Selman's Theory: The development of social cognition Flashcards
What is Social Cognition?
- the mental processes we make use of when engaged in a social interaction
- investigates how the social context affects the way we think and how our thoughts effect our social behaviour
What is Perspective-Taking?
- involves being able to view a situation or emotions from another persons viewpoint
Perspective-Taking Research
- Selman was influenced by Piaget
- Selman looked at the changes that occurred with age
Procedure:
- 30 boys and 30 girls (20 4yrs, 20 5yrs, and 20 6yrs)
- all were given a task designed to measure perspective-taking ability
- involved asking them how they felt in scenarios (Holly who promised her father to not climb up trees but then her friends kitten got stuck up a tree) - the task was to then say how Holly, her friend and her father would feel if she did or didn’t climb the tree
Findings:
- a number of distinct levels of perspective-taking were identified
- Selman found that the level correlated with age suggested a clear developmental sequence
Stage 0 (3-6 years)
Egocentric
- children cannot reliably distinguish between their emotions and others emotions
- can identify emotional states in others but don’t understand what social behaviour it may have caused
Stage 1 (6-8 years)
Social-Informational
- children can tell the difference between their own point of view and others but can only focus on 1 at a time
Stage 2 (8-10 years)
Self-Reflective
- children can put themselves in the position of others and fully appreciate others’ perspectives but can only take on 1 point at a time
Stage 3 (10-12 years)
Social + Conventional System
- sometimes understanding others viewpoints is not enough to allow people to reach agreement
What did Selman believe?
- Selman believed that development through these stages are based on maturity and experience
Schultz 3 Aspects to Social Development
- Interpersonal Understanding - if we can take different roles, we can understand social situations
- Interpersonal Negotiation Strategies - develop skills on how to respond to social situations - asserting your position and managing conflict
- Awareness of Personal Meaning of Relationships - the ability to reflect on social behaviour in context of different relationships