (i.e., producing identical expressions and movements)" must play an important role in the development of understanding other's mental states. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the previous literature on the social perception during infancy, with particular emphasis on the correspondence between the self and the other. Additionally, this paper discusses the role of such social perception in the subsequent development of understanding other's mental states.