AQA Syllabus focus:
'The development of social cognition, including Selman’s levels of perspective-taking.'
Children gradually become better at understanding that other people can see, think, and feel differently from themselves. Selman described this change as a sequence of increasingly advanced perspective-taking levels.
A compact table summarising Selman’s five levels of social perspective-taking, with the typical age range for each level. It highlights how children move from egocentric assumptions to coordinating viewpoints using broader social rules and conventions. The example column helps you link each level to the kind of reasoning a child might show in everyday social situations. Source
What perspective-taking means
Perspective-taking is central to social understanding. It refers to a child’s ability to appreciate another person’s thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and point of view, rather than assuming everyone experiences a situation in the same way.
Perspective-taking: The ability to understand a situation from another person’s point of view.
Selman argued that perspective-taking develops through a series of qualitatively different levels.
Each level reflects a more complex understanding of how people interpret the social world. Development is linked to age, but children do not always perform at the same level in every situation. Social experience and the difficulty of the task can affect performance.
Selman’s basic assumptions
Selman studied children using role-taking dilemmas. In these tasks, children heard short stories about social situations and were asked what each person in the story might think, feel, or do. The key question was not whether the child gave the “right” answer, but how well they coordinated different viewpoints.
Role-taking dilemma: A social story or problem used to assess how well a child can understand and coordinate different perspectives.
Selman believed children move from a simple, self-centered understanding of others toward a more abstract and social understanding. As they mature, they become better able to:
separate their own viewpoint from someone else’s
recognize that two people can interpret the same event differently
understand that perspectives can be compared and coordinated
see how wider social values influence judgments
Selman’s five levels of perspective-taking
Level 0: Egocentric perspective-taking
This level is usually seen between about 3 and 6 years. Children can identify that another person may have a different view, but they often fail to understand why. They assume that if someone has different information, that person will still think in the same way they do.
Key characteristics:
the child focuses mainly on their own thoughts and feelings
different viewpoints are not clearly distinguished
the child has difficulty predicting how another person will react if that person knows or sees something different
At this level, social understanding is limited because the child cannot yet step outside their own position in a reliable way.
Level 1: Social-information perspective-taking
This level is typically seen between about 6 and 8 years. Children now realize that people can have different perspectives because they have access to different information. They understand that what a person knows affects what that person thinks.
Key characteristics:
the child recognizes that people may not share the same knowledge
differences in viewpoint are explained by differences in information
the child still tends to look at each perspective separately rather than linking them together
This is an important advance because children no longer assume that everyone sees the world exactly as they do.
Level 2: Self-reflective perspective-taking
This level is often associated with ages 8 to 10 years. Children can step into another person’s position and consider both viewpoints at once. They understand that just as they can think about another person’s perspective, the other person can think about theirs.
Key characteristics:
the child can imagine how they appear from another person’s standpoint
there is awareness of mutual perspective-taking
the child can reflect on feelings of fairness, approval, or misunderstanding between people
At this level, children become more capable of managing disagreements because they appreciate the two-way nature of social interaction.
Level 3: Third-party perspective-taking
This level is commonly found between about 10 and 12 years. Children can step outside a two-person interaction and consider it from the viewpoint of an impartial observer. They understand that two people can each see a situation differently, and that these views can be judged from a more neutral position.
Key characteristics:
the child coordinates more than one perspective at the same time
they can consider how a bystander might interpret the interaction
they understand that people may try to take each other’s perspective in order to resolve conflict
This level supports more advanced social judgment because children are no longer limited to the perspectives of the people directly involved.
Level 4: Societal perspective-taking
This level usually begins from around 12 years onward. Adolescents understand that perspectives are shaped not only by individual thoughts and feelings but also by broader social values, rules, and expectations. They can appreciate that people evaluate situations within a social system.
Key characteristics:
the individual considers shared standards, laws, and moral values
viewpoints are understood in relation to society as a whole
there is awareness that social conventions influence how behavior is judged
At this level, perspective-taking becomes more abstract. The person can understand both individual differences and the wider social framework within which those differences operate.
Why Selman’s levels matter
Selman’s theory is important because it shows that social understanding develops in a structured way. Perspective-taking is related to:
more effective communication
better friendship skills
improved conflict resolution
greater sensitivity to others’ feelings and intentions
The theory also emphasizes that social cognition is not simply about knowing facts about other people. It involves coordinating viewpoints, reflecting on relationships, and understanding the social meaning of behavior.
Points to remember
For AQA, it is useful to remember that Selman described five levels, moving from egocentric thinking to societal perspective-taking. The levels are age-related, but age is only a guide. A child may show different levels depending on the situation, the emotional demands of the task, and how familiar the social problem is.
Practice Questions
Outline one characteristic of Level 1 social-information perspective-taking. (2 marks)
1 mark for identifying that children understand people can have different perspectives.
1 mark for explaining that these differences are linked to different information, knowledge, or experience.
Describe Selman’s levels of perspective-taking. (6 marks)
Award 1 mark for each accurate point, up to 6 marks. Possible answers include:
perspective-taking develops through an ordered sequence of levels
Level 0 is egocentric perspective-taking
Level 1 is social-information perspective-taking
Level 2 is self-reflective perspective-taking
Level 3 is third-party perspective-taking
Level 4 is societal perspective-taking
credit descriptions of what happens at each level, such as increasing ability to coordinate viewpoints
credit relevant age-linked descriptions if accurate
FAQ
Selman usually used short social stories, sometimes called role-taking dilemmas, followed by structured interview questions.
He was interested in the child’s reasoning, not just the final answer. Researchers looked for:
whether the child separated their own view from another person’s
whether they explained differences using information, feelings, or social rules
how many perspectives the child could coordinate at once
The response was then matched to the level that best reflected that pattern of thinking.
Yes. Development is often uneven rather than perfectly neat.
A child may use a higher level in a familiar friendship problem but a lower level in a confusing or emotionally charged situation. Language demands, stress, and how clearly the story is explained can all affect performance.
Because of this, researchers often treat the levels as the child’s typical style of reasoning rather than a permanent label.
No. The two ideas are related but not identical.
Perspective-taking is mainly about understanding another person’s viewpoint. Empathy involves an emotional response to that understanding, such as concern or compassion.
A child might correctly work out what someone else is thinking without feeling much sympathy. Equally, a child may feel upset for someone without being able to explain that person’s full perspective in a complex way.
Teachers can use it to match social discussion to students’ developmental level.
Helpful strategies include:
asking students to explain how two people in a conflict might see the same event differently
using paired discussion before whole-class debate
encouraging students to justify judgments from more than one viewpoint
using restorative conversations after disagreements
This can support clearer communication and more thoughtful peer interactions.
Some psychologists argue that the levels can seem too rigid.
Common criticisms include:
children may perform better in real-life situations than in formal interviews
language ability may affect answers, making some children seem less advanced than they are
age ranges are only rough guides
cultural differences may influence how openly children talk about thoughts, feelings, and social rules
These criticisms do not necessarily reject Selman’s theory, but they suggest that measurement and context matter a lot.
