Different people develop differently socially. There are those who are more shy and others who have 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 and 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 expression, or norms about “when, where, and how it is appropriate to express emotions” (Berk, 2013 , p. 412). An example of this would be a person who keeps calm and reacts calmly when they discover that their friend has broken their bike. It takes a certain level of self-control to maintain emotional regulation, and it's a skill that socially competent people possess. Perspective taking is the ability to infer what others may be feeling and recognize a difference between their points of view (Berk, year, page number). A socially competent adolescent has a strong sense of his or her inner self and can see the perspectives of others, becoming more aware of the feelings and perspectives of others. An example of this would be a teenager listening to a peer's idea for a school project and, although it may be different from the teenager's idea, they consider their peer's idea and perhaps even uses it. When an individual is socially competent in perspective taking, they are able to see that outside of their own sphere of thought and contemplate the ideas of others, thereby opening their mind to all possibilities. Motivation for success. Motivation for achievement occurs when an individual is in the middle of a paper......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 inept children will not be able to recognize and interpret social cues (Nelson, Fall 2013). These skills can be learned, but it may take some time for children to acquire them. A realistic expectation of parents is that their children will be able to conform to the rules and expectations of the classroom, home, and other public places. Jadie and Ariana attend preschool and both demonstrate a high level of social competence in compliance. Children also begin to develop, even though they may not be socially competent, delay of gratification and prosocial behavior..