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The study investigates the development of compliance-resisting behaviors as a function of the underlying level of perspective-taking reflected in the structure of subjects 'strategies. First-. fourth-, and tenth-grade children generated complianceresisting strategies in response to three communication situations. Each task situation was associated with a different age/status agent (mother, peer, younger child). Additionally, each scenario varied the type of strategy used to gain compliance (simple request, incentive request, altruistic request). Results support a significant positive associotion between the three major independent variables (age of subject, type of request, and agent of request) and the degree of perspectivetaking evidenced in subject-generated compliance-resisting strategies.This research was undertaken to explore the development of complianceresisting behaviors. Compliance-resisting refers to an individual's ability to select from his or her repertoire of communication strategies a means for avoiding the attempts by others to gain compliance (McLaughlin, Cody, & Robey, 1980). The limited amount of research reported on compliance-resisting behaviors has concentrated solely on adult competence. Little is known about how one develops "full blown" compliance-resisting competence. This study describes the complianceresisting behaviors evidenced in selected communication by first-, fourth-, and tenth-grade children. More specifically, this investigation sought to assess the development of children's ability to construct listener-adapted compliance-resisting strategies. SOCIAL COGNITION AND LISTENER-ADAPTED COMMUNICATIONOur abilities to recognize the communicative needs of others and to use this information in tailoring our communication strategies to our Jeffrey S. McQuiNen (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 1984) is assistant professor of speech communication at Texas A&M University. a 1986 International Communication Assn. 359 360 HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH / Spring 1986