RESEARCH REPORT NO. 36 
"Correlates of Social Perspective Thinking Ability 
of Elementary School Children in Bangkok" 
by 
Ngamta Vanindananda, Wanpen Phisalaphong 
Oraphin Choochom (1986) 
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        This study is the fourth sub-project of the longitudinal project on the ”Study of the relationships among child-rearing practices, phical and psychological development” which follows children from preschool-age up to puberty. 
        There were three majo research objectives in this study : (1) to examine whether children in this sampling group would have social perspective taking abilties at the same level as appraised by Robert L. Selman and his associated in their theoretical model; (2) to investigate factors which were exected to promote the development of social perspectve taking of children, The emphasis of this objective was aon children’s family background, patterns of child-rearing practices and opportunities for social experiences given to children by their parents; (3) to examine the relationship between children’s social perspective-taking abilities and popularity among peers. 
        The subjecst consisted of 109 Prathom Suksa 4 pupils of Srinakhrinwirot University Demonstration School (Prasarnmitr) and parents of the individual child. The pupils’ ages were ranged from 9 to 10.06 years. 
        To measure social perspective-taling abillity, five sociomoral dilemmas with a set of oper-ended questions in each dilemma were given to each child in group situation. Children were asked to listen to each dilemma carefully, and to answer all the following questions with close supervision. To measure popularity among peers, the same group of children were also asked to list name of friends in the same classroom whom they preferred to associate with for the activites mentioned. On the part of parents, they were requested to respond to 20 itmes of five-point rating scales concerning opportunities for social experiences given to children, and ot give some bio-social and family background information needed. Data on patterns of child-rearing practices with main emphasis on physical, social-emotional, intellectual and moral development of the child, were collected from parents at the time children of this sampling group entered the preschool class four years before. The main statistical techniques for hypothesis testing consisted of t-test, analysis of variance and intercorrelations among various indices. The data both on total sample and on different groups of respondents classified by the bio-social and family background variables. 

Main findings were as follows : 
        1. It was found that the majority of subjects (82.6 percents) achieved level 3 social perspective-taking abilliy while 5.5 percents reached only level 2, and 11.9 percents reached up to level 4. In comparison between levels of social perspective-taking abilites of Thai children and those of American children studied by Studied by selman and his assoiates, it might be concluded that Thai children in this samgling group had developed higher social perspective-taking abilities than American children in similar aged group and family background. This result was dicussed in term of social-cultural differences. 
        2.Concerning investigation of factors presumably promoted social perspective-taking development of children, it was found that two main variables mamely the opportunities for social experiences given to children by parents, and patterns of child-rearing practices which put main emphasis on both total develpoment and each specific development were significantly correlated with children’s social perspective-taking abilities in particular groups of respondents classified by bio-social and family background variables. In addition, children of highly educated fathers and mother were found to have significantly higher social perspective-taking abilities comparing to their counterparts. 
        3. Children’s social perspective-taking abilities were found to have positive coreelation with popularity among peers. This finding supported the suggestion proposed proposed by Jean Piaget that a child’s social status or popularity was related to his ability to take another’s viewpoint. 
        It is recomeded that future research on the development of social perspective-taking abilities among various groups of Thai children and youths should be undertaken cross-sectionally as well as longitudinally to confirm levels of scial perspective-taking established by Selman and his assoicated in terms of relability and validity aspects. It is interesting to observe that such suggested research on child development is also highly recommended by the office of the Naional Education Commusion in Thailand, since the results can be applied to the national plans and policies for child and adolescent development. 
  



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