Perspective taking, the main cognitive component of empathy, is considered within the psychological literature to be a significant part of human interaction. Despite extensive investigation into the outcomes of this construct, the process by which people take another's psychological point of view has received comparatively little attention. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate in three studies what the individual does when attempting to take the perspective of another person. The first study investigated the particular strategies which individuals use when engaging in perspective-taking behaviours. Dominant themes to emerge from this qualitative assessment of the perspective-taking process were the use of self- (e.g., switching places) and other-information (e.g., targets personal characteristics), of which the former appears to play the central role. Further elements of the perspective-taking process were also identified with the self-information theme. Of these, having experienced a situation similar to that of a target (similar past experience) was found to be a particularly strong aspect of the perspective-taking process and subsequently informed the rationale for the remaining two studies. In view of the findings from Study 1, the second study tested whether past experiences made it easier for participants to take the perspective of another person in a new, but similar situation and the extent to which other aspects, such as switching places with the target, made the perspective-taking process less effortful. Results revealed that similar past experience was the strongest predictor of the ease of the perspective-taking task. Moreover, the extent to which similar past experience increased ease of the perspective-taking process was moderated by the extent to which the participant reflected on that past experience. The final study in this thesis picked up the notion of reflection and examined whether increasing the extent to which an individual engages in self-reflection leads to a concomitant increase in the tendency to take another perspective and the ease with which this can be accomplished. After completion of an intervention program which had a strong focus on self-reflection and understanding of self, there was a noticeable trend for participants to improve on their capacity for self-reflection. The findings also revealed that individuals with a tendency to self-reflect in an insightful and non-ruminative manner demonstrated a similarly high level of general perspective-taking propensity and ease of perspective taking. The studies support the vital role of reflection on similar past experience to that of a target when engaging in perspective taking. This research underscores the importance of examining perspective taking as a process.

This investigation evaluated the use of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) to teach perspective-taking skills to adolescents with high-functioning autism. The first experiment used a multiple probe design to examine the use of MEI to teach participants to respond appropriately to the deictic frames of I-You, Here-There, and Now-Then. Participants were instructed and tested using developmentally appropriate perspective-taking protocols, and generalization of perspective-taking skills to a more natural social interaction format was also assessed. The second experiment used a multiple probe design to examine the use of MEI to facilitate defusion from negative thoughts and feelings related to social interaction. Participants were trained to discriminate between different aspects of their own perspective (i.e., self-as-content and self-as-context). Defusion was measured using ratings of the believability and comfort associated with negative thoughts, and the percentage of time engaged in appropriate social interaction was recorded for each participant. Results from Experiment 1 showed the emergence of deictic relational responding in the presence of novel relations for all participants following MEI, and varying degrees of generalization of perspective-taking skills to a natural presentation of social interaction were observed based on the complexity of the deictic relation. Results from Experiment 2 revealed a decrease in believability and an increase in comfort associated with problematic thoughts for all participants following MEI in the absence of directly observed changes in social interaction in the natural environment. These results support the use of MEI as an instructional strategy for teaching perspective-taking skills to individuals with autism. Findings are discussed according to a Relational Frame Theory analysis of perspective-taking.

