Role-Taking as a Function of Value Similarity and Affect in the Nuclear Family

The study of interpersonal relationships has received continued empirical attention from behavioral scientists since Newcomb's classic study involving college roommates (Newcomb, 1953). Additionally, phenomenologists have exhibited increasing interest in the inner workings of interpersonal perception (Garfinkel, 1964; Icheiser, 1955; Laing, Phillipson, and Lee, 1966; Schutz, 1962; Stark, 1970). In spite of such attention, there has been a general failure to account for differences in an individual's ability to accurately take the role of others. Perhaps this is because the majority of empirical investigations have been carried out by the more psychologically oriented researchers who, for the most part, have chosen to use the concept "empathy" in instances where the more socially oriented researcher and theorist would prefer the concept "role-taking." The result has been a greater emphasis given to the psychological, intrapersonal, and emotive aspects of the phenomenon rather than to the more social, interpersonal aspects. The present report is an attempt to account for individual role-taking ability through an analysis of differing dyadic characteristics of the nuclear family.