PERSPECTIVE-TAKING - IMAGINING HOW ANOTHER FEELS VERSUS IMAGINING HOWYOU WOULD FEEL

Although often confused, imagining how another feels; and imagining ho w you would feel are two distinct forms of perspective taking with dif ferent emotional consequences. The former evokes empathy,. the latter; both empathy and distress. To test this claim, undergraduates listene d to a (bogus) Pilot radio interview with a young woman in serious nee d. One third were instructed to remain objective whit listening one th ird, to imagine how the young woman felt; and one third, to imagine ho w they would feel in her situation. The two imagine perspectives produ ced the Predicted distinct pattern of emotions, suggesting different m otivational consequences: Imagining how the other feels produced empat hy, which has been found to evoke altruistic motivation; imagining how you would feel produced empathy, but it also Produced personal distre ss, which has been found to evoke egoistic motivation.