Young children's sense of identity: reading answers and analysis
How young children develop a sense of self in two stages: the self as subject, where they learn they can act on the world, and the self as object, where they see themselves through social roles and others' views. The passage draws on James, Cooley, Mead, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn's mirror experiments, and Bronson's study of toddler disputes.
The paragraph matching (14-19) uses G twice and runs out of order. The researcher matching (20-23) spans B to H. The summary (24-26) follows the passage, from C and D to H.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 14-19 · Matching information (paragraphs A-H)
How to attack this block: G holds two answers: the red-powder method and the age of self-recognition. Separate a description of a method from a finding, and look for a contrast between societies for the culture item.
Question 14
Answer: GParagraph G, middle
Which paragraph describes how researchers carried out one study?
Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) dabbed some red powder on the noses of children who were playing in front of a mirror, and then observed how often they touched their noses
Question says → Passage says
an account of the methoddabbed some red powder… and then observed how often they touched their noses
in a particular studyIn one experiment
Why: G walks through the red-powder experiment step by step: what they did, what they watched for and their reasoning. That's a method.
The trap: H mentions Bronson's 'longitudinal study', but only names the type of study and its findings, not how it was done. C names Lewis and Brooks-Gunn too, but gives their conclusion, not their method.
Question 15
Answer: CParagraph C, first two sentences
Which paragraph shows copying helping a child's sense of self?
Another powerful source of information for infants about the effects they can have on the world around them is provided when others mimic them.
Question says → Passage says
imitationothers mimic them / copying their infant's vocalizations and expressions
developing a sense of identitya growing awareness that they are distinct from other people
Why: 'Mimic' and 'copying' are both imitation, and C explains how this tells infants about their own effects on the world. C.
The trap: F's 'looking-glass self' is about seeing yourself reflected in others' views, which sounds like imitation. It's about others' opinions, not copying.
Question 16
Answer: GParagraph G, first two sentences
Which paragraph gives the age when children recognise a still image of themselves?
children become able to recognize themselves visually without the support of seeing contingent movement. This recognition occurs around their second birthday.
Question says → Passage says
identify a static image of themselvesrecognize themselves visually without the support of seeing contingent movement
the agearound their second birthday
Why: 'Without… movement' is what makes the image static, and 'around their second birthday' is the age. G again; the NB allows it.
The trap: C talks about mirrors too, but says infants don't yet recognise the reflection as themselves. H gives ages (18 months to 3 years), but they're for tantrums.
Question 17
Answer: DParagraph D, last sentence
Which paragraph explains why research on 'self-as-subject' is limited?
Empirical investigations of the self-as-subject in young children are, however, rather scarce because of difficulties of communication
Question says → Passage says
the limitations of scientific researchEmpirical investigations… are… rather scarce
a reasonbecause of difficulties of communication
Why: 'Empirical investigations' are scientific research, 'scarce' is the limitation, and 'because of' gives the reason: infants can't express their experience.
The trap: B introduces 'self-as-subject' and explains it, so people go there. B has no research problem.
Question 18
Answer: HParagraph H, last sentence
Which paragraph suggests culture may be linked to a type of behaviour?
Although it may be less marked in other societies, the link between the sense of 'self' and of 'ownership' is a notable feature of childhood in Western societies.
Question says → Passage says
cultureWestern societies / other societies
a possible linkmay be less marked
a particular form of behaviourdisputing ownership
Why: The writer contrasts Western societies with others, saying the self-ownership link may be weaker elsewhere. 'May' makes the link only possible. H.
The trap: E talks about social roles, which sound cultural, but E never compares societies.
Question 19
Answer: EParagraph E, last sentence
Which paragraph lists the many things that make up 'self-as-object'?
it is made up of social roles (such as student, brother, colleague) and characteristics which derive their meaning from comparison or interaction with other people (such as trustworthiness, shyness, sporting ability)
Question says → Passage says
examplessuch as student, brother, colleague / such as trustworthiness, shyness, sporting ability
the wide range of featuresa whole series of categories
Why: E gives two sets of examples, roles and characteristics, and they're very different from each other. That's the 'wide range'. E.
The trap: F also deals with self-as-object (the 'looking-glass self'), but it explains how it forms, with no list of features.
Matching statements to people
Questions 20-23
How to attack this block: James and Cooley both appear in B, and Cooley's 'looking-glass' is a metaphor that sounds like a mirror. Match each finding's key idea: never without others (Mead), power over things and people (Cooley), anger (Bronson), mirrors (Lewis and Brooks-Gunn).
