Perspective taking is a critical component of emotional intelligence. This life skill can provide a deeper context to challenging situations, effectively shaping our interactions with those around us.
According to research, it’s natural to take the perspective of another person with whom we have shared experiences. That said, you can still empathize with people undergoing entirely unfamiliar circumstances.
Read on as we unravel practical ways to practice perspective taking in your daily life. But first, let’s start by understanding what this life skill entails.
Introducing Perspective Taking
Perspective taking is an act or a skill that involves perceiving a situation or understanding a concept from an alternative point of view.
Most people practice perspective taking to gain a deeper understanding of a complex scenario. The skill is particularly useful in navigating topics and problems that often attract polarizing views.
Types of Perspective Taking
Perspective taking can assume three different dimensions, depending on the end goal. They include;
1. Perceptual Perspective Taking
Perceptual perspective taking is the ability to comprehend how another person perceives things by observing their visual and auditory senses.
It’s the most common and widely studied facet of perspective taking.
2. Conceptual Perspective Taking
In conceptual perspective taking, you attempt to demystify a person’s behaviors and opinions by analyzing various aspects of their psychological experience.
Commonly analyzed factors include thoughts and attitudes.
3. Affective Perspective Taking
Also known as social sensitivity, affective perspective taking is the ability to comprehend other people’s feelings
Some people confuse affective perspective taking with emotional intelligence. However, emotional intelligence is a skill that develops over time from constantly practicing perspective taking.
Benefits of Perspective Taking
Perspective taking can help to avoid implicit bias. The life skill enables you to interrogate every scenario analytically, which is necessary in avoiding unfair criticism.
Being able to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes might also foster a deeper sense of empathy. It lets you judge people by their intentions rather than their actions.
Perspective taking is an act of patience. The time required to understand a situation more profoundly is critical in nurturing constructive responses. It minimizes impulsive, spur-of-the-moment reactions that might only exacerbate an already volatile situation.
Below are other benefits of perspective taking;
- Provides an accurate assessment of another person’s strengths and weaknesses
- Offers an opportunity for personal growth
- Fosters interpersonal relationships
- Reduces social stereotypes and group-based judgments
- Boosts team creativity
- Reduces stress, as you don’t have to second guess another person’s intentions
- Improves conflict resolution
Ways to Practice Perspective Taking In Daily Life
1. Understand where the other person is coming from
Perspective taking is all about understanding why someone acts the way they do.
Assume that your classmate snubs your greetings in the morning as they walk past your desk! Like many people in your situation, your first instinct may be to clap back at them for what you consider mean, unwarranted treatment.
But unknown to you, your classmate may have just gotten a serious dress-down from the principal.
Instead of exacting vengeance, you’d do well to understand that the other person isn’t being intentionally rude. Rather, their reactions are a case of redirected aggression.
2. Focus on the though not necessarily the action
‘Actions speak louder than words,’ so the saying goes.
However, our actions can sometimes misrepresent our thoughts. As you continue to interact with your peers, you’ll realize that not every bad deed springs from bad intentions.
You may be quick to judge a neighbor for viciously reprimanding their kid. But after interrogating the reasons behind the punishment, you might just discover that the child totally deserves it.
3. Practice role-playing
Role-playing is one of the most effective ways to foster perspective taking in children. It involves assuming different roles to understand the motivations behind certain characters.
For instance, you could have your kids pretend to be parents for a day to introduce them to the challenges of parenthood.
Role playing may also nurture perspective taking at the workplace. Getting your employees to switch roles occasionally will help them appreciate the effort each staff member puts towards the company’s growth.
4. Ask yourself – what if I’m wrong?
It’s natural to defend your opinions in an argument, especially if your conscience is 100% clear. You might even attempt to belittle the intelligence of other parties in the discourse.
But rather than compel everyone else to view things from your standpoint, take a step back and consider the possibility that you’re wrong. This will open up opportunities for concessions.
It’s easier to develop a consensus when you can provide arguments and counterarguments to an emotive problem.
5. Consider the possibility of changing your viewpoint in the future
Like everything in life, opinions change. The fact that you’re rooting for a particular class representative today doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll vouch for them several months later.
So, if everyone else supports a different candidate, perhaps it’s time to consider the possibility of joining their faction at some point.
The idea is to understand why your opinions conflict so sharply with other people’s, and whether those views may change with time.
Final Word
Practicing perspective taking can enrich our daily interactions with other people.
The skill is particularly critical in encouraging the emotionally bruised. It allows us to have a more objective outlook by seeing things from multiple viewpoints.
Hopefully, this article provided you with the tips you need to foster perspective taking.