This study examines preadolescents' choice of admired individuals and the reasons given in support of that admiration in two different cultures. Students in the fourth and fifth grades of a public school in East Brunswick, New Jersey and in a Jewish parochial school in the same community comprised the American sample of 100 boys and 115 girls. A West African sample consisted of 74 girls and 77 boys enrolled in grades 5-11 in the Carver Mission School in Monrovia, Liberia. Boys ranged in age from 10-24 years; girls from 10-21. Each student in both samples wrote a brief essay describing the person whom the student most admired and the reasons for that admiration. Some East Brunswick students also completed a rating scale. Liberians admired parents, relatives, and teachers because of what they do for the child and because of their personal qualities. While American children admired parents, boys also admired sports figures and girls admired peers. Sex differences were reflected in the criteria for admiration. Boys were more likely than girls to cite achievement. The role of nationality and gender as determinants of admiration is discussed in relation to Bakan's (1966) concept of agency and communion. Parallels to findings of sex differences in moral judgment were noted. (RH)