A battery of four role-taking tasks requiring a shift from one's own perspective were administered to 105 fourth graders. The relative contributions of selected cognitive, demographic, and interactional variables to this battery were assessed. A regression equation indicated that five variables predicted 36% of the variance of the role-taking scores. These predictor variables were WISC Vocabulary score, Matching Familiar Figures errors, sex, neighborhood, and handedness. The WISC Vocabulary score was a suppressor variable. Results indicated the importance of both cognitive and experiential factors in the attainment of role-taking skills.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmbronS. R., & JrwinD. M.Role-taking and moral judgment in five- and seven-year-olds. Developmental Psychology, 1975, 11, 102.
2.
BaldwinT. L.McFarlaneP. T., & GarveyC. J.Children's communication accuracy related to race and socioeconomic status. Child Development, 1971, 42, 345–357.
CowanP. A.The link between cognitive structure and social structure in two-child verbal interaction. Paper read at the Society for Research in Child Development Annual Meeting, New York, March, 1967.
5.
ElkindD.Children's conceptions of right and left: Piaget replication study: IV. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1961, 99, 269–276.
6.
FefferM. H.The cognitive implications of role-taking behavior. Journal of Personality, 1959, 27, 152–168.
7.
FlavellJ. H.BotkinP. T.FryC. L.WrightT. W., & JarvisP. E.The development of role-taking and communication skills in children. New York: Wiley, 1968.
8.
HerefordC. F.A community education project in parent-child relationships: progress reports and exhibits. Austin, Texas: Austin Community Guidance Center, 1958. (mimeographed)
9.
HollingsheadA. B., & RedlichF.Social class and mental illness. New York: Wiley, 1958.
10.
KaganJ.Impulsive and reflective children: the significance of a conceptual tempo. In KrumboltzJ. D. (Ed.), Learning and the educational process. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965. Pp. 133–161.
11.
KurdekL. A.Structural components and intellectual correlates of cognitive perspective taking in first- through fourth-grade children. Child Development, 1977, 48, 1503–1511.
12.
KurdekL. A., & RogdonM. M.Perceptual, cognitive and affective perspective taking in kindergarten through sixth grade children. Developmental Psychology, 1975, 11, 643–650.
13.
LeichtmanS. R.The relatedness of role-taking skills in fourth graders: a shift of perspective. Journal of Genetic Psychology, in press.
14.
RubinK. H.Egocentrism in childhood: a unitary construct?Child Development, 1973, 44, 102–110.
15.
TurnureC.Cognitive development and role-taking ability in boys and girls from 7 to 12. Developmental Psychology, 1975, 11, 202–209.
