The Measurement of Role Taking in Young Adults

Abstract

Sociometry is presented as an alternative way of measuring role taking, specifically, an alternative to an often used projective measure, the Role-Taking Task (RTT). Study 1 assesses role taking in 161 college students. In this study, a sociometric measure, the Peer Role-Taking Questionnaire (PRTQ) was shown to correlate with class year, group status, social choice, and friendship. In contrast, the RTT correlated weakly with grade point average and some personality test measures. In Study 2, the PRTQ, and not the RIT, was associated with interaction skills in a sample of 39 college nursing students. The PRTQ and RTT did not correlate with each other in either study. The validity and reliability of these two role-taking measures are discussed. It is suggested that researchers need to examine the adequacy of the role-taking measures they use.