Selman's Levels of Perspective Taking

Question 1

Work on Perspective Taking

Answer 1

Social perspective taking = understanding what someone else is thinking/feeling
. Selman believes this is domain specific and something children develop independently

Question 2

Perspective - taking research

Answer 2

Procedure = 30 boys/30 girls (10 of each age: 4/5/6)
^ E.g: Holly promised father will no longer climb trees, but friends kitten stuck in the tree

Findings = number of distinct levels of perspective - taking correlated with age, clear developmental sequence

Question 3

Level 0: Socially Egocentric (3-6)
(Stages of Development)

Answer 3

Child can’t distinguish between own perspective and others
^ E.g: Save the kitten because they like cats

Question 4

Level 1: Social Info role taking (6-8)
(Stages of Development)

Answer 4

Any difference in perspective put down to differences in info
^ E.g: father might be angry if does not know why Holly climbed the tree

Question 5

Level 2: Self reflective role taking (8-10)
(Stages of Development)

Answer 5

Understands different values shape perspective, others can see things from peoples perspective
^ E.g: Hollys father will understand why she climbed the tree, can also see fathers POV

Question 6

Level 3: Mutual role taking (10-12)
(Stages of Development)

Answer 6

Imagine perspective of neutral 3rd person observing interaction

Question 7

Level 4: Societal and conventional role taking (12-15)
(Stages of Development)

Answer 7

Take perspective of 3rd person with context of wider societal/cultural values
^ E.g: Holly shouldn’t be punished - wider societal value of caring for animals

Question 8

Later Development
(Schultz, Selman and La Russo)

Answer 8

Identified 3 aspects to social development:
1. Interpersonal Understanding = can take different roles - shows can understand social situations

2. Interpersonal negotiation strategies = develop skills in how to react to them
3. Awareness of personal meaning of relationship = ability to reflect social behaviour in context of life history and full range of relationships

Question 9

Evaluation - cultural differences in perspective taking (S)

Answer 9

. Allowed us to compare different groups of people on perspective taking ability
. Found young adult Chinese participants did lots better in perspective taking than matched Americans

Question 10

Evaluation - mixed evidence for importance of perspective taking (W)

Answer 10

. Study where they observed child - parent interactions in toyshops
. Found negative correlation between age, perspective taking and coercive behaviour
. Weakness = perspective taking only important in developing anti - social behaviour

COUNTER - ARGUMENT = bullies have no difficulties in perspective taking. Suggests it may not be an important factor in development of socially - desirable behaviour not that its not important

Question 11

Evaluation - Overly Cognitive (W)

Answer 11

. Entirely based on understanding of cognition - more to children’s social development than their developing cognitive abilities
. Does not take into account internal AND external factors and therefore reductionist