THE MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES INVENTORY - A MEASURE OF PERSPECTIVE-TAKING

Four studies were conducted to develop a measure of people's capacity to adopt multiple perspectives when making judgments. In Study 1, 20 s cale items designed to tap people's propensity to use multiple perspec tives when solving problems or making decisions were administered to 1 342 participants. The resulting scale was reliable (alpha = .90). Stud y 2 differentiated the Multiple Perspectives Inventory (MPI) from the need for cognition. Study 3 revealed that the capacity to process and recall information was associated with MPI performance, but not dogmat ism. Using the classic Einstellung problem, Study 4 demonstrated that high MPIs were less bound by, more capable of breaking, and less likel y to revert to, an induced cognitive set. The implications of this con struct and measure for a host of issues in psychology were discussed.