Cognitive Impulsivity and Role-Taking Skills in Elementary School Children

Abstract
The relationship between cognitive impulsivity and perspective-taking ability was examined in 53 fourth-graders. Significant correlations were found between boys' (but not girls') perspective-taking skills (assessed by Chandler's test of egocentrism) and both dimensions of impulsivity, i.e., accuracy and latency, on Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test. Self-regulatory private speech is postulated as a possible construct mediating the development of role-taking skill, accurate matching performance, and a reflective tempo. Implications of the present results for programs attempting to modify cognitive style and future investigations of the development of other cognitive and personality variables are discussed.