A study of economically disadvantaged children in free play nursery contexts provided further evidence for the cross-cultural applicability of Schaefer's three-dimensional scheme in assessing classroom competencies. Several implications of the configurational approach are a new way of thinking about competence measurement, its differentiated manifestations in varied settings, and its development. The idea of multiple gradients of change provides a sharpened conceptualization and methodology for dealing systematically with the development of personal-social competencies through time. The application of this framework to a variety of life contexts may result in the discovery of interesting interactions between personal dispositions and situations which help clarify the individuality of patterns of competence. (Author/BJG)