| Abstract: | The concepts of social roles and role intersections have been used to explain adults' social competence. However, children's social competence in terms of developing role concepts has not been systematically delineated. After a brief review of the few developmental studies that have been performed in this area, a systematic developmental sequence of role understanding in children from 1 to 13 years of age is discussed and a method for assessing such sequences is described. The sequence, which was based on K. W. Fischer's (1980, Psychological Review, 87, 477–531) construction-inclusion model of conceptual skill development, was tested in several studies using two sets of social roles and tasks and was found to be highly scalable and age related. The significance of role concept development is also discussed as it relates to the development of social competence in other domains. |