Question 20
Answer: DParagraph F, last sentence
Who says identity can't form without relationships with others?
it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience
Question says → Passage says
can never be formedit is impossible to conceive of a self arising
without relationships with other peopleoutside of social experience
Why: 'Impossible' matches 'never', and 'outside of social experience' is 'without relationships'. Mead, D, 'went even further' than Cooley.
The trap: Cooley (B) also links identity to others' reactions, but he says it's built from them. Only Mead says it is impossible without them.
Question 21
Answer: BParagraph B, second half
Who links self-awareness to control over objects and people?
Cooley (1902) suggested that a sense of the self-as-subject was primarily concerned with being able to exercise power.
Question says → Passage says
a sense of masterybeing able to exercise power
over things and peopleattempts to control physical objects… attempts to affect the behaviour of other people
Why: Cooley says self-as-subject is about exercising power, first over toys and limbs, then over people's behaviour. Mastery over things and people: B.
The trap: James (A) is in the same paragraph and mentions 'agency', a power to act. But it's Cooley who spells out control over objects and then people.
Question 22
Answer: EParagraph H
Who found that identity at a certain age leads to aggressive behaviour?
Bronson (1975) found that the intensity of the frustration and anger in their disagreements increased sharply between the ages of 1 and 2 years
Question says → Passage says
aggressive behaviourdisplays of rage / frustration and anger
At a certain agebetween the ages of 1 and 2 years
Why: H presents rage as an expression of self-awareness, and Bronson found the anger rose sharply between one and two. That's E.
The trap: Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (C) also study two-year-olds, but their finding is about recognising themselves, not about anger.
Question 23
Answer: CParagraph C, second half
Who says seeing their reflection adds to children's self-awareness?
infants' developing understanding that the movements they see in the mirror are contingent on their own, leads to a growing awareness that they are distinct from other people
Question says → Passage says
Observing their own reflectionthe movements they see in the mirror
contributes to children's self awarenessleads to a growing awareness that they are distinct
Why: Lewis and Brooks-Gunn argue that watching their mirror movements helps infants realise they are distinct from others. That's C.
The trap: Cooley's 'looking-glass self' (B) sounds like a mirror, but it's a metaphor for seeing yourself in other people's reactions.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: One word each, all nouns. The summary paraphrases closely, so find the matching phrase and lift the noun ('difficulties of communication' becomes 'communication problems').
Question 24
Answer: mirrorParagraph C, middle
What do children face to make an image move?
young children enjoy looking in mirrors, where the movements they can see are dependent upon their own movements
Question says → Passage says
causing the image to movethe movements they can see are dependent upon their own movements
Why: The image moves because the child moves, and that happens in a mirror. The summary says 'a ___', so write the singular 'mirror'.
The trap: 'Reflection' is close in meaning, but you don't face a reflection, and the gap needs the object.
Question 25
Answer: communicationParagraph D, last sentence
What kind of problems make this hard to research directly?
rather scarce because of difficulties of communication
Question says → Passage says
difficult to research directlyEmpirical investigations… are, however, rather scarce / cannot express this aspect of the self directly
___ problemsdifficulties of communication
Why: 'Difficulties of communication' becomes 'communication problems'. The gap sits before 'problems', so it needs the noun 'communication' used like an adjective.
The trap: 'Empirical' is in the same sentence, but empirical problems aren't the reason. Some students also write 'expression', which isn't the passage's word.
Question 26
Answer: ownershipParagraph H, last sentence
In Western societies, what is self-awareness often linked to?
the link between the sense of 'self' and of 'ownership' is a notable feature of childhood in Western societies
Question says → Passage says
linked to a sense ofthe link between the sense of 'self' and of
can lead to disputesthe children seemed to be disputing ownership
Why: The summary repeats 'link' and 'sense of', and 'Western societies' is in both. The other half of the link is 'ownership'.
The trap: 'Toy' is what the children fought over, but the writer says they weren't really interested in the toy, only in owning it.
Cooley and Mead both tie identity to other people, but only Mead says a self can't arise outside social experience.
Words from this passage worth keeping
by degrees(A)
gradually, a little at a time
agency(B)
the power to act and make things happen
mimic(C)
copy someone's actions or sounds
contingent on(C)
depending on
empirical(D)
based on observation or experiment
scarce(D)
in short supply
inextricably(F)
in a way that can't be separated
longitudinal(H)
following the same people over a long period
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The full Cambridge 9 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 9, Test 4, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
