ABSTRACT
The importance of personal symbols to a young child is congruent with discussions by K. L. Kelley and A. C. Krey and E. B. Wesley and M. A. Adams, who classified persons, events, and other tangible objects as the social concepts which are most easily acquired. The reciprocal nature of children's attachments is illustrated by children's expectation that the President would be concerned with their welfare: they reciprocate by extending loyalty and affection. Parallel developmental trends occur in the child's conception of the origin of laws and governmental administration. As children grow older, they come to believe that Congress is more important in lawmaking than the President. The initial conception of a "good citizen" is largely one of the "good person." Interview responses suggest that second- and third-grade children made little distinction between a good person and a good citizen. The policeman and father were rated lower than the President on all of these attributes.