The concept of social axiom represents generalized beliefs regarding individuals, agencies and other social institutions, and the spiritual world. The relationship between social axioms and social and mental well-being has not been widely investigated. The aim of this research is to consider the role of culture in four distinct areas of study: 1) The role of social axioms and their dimensions in predicting mental well-being (subjective and psychological well-being) as well as the mechanism of the relationship between social axioms and well-being through controlling the variables of Iranian and UK students and the big five personality factors. 2) The mediation role of mindfulness and perspective taking. 3) The scope of influence of one's attachment to national or ethnic identity on well-being. 4) The understanding of the participants of various social beliefs, especially of the concept of divine providence and its impact on one's well-being. As method, the first three goals were addressed by correlational studies while the fourth goal was investigated using grounded theory. The research sample for the first study consisted of 73 Iranian students (37 females and 36 males) residing in Iran and 66 students (45 females and 21 males) living in the UK. The sample for the second study included 72 Iranian students (34 females and 38 males) who reside in Iran, and in the third study the sample was composed of 66 Iranians (35 females and 31 males) who live in the UK. In the qualitative research (fourth study), the participants were 14 Iranians living in the UK for at least 3 years (4 male and 10 female). Instruments used were the Social Axiom Survey (SAS; Leung et al., 2002), Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991; John & Srivastava, 1999), Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff, 1989), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998), the perspective taking subscale of the Empathy Questionnaire (Davis, 1980), the acceptance subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (Cardaciotto et al., 2008), Paullhus's Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1984), and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R; Phinney & Ong, 2007). In the qualitative research, a structured interview was used. Results show that: 1) In both samples of students who live in the UK and in Iran iv social cynicism and fate control are related with well-being. Also, in the Iranian case reward for application, social complexity, and religiosity have significant relationships with well-being but in the UK based students this is not the case. Results also showed that social axioms can predict well-being over and above the role of country and personality traits. 2) The mediation role of mindful acceptance was not endorsed in the relationship between social cynicism and subjective well-being. It was found that the predictor (social cynicism) and the mediator (mindful acceptance) were not significantly correlated with the outcome (subjective well-being). However, the mediation role of perspective taking in the relationship between social complexity and psychological well-being was endorsed. 3) The moderation role of attachment to national identity in the relationship between social axioms and subjective well-being was endorsed. 4) The qualitative study indicated that Iranian immigrants have an indigenous strategy for attaining mental well-being in the face of complications and difficulties, relying on their national identity and religious background. This strategy is based on the concepts of free will and predestination of life events. Paying attention to negative events and ignoring positive events and inefficient problem-solving strategies can account for the relationship between social cynicism and low well-being and inattention to cultural elements. However, the Iranian collective culture, optimal coping style, and excessive insistence on religious elements as a cultural attribute can explain the relationship between religiosity, reward for application, and well-being in the Iranian sample. On the other hand, surrendering to divine will and the belief in divine will and predestination of life events along with the belief in human free will account for the role of attachment to national identity in the relationship between social axioms and well-being in the Iranian sample. In conclusion, it seems that though social axioms are related to well-being, different aspects of social axioms seem to be related to different aspects of well-being in different ways and this relationship is influenced by cultural attributes.

MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Ruth Anne Rehfeldt The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a defusion exercise in combination with perspective- taking interactions as a brief protocol based on the Relational Frame Theory (RFT). The protocol was designed to alter verbal statements about the self through the implementation of training on deictic frames (I-YOU, HERE-THERE, AND NOW-THEN) in conjunction with an exercise of defusion. A pre-post design with a control group was implemented to evaluate the effects of the protocol on the frequency rate of self-as-context and self-as-content statements. Adolescents with disabilities were selected and assigned to each group based on the frequency rate of self-as-content statements. After the assignment of the participants to each group, each participant was interviewed individually through a structured interview aimed at identifying deictic frames and negative statements. Then, participants in the treatment group received the protocol of defusion and deictic frames individually, and participants in the control group received a social skills session on an individual basis. Finally, participants were interviewed individually through an interview based on the identification of deictic relationships and negative statements about the self. Results showed a significant effect in reducing the number of self-as-content statements and increasing the number of self-as-context statements for participants in the treatment group; however, changes did not reach the statistical significance when comparing the post-tests scores between the treatment and control group. Limitations of this study are discussed and future research is recommended.

