Theory of Robert Selman

Robert Selman, Ph.D., is the Larsen Professor of Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Selman's research extends Piaget's stage development theory, focusing on methods to help adolescents develop social interaction skills as a means of reducing risks to their health and promoting successful social relationships. At the present time he is engaged in practice-based research, studying interpersonal and intergroup development in children from preschool through high school. Over his career, Selman has focused on treating psychological disorders in children in day school and residential facilities. According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, his recent focus is on the "promotion of social awareness and engagement through literacy and language arts curricula at the elementary level, in school-based programs at the middle grades level of public schools, and in the social studies, literature, and history curriculum at the high school level" (Faculty 2003, 1).

The focus of Selman's work has been to study adolescent conflict resolution and social interaction through social institutions and moral reasoning. The underlying premise is that such behaviors are representative of a more individual reasoning process. Selman's work primarily focuses on interpersonal relationships. For the past decade Selman has been focusing on the "

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UNAWARE One 3 5 Egocentric Differentiate self from other; label visible feelings Cause of other's feelings Two 6 8 Social-informational Social perspective based on other's reasoning can be different from self's reasoning focus on one view Three 8 10 Self-reflective Put self in other's place to judge intentions, purpose, and action Can't see both self and other simultaneously Four 10 12 Mutual perspective 3rd person perspective of self and other; view each other mutually and simultaneously as subjects Five 12 15 Conventional system Mutual perspective taking does not explain whole story; social conventions necessary (Selman 1980) The different domains are important because they also progress in stages. Selman (1980) theorized that self-understanding first develops, followed by an application of understanding outward. This outward movement flows at first to close friends, then peers. This is why the self domain is important for successful understanding of others and for progression in perspective-taking. Selman (1981) argues that social dysfunction is related to the development of friendship awareness, which develops during the friendship domain. He points to severa

Category: Psychology - T