Different people develop socially differently. There are those with a more timid character and others with a very sociable personality. The purpose of this article is to analyze the characteristics of a socially competent adolescent and how some of these characteristics emerge in preschool children. Summary of Social Competence Emotional Regulation. Emotional self-regulation is the way an individual manages and internalizes their emotions. This is a characteristic of a socially competent adolescent because in our society there are certain rules of emotional display, or standards about “when, where, and how it is appropriate to express emotions” (Berk, 2013, p. 412). An example of this would be an individual who keeps calm and reacts calmly when he discovers that his friend has broken his bicycle. A certain level of self-control is necessary to maintain emotional regulation, and this is a skill that socially competent people possess. Perspective taking. Perspective taking is the ability to infer what others might feel and to recognize a difference between their opinions (Berk, year, page #). A socially competent teenager has a strong sense of their inner self and can see the perspective of others by becoming more aware of others' feelings and points of view. An example of this would be a teenager who hears a peer's idea for a school project and, although it may be different from the teenager's idea, he takes his peer's idea into consideration and perhaps even uses it. When an individual is socially competent in perspective taking, they are able to see outside their own sphere of thought and contemplate the ideas of others, opening their mind to all possibilities. Motivation for success. Achievement motivation is when an individual h...... center of card ......thon and Ariana (see Appendix). In reference to Piaget's preoperational stage, perspective taking is difficult for young children because they tend to be egocentric (Berk, 2013, p.244). As Dr. Nelson describes social problem solving, he explains that socially incompetent children will not be able to recognize and interpret social cues (Nelson, Fall 2013). These skills can be learned, but it can take time for children to acquire those skills. A realistic expectation that parents have is that their children will be competent in abiding by the rules and expectations of the classroom, family, and other public places. Jadie and Ariana are in preschool and both demonstrated a high level of social competence in compliance. Children are also starting to develop, even though they may not be socially competent, delay of gratification and prosocial behavior.