xvi, 191 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / A growing body of research has focused on how perspective taking leads people to perceive themselves as "merging" with the target of perspective taking, in terms of how they cognitively represent themselves and the target. In turn, this merging has been shown to facilitate social coordination between perceivers and targets and results in reduced stereotyping of the target's group. Using this past research as a starting point, this dissertation asks a related but new question: Does perspective taking lead perceivers to take on the attitudes of the target of perspective taking, even when these attitudes are socially reprehensible? Specifically, this dissertation tested whether taking the perspective of a racist target leads perspective takers to show greater racism and stereotyping. In Study I, 102 participants took the perspective of racist male target (or wrote about a day in his life without taking his perspective or about a day in their own lives), learning about his attitudes from visual information alone. No main effect for perspective taking was found. However, for perspective takers only, greater self-target merging predicted higher explicit racism scores. Also among perspective takers, greater internal motivation to respond without prejudice also ironically led to greater implicit stereotyping. In Study 2, 101 participants took the perspective of a female target who was generally likable but had subtly racist attitudes. Once again, no main effect of perspective taking was found, but for perspective takers, greater external motivation to respond without prejudice led to higher explicit racism scores. In Study 3, 101 participants took the perspective of the same target used in Study 1, but were given information about the genesis of the target's attitudes. The combination of perspective taking and information led to higher explicit racism scores, and this effect was mediated by self-target merging (and not by greater positive regard for the target). Under many circumstances, perspective takers appear to reject taking on a racist target's socially undesirable attitudes, adopting them only when they have been given some reason for why the target holds those attitudes. In addition, motivation to respond without prejudice may lead ironically to greater prejudiced responses. / Committee in charge: Sara Hodges, Chairperson, Psychology; Bertram Malle, Member, Psychology; Ulrich Mayr, Member, Psychology; Mia Tuan, Outside Member, Education Studies

Submitted by Bruna Rodrigues (bruna92rodrigues@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-28T14:06:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLAB.pdf: 1245408 bytes, checksum: ac0874f547e5f477048936330c37d4be (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-10T19:06:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLAB.pdf: 1245408 bytes, checksum: ac0874f547e5f477048936330c37d4be (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-10T19:07:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLAB.pdf: 1245408 bytes, checksum: ac0874f547e5f477048936330c37d4be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-10T19:07:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLAB.pdf: 1245408 bytes, checksum: ac0874f547e5f477048936330c37d4be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-11 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Theory of Mind is conventionally defined as the ability to understand and make inferences about one’s own mental states (i.e., desires, intentions and beliefs) and those of other people, and based on this repertoire, one can predict and explain human behavior. Recent research, supported by Relational Frame Theory (RFT), has emphasized the role of perspective taking in the development of Theory of Mind. Results suggest that children who undergo perspective-taking training show improved performance in Theory of Mind tasks. The goal of the present study was to administer the Perspective Taking Protocol, used in these previous studies, in Brazilian children with low performance in theory of mind tasks. Three studies were conducted, two of them being pilot studies, which revealed the need for adaptations to the original procedure. Study 1 aimed to test the original protocol with one child aged 4 years and 9 months. The protocol consisted in the presentation of blocks of simple verbal trials and trials including reversal and double reversal of roles with the experimenter. Trials included the deictic frames I-YOU, HERE-THERE and NOW-THEN. The protocol, however, proved to be incompatible with the child’s repertoire, that is, he did not meet the learning criteria established in the original study. In order to test the difficulty level of the protocol, in Study 2, two young university students received the same training. Data suggested that the two adult participants succeeded in completing the protocol, having met criteria; however, they did face difficulties during the procedure. In Study 3, four participants, aged 4 and 5, were administered an adapted version of the protocol. In order to train reversed trials, physical tips (i.e., cards) and gestural signs were used and were gradually withdrawn until participants could respond without any assistance. Participants were also evaluated in three tasks of Theory of Mind, before and after the teaching procedure. During training, children were able to respond correctly on the reversed