Selman's Theory (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
11.4.1 Selman's Theory
The development of social cognition:
Selman's levels of perspective-taking
Perspective taking: The cognitive ability to take on the viewpoint or perspective of another person
Based on perspective-taking tasks given to children, developed a series of stages each characterised by a fault in reasoning.
Stages:
Socially egocentric (3-6years):
Children are unable to take on the perspective of others so are egocentric
Social information role taking (6-8years):
Children are now only able to take on one single perspective at a time
Self-reflective role-taking (8-10 years):
Children can fully take on the viewpoint of another person and identify with them, but only focus on one perspective at a time
Mutual role taking (10-12 years):
Children can fully identify with and take on multiple perspectives at the same time
Social and conventional system role taking (12+ years):
Children understand that social rules are needed to maintain order and simply understanding the other person isn't enough
Evaluation:
(1)
P: Selman's theory may have cultural biases.
E: The stages were developed based on research with children from Western cultures, where individualistic perspectives are more prevalent.
E: In collectivist cultures, children might show different patterns of perspective-taking, suggesting that the stages may not be universally applicable.
(2)
P: The theory may overemphasise cognitive factors and underplay emotional and contextual influences.
E: Children's ability to take perspectives can also be influenced by their emotional state, social environment, and relationships, which the theory does not fully address.
E: This suggests that the development of perspective-taking is more complex than a purely cognitive process.