Re: How can self awareness in animals be recognised?

Well you got me on that one. Not really my area of expertise however...I 
found a definition......
a definition of self-awareness and explains its social origin. It is 
postulated that the social milieu permits a movement to a more objective 
perspective for selfperception, and that this movement is then reproduced in 
the brain by specific cognitive processes. it is suggested
that inner speech represents one such cognitive processes, which acts like a 
mirror to reflect subjective experience back upon itself; the self would be 
generated by this reflective activity. It is
argued that inner speech has a pre-eminent position among the cognitive 
processes implicated in self-awareness.

Some links to some online articles on  self awareness:

Scientific American:  http://www.sciam.com/1998/1198intelligence/
1198debate.html

Animal self awareness:  http://www.strato.net/~crvny/sa03002.html

Dolphins: http://
www.earthtrust.org/delphis.html
 
New scientist.com:  http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/answers/
390animals.jsp.html


and finally some expert information:
a book.........
Self Awareness in Animals and Humans edited by Sue Taylor Parker, Ronert 
Mitchell and Maria L. Boccia (Cambridge 
University press

A way to contact Sue Taylor Baker a real expert on the topic
Directory of Primatologists
Sur Taylor Parker:  http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/idp/wdp/entry/
99"
Hope this help you in your studies!
                    Elsa