trials, even after removal of physical tips. All four participants showed improved performance in Theory of Mind tasks after training, with scores 1 or 2 points higher (scores could vary from 0 to 3), in comparison to pretest. Results suggest that, despite the evidence showing that the Perspective Taking Protocol is effective, it should be altered in order to be consistent with the repertoire of children with quite distinct characteristics from those who participated in the original study. In the case of children participating in the present research, changes in the distribution of trials throughout training blocks, as well as changes in the format of those trials had a positive learning effect. We hope the results of the present study may encourage future work on the potential benefits of procedures aimed at perspective taking training, in particular, with individuals who present delays or difficulties in social cognition. / A Teoria da Mente é convencionalmente definida como a habilidade de compreender e fazer inferências sobre os próprios estados mentais (i.e., desejos, intenções e crenças) e os de outras pessoas, e com base nesse repertório, predizer e explicar comportamentos humanos. Pesquisas recentes, apoiadas na Teoria das Molduras Relacionais (Relational Frame Theory- RFT), têm enfatizado o papel da tomada de perspectiva no desenvolvimento da Teoria da Mente. Os resultados sugerem que crianças submetidas a um treinamento de tomada de perspectiva apresentam um melhor desempenho em tarefas de Teoria da Mente. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo aplicar o Protocolo de Tomada de Perspectiva usado nesses estudos em crianças brasileiras com desempenho baixo em tarefas de Teoria da Mente. Três estudos foram conduzidos, sendo dois deles estudos pilotos, que levaram a adaptações do procedimento original. O Estudo 1 teve como objetivo testar o protocolo original com uma criança de 4 anos e 9 meses. O protocolo consistia na apresentação de blocos de tentativas verbais simples e de tentativas que incluíam reversão e dupla reversão de papéis com o experimentador. As tentativas englobavam as molduras dêiticas EU-VOCÊ, AQUI-AÍ e AGORA-ENTÃO. O protocolo, no entanto, mostrou-se incompatível com o repertório apresentado pela criança, sendo que ela não atingiu os critérios de aprendizagem estabelecidos no estudo original. De forma a testar o nível de dificuldade do protocolo, dois jovens universitários passaram pelo mesmo treinamento no Estudo 2. Os dados revelaram que os dois adultos foram capazes de completar o protocolo dentro dos critérios estabelecidos, no entanto, apresentaram algumas dificuldades durante o procedimento. No Estudo 3, quatro crianças, com 4 e 5 anos de idade, foram submetidas a uma versão adaptada do protocolo. Para o treinamento das tentativas reversas, foram utilizadas dicas físicas como fichas e indicações gestuais, retiradas gradativamente até que os participantes respondessem sem ajuda. As crianças participantes foram avaliadas em três tarefas de Teoria da Mente, antes e depois do procedimento de ensino. As crianças, durante o treinamento, foram capazes de responder às tentativas reversas corretamente, mesmo depois da remoção das dicas físicas. Todos os quatro participantes apresentaram melhora no seu desempenho em Teoria da Mente após o treinamento, com escores 1 ou 2 pontos mais altos (escores podiam variar de 0 a 3), em relação ao pré-teste. Os resultados sugerem que, apesar das evidências da eficácia do Protocolo de Tomada de Perspectiva, ele deve ser modificado de forma a se adequar ao repertório de crianças com características distintas daquelas que participaram do estudo original. No caso das crianças participantes da presente pesquisa, as alterações tanto na distribuição das tentativas ao longo dos blocos de treino quanto no formato das mesmas tiveram um efeito positivo na aprendizagem. Espera-se que os resultados do presente estudo possam encorajar trabalhos futuros que investiguem os potenciais benefícios de procedimentos voltados para o treinamento da tomada de perspectiva, em especial, em indivíduos com atrasos ou comprometimentos em cognição social.

Illegal or undocumented immigration is a political hot-button issue in the United States and around the world. This study investigated social psychological factors that influence reactions toward illegal immigrants. Drawing on America’s identity as a nation of immigrants and on research showing positive effects of perspective–taking on intergroup relations, this research asks how reminders of one’s ingroup history in the U.S. and perspective-taking impact Americans emotional responses to illegal immigrants and their support for pro- and anti-immigration policies. Additionally, this research investigates whether the effects of reminders of one’s ingroup history and perspective-taking depend on people’s political orientation. Results show that the combination of thinking about one’s ingroup history and taking the perspective of illegal immigrants actually leads to more negative reactions toward illegal immigrants. Furthermore, this effect appears to be driven by conservatives as opposed to liberals. These findings raise questions about which public discourses about illegal immigration would create a consensus based on humanitarian ideals, and which discourses would increase polarization. These findings also add to the growing literature on the limitations of perspective-taking as an intervention to reduce prejudice.

