To develop and field test new assessment procedures for the 1969-70 Head Start national evaluation, a list of existing tests measuring selected social and emotional variables was compiled. Tests were selected on these criteria: (1) conceptual soundness, (2) relevance for preschool children, (3) whether disadvantaged children might be expected to show a deficit compared to their advantaged peers, and (4) the degree of overlap with the cognitive domain. The variables and respective tests finally selected were (1) curiosity: Curiosity Box subtest of the Cincinnati Autonomy Test Battery (CATB), (2) frustration: Michigan State University Puzzle Box Task based on the Keister-Funich task, (3) sociometric status: Play Situation-Picture Board Sociometric Technique, (4) self-concept: Brown IDS Self-Concept Referents Test, the Self-Social Constructs Test, Preschool Self-Concept Test, and Experimental Photographic Self-Concept Test, (5) delay of gratification: The Mischel Technique, (6) task persistence: Persistence subtest of the CATB, and (7) impulsivity: Motor Impulsivity subtest of the CATB. Other variables identified but not examined in depth were sex-identification, dependency, anxiety, and aggression. The authors discuss each of the assessment instruments and give field testing results. (MH)