Levels of Perspective Taking

Egocentric Viewpoint

• This viewpoint is prominent in children between the ages of 3 to 6. A child with an egocentric viewpoint can recognize that he and others have different feelings and thoughts, but often confuse the two. In most cases the children will expect others to feel and think just as they do.

Socio-Informational

• From ages of 6 to 8, children develop a socio-informational viewpoint. At this level, children realize people have different information about any given condition or subject and these differences result in different perspectives. Children can correctly guess that people might change their mind about a situation if provided additional information.

Self-Reflective

• At the ages of 8 to 10, children begin realizing they can try to think like others and try to understand another person's thoughts and feelings. They also begin to understand that others can do the same with them. This means the child realizes he can explain a situation to someone and alter that person's point of view based on the information provided.

Third-Party

• From 10 to 12 years of age, children realize they can step outside of a two-party exchange and include a third-party perspective on a situation or subject. They realize that a third party can draw conclusions and they can imagine how the third party can arrive at those conclusions. At this stage, children can view more than one viewpoint at the same time.

Societal-Perspective

• This viewpoint develops between the ages of 12 to 15 when a child learns that values in society can influence the perspective of others and alter third-party viewpoints. For example, if a child is faced with breaking a promise to accomplish a greater good, the child can explain the reasoning of the great good based on larger social values.