Bullying has long-term negative effects on the mental health and wellbeing of everyone involved. School-wide interventions have been successful in some contexts, but they often require significant institutional and financial resources. Empathy is comprised of a cognitive component (perspective taking) and an affective component (empathic concern), both of which may be necessary for prosocial behavior. According to relational frame theory (RFT), empathy involves a transformation of stimulus functions across deictic relations (I-YOU, HERE-THERE, NOW-THEN), which also requires psychological willingness (i.e., psychological flexibility). The present study investigated this theoretical model of empathy based on RFT and the role of this model in middle school bullying. Results tentatively support this model by demonstrating two ways in which psychological flexibility moderates the relationship between deictic framing ability and empathy. The utility of deictic framing and psychological flexibility in predicting bullying behaviors was also examined. Deictic framing ability and psychological flexibility were expected to negatively predict bullying behaviors, and psychological flexibility was expected to moderate the relationship between deictic framing ability and relational bullying in particular. Additional research questions explored the roles of deictic framing and psychological flexibility in the relationship between relational bullying and other relevant psychological determinants: (a) parental discord, (b) social anxiety, and (c) social roles. The results of this study were insufficient to apply this model to bullying behaviors. Methodological and statistical limitations are discussed in depth, and future directions to improve on this study and clarify these relationships are emphasized.

Robert Kennedy once said, “The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” This statement inspired the author to question how prosocial behavior and the acceptance of diversity can be encouraged and is the driving force behind the following undergraduate thesis. Research tells us that Theory of Mind (ToM) and Affective Perspective Taking (APT) are essential components in a stepwise progression to learning empathy and can be taught to children ages five to seven. These elements are essential to developing an empathetic foundation that leads to healthier relationships, reduces bullying, and encourages the acceptance of diversity. Teaching children about emotions helps expand their vocabulary and put a name on what they or someone else is feeling. This facilitation of language and literacy is another building block in the development of compassionate understanding and empathy. Research shows that works of fiction can help children increase their ability to recognize emotions and encourages empathetic development through examination of a story character’s feelings. The culmination of this undergraduate thesis project is a children’s book called The Day Dot Ran Away. The research-informed book is designed to teach perspective taking by encouraging the reader to pay special attention to the emotions on the faces of the characters. The author’s hope is that this book will sow the seeds of empathy in all who read it, and as a result, they will become empathetic adults who are more accepting of diversity.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Diversity training continues to be an important research domain because of its practical application in modern organizations. However, research regarding best methods remains inconclusive, and little work has investigated non-demographic trainee characteristics as boundary conditions of diversity training effectiveness. The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of integrating two diversity training methods, perspective taking and media contact, specifically for resistant trainees who are high in social dominance orientation (SDO). In a sample of 373 participants, I test a proposed three-way interaction between these variables such that the effect of perspective taking on racial bias and intergroup anxiety will be enhanced by a media contact video condition, and this integration of training methods will be particularly beneficial for high SDO individuals. This hypothesis was largely unsupported, as integrating perspective taking and media interventions did not lead to lower racial bias or intergroup anxiety. Counter to expectations, the media contact video revealed a harmful effect on racial bias for those low in SDO. However, when combined with a perspective taking writing task, this harmful effect was mitigated. Supplemental analyses reveal that in the media contact video condition, the effect of SDO on racial bias was explained by a mediating mechanism, parasocial connection. Trainees high in SDO formed more negative parasocial connections with the speaker in the media contact video condition. However, those low in SDO formed strong positive parasocial connections with the speaker, and in turn, this positive parasocial connection led to lower racial bias. Implications, future research, and limitations are discussed.