A New Perspective on Perspective Taking: A Multidimensional Approach to Conceptualizing an Aptitude

By Hunter Gehlbach. 2004

158 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Social perspective taking (SPT) is thought to be important in its own right and is often associated with other important skills, such as interpersonal conflict resolution. Previous research on SPT, however, has conceptualized it as a unidimensional construct leaving scholars with an insufficient understanding of this aptitude and how it relates to valued educational outcomes. To best understand SPT, a multidimensional approach should include assessments of personal characteristics (including the propensity and the ability to engage in SPT) and features of the situation (including features of the SPT task and the larger context). Using Richard Snow's conceptualization of aptitudes as a framework, this article illustrates the problems with treating SPT as a unidimensional construct, defines SPT as a complex aptitude, and provides a taxonomy of SPT to promote understanding and to guide future research in this area. The taxonomy organizes and reviews the existing literature that relates personal and situational characteristics to SPT aptitude. Where research has not yet been conducted, this article hypothesizes how these characteristics might relate to SPT aptitude.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/18e52a7d788d8864cf7b22588093729e153e34a3

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In General Health Professions

In Social Psychology

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

Empathy, Teacher Dispositions, and Preparation for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (2018, background): “Gehlbach (2004) considers “social” perspective taking as a professional ability, and the motivation to employ that ability.”
Building better work places through individual perspective taking: A fresh look at a fundamental human process (2008, background): “The perspective of a highly expressive and open person is likely to be more accessible that that of a very shy individual, or one who is skilled at hiding their feelings (Gehlbach, 2004).”
The Social Perspective Taking Process: What Motivates Individuals to Take Another's Perspective? (2012, methodology): “Citation Gehlbach, H., Brinkworth, M. E., & Wang, M.-T. (2012). The social perspective taking process: What motivates individuals to take another’s perspective? Teachers College Record, 114(1), 197225.”
Understanding Regulated Learning in Situative and Contextual Frameworks (2015, background): “Perspectivetaking, mutuality, emotional, and cognitive reciprocity and shared understanding are part of the regulation process in socially shared learning (Gehlbach, 2004; Thompson & Fine, 1999).”
Socially Constructed Self-Regulated Learning and Motivation Regulation in Collaborative Learning Groups (2011, background): “Hadwin et al. (2005) referred to self-regulatory ownership and its transition from teacher to student during naturalistic instructional situations.”
The Effect of Embodied Experiences on Self-Other Merging, Attitude, and Helping Behavior (2013, background): “Despite the benefits of perspective taking, mentally putting oneself in the shoes of another requires extensive cognitive effort (Hoffman, 1982) and individuals may differ in their ability and motivation to engage in this activity (Davis and Kraus, 1997; Gehlbach, 2004).”