Stage 1 occurs between the ages of 6 and 8. Children are able to understand that people can have different perspectives other than their own. However, they assume the difference in perspective is due to that person having different information than them.

Stage 1 of Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking in Social Cognition

Stage 2 occurs between the ages of 8 and 10.  In this stage, children are able to think from someone else's point of view.

Stage 2 of Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking in Social Cognition

Stage 3 occurs between the ages of 10 and 12.  In this stage, children gain the ability to compare their own viewpoint to the viewpoint of someone else.  They are also able to take a third party perspective and examine the other two points of view.

Stage 3 of Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking in Social Cognition

Stage 4 occurs from any age older than 12.  In this stage, people try to understand someone else's perspective by comparing it to what is believed to be the point of view of people in their surrounding social group.

Stage 4 of Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking in Social Cognition

Haverford College in Pennsylvania

Selman's theory of social cognition centered around the concept of role taking. Role taking is the ability for someone to think about anything from someone elses viewpoint.

Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking in Social Cognition

Siegler, R., Saffran, J. R., Eisenberg, N., Deloache, J., &amp; Gershoff, E. (2017). How Children Develop (5th ed.). Worth Publishers, Inc.

Learn Before

Learn After