Although the human proclivity to engage in impression management and care for reputation is ubiquitous, the question of its developmental outset remains open. In 4 studies, we demonstrate that the sensitivity to the evaluation of others (i.e., evaluative audience perception) is manifest by 24 months. In a first study, 14- to 24-month-old children (N = 49) were tested in situations in which the attention of an audience was systematically manipulated. Results showed that when the experimenter was inattentive, as opposed to attentive, children were more likely to explore an attractive toy. A second study (N = 31) explored whether same-aged children would consider not only the attention of the experimenter but also the values the experimenter expressed for two different outcomes when exploring a toy. We found that children reproduced outcomes that were positively valued by the experimenter significantly more when the experimenter was attentive but were more likely to reproduce negatively valued outcomes when the experimenter was inattentive. A third control study (N = 30) showed that the significant effect of Study 2 disappeared in the absence of different values. Lastly, Study 4 (N = 34) replicated and extended the phenomenon by showing toddler's propensity to modify their behavior in the presence of 2 different experimenters, depending on both the experimenter's evaluation of an outcome and their attention. Overall, these data provide the first convergent demonstration of evaluative audience perception in young children that precedes the full-fledged normative, mentalizing, and strong conformity psychology documented in 4- to 5-year-old children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Despite the fact that reputational concerns are central to human psychology, we know little about when and how children come to care about the evaluation of others. In this article, we review recent studies on reputational concerns in early childhood, and propose that evaluative audience perception (EAP) is necessary to understand the developmental origins of reputation. Specifically, we argue that EAP’s two defining components—the tendency to assume that others could evaluate one’s behavior and the default preference to elicit positive instead of negative evaluations—lay the foundation for the development of reputational concerns. We provide evidence suggesting that EAP would emerge by 24 months and conclude by suggesting possible developmental models of EAP.

What might constitute the awareness of an implicit body schema at the origins of development, and how does it develop to become also the awareness of an explicit body image? Those are the questions driving this chapter. The first part reviews past and more recent empirical research that demonstrates that an implicit body schema is evident from birth and in the first weeks of life. The second part of the chapter goes over a blueprint of cardinal progress in perception and action in relation to both the physical (objects) and social (people) domains. These advancements are presented as the driving force behind the development of a private and public body image emerging from the middle of the second year, as infants begin to manifest self-concept and self-consciousness proper via mirror self-recognition and the use of personal pronouns, as well as social emotions like embarrassment or pride. Lastly, the chapter further elaborates on the emergence of a public body image expressed in the first manifestations of an ‘evaluative audience perception’, or EAP, which was recently documented in 14- to 24-month-old toddlers. This development is construed as indexing the emergence of a public body image, adding to the more primordial and innate body schema that is expressed even in utero. The chapter also speculates that the development of a public body image and associated self-conscious emotions is a major trademark of what it means to be human.

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