A preliminary investigation of role‐taking in descriptions of self and others in the twenty statements test

Abstract

Seventy‐six college students completed the Twenty Statements Test (TST) describing the self and one of two target others (“someone you know well,” N = 36, or “someone you live with,” N = 40). Responses were coded according to a scheme developed to measure the four role‐taking levels defined by Cushman and Craig (1976): basic, reflective, appropriative, and synesic. Significant correlations were found between the occurrence of each role‐taking level in self‐descriptions and the same role‐taking level in other‐descriptions. The correlations tended to be stronger in the “know well” group than in the “live with” group. A separate study of 47 college students suggests that subjects have closer interpersonal relationships with targets whom they “know well” than with those they “live with.” Implications for interpersonal communication research are discussed.