Editing Mirror test (section)

{{Short description|Animal self-awareness test}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Mirror test with a Baboon.JPG|thumb|The [[hamadryas baboon]] is one of many primate species that has been administered the mirror test.|alt=]]
The '''mirror test'''—sometimes called the '''mark test''', '''mirror self-recognition''' ('''MSR''') '''test''', '''red spot technique''', or '''rouge test'''—is a [[animal behavior|behavioral]] technique developed in 1970 by American psychologist [[Gordon G. Gallup|Gordon Gallup Jr.]] to determine whether an animal possesses the ability of visual self-recognition.<ref name="Gallup">{{cite journal
| author = Gallup, GG Jr.
| title = Chimpanzees: Self recognition
| journal = Science
| volume = 167
| pages = 86–87
| year = 1970
| doi = 10.1126/science.167.3914.86
| pmid = 4982211 
| issue = 3914 
| bibcode = 1970Sci...167...86G
| s2cid = 145295899
}}</ref>  In this test, an animal is [[anesthetized]] and then marked (e.g. paint or sticker) on an area of the body the animal normally cannot see (e.g. forehead). When the animal recovers from the anesthetic, it is given access to a [[mirror]]. If the animal then touches or investigates the mark on itself, it is taken as an indication that the animal perceives the reflected image as an image of itself, rather than of another animal.

The MSR test became the traditional method for measuring physiological and cognitive [[self-awareness]]. Very few species passed it. However, several critiques have emerged that call into question the value of Gallup's test.<ref name=":1">Swartz, Karyl; Evans, Sian. "Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes, and Mirrors" in Mitchell, Robert; Thompson, Nicholas; and Miles, Lyn ''Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes, and Animals.'' New York: State University of New York Press (1997). pp 296-310.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Crair |first=Ben |date=April 14, 2023 |title=The Mirror Test Is Broken |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/04/fish-mirrors-animal-cognition-self-awareness-science/673718/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The Atlantic}}</ref> Studies have challenged Gallup's results;<ref name=":1" /> others have found that animals can be self-aware in ways not measured by the test, such as distinguishing between their own and others' [[Hearing|songs]] and [[Sense of smell|scents]].<ref name="bekoff">{{Cite journal |last=Bekoff |first=Marc |date=2002-09-19 |title=Animal reflections |journal=Nature |volume=419 |issue=6904 |pages=255 |doi=10.1038/419255a |pmid=12239547 |s2cid=10070614 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

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