Management Department, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.
J Appl Psychol. 2018 Aug;103(8):894-915. doi: 10.1037/apl0000307. Epub 2018 Apr 16.
Perspective taking and empathic concern (empathy) have each been proposed as constructive approaches to social relationships. However, their potential distinctions, limitations, and consequences in task contexts are not well understood. We meta-analytically examined 304 independent samples to uncover unique effects of perspective taking and empathic concern on important work-related outcomes. We develop and test a contingency model of those effects, based on three facets of psychological interdependence: outcome, hierarchical (or power asymmetry), and social category (or in-group/out-group distinctions). Results revealed perspective taking and empathic concern to have positive impacts on being supportive of others, but the effects of empathic concern were stronger. In contrast, perspective taking was an asset and empathy was a liability for capturing value in strategic interactions (e.g., negotiations). Effects of perspective taking and empathic concern were differentially contingent on psychological interdependence. The impact of perspective taking, but not of empathic concern, was attenuated or reversed under negative outcome interdependence; perspective-taking leads to advantage taking in competitive contexts. Perspective taking was particularly beneficial when the actor had high power, but empathic concern's benefits were independent of hierarchy. Finally, social dissimilarity had no detectable impact on the effects of perspective taking or empathic concern, contrary to our theorizing. Overall results suggest two key conclusions. First, perspective taking and empathic concern have powerful effects on work-related outcomes. Second, each construct has its own distinctive and predictable impacts. We conclude by offering practical suggestions for improving workplace interactions through perspective taking and empathic concern. (PsycINFO Database Record
换位思考和同理心（共情）都被认为是建立良好社会关系的建设性方法。然而，它们在任务情境中的潜在区别、局限性和后果还没有得到很好的理解。我们对 304 个独立样本进行了元分析，以揭示换位思考和同理心对重要工作相关结果的独特影响。我们基于心理依存的三个方面（结果、等级（或权力不对称）和社会类别（或内群体/外群体区分），提出并测试了这些影响的权变模型。结果表明，换位思考和同理心对支持他人有积极的影响，但同理心的影响更强烈。相比之下，换位思考在战略互动（如谈判）中捕捉价值是一种优势，而同理心则是一种劣势。换位思考和同理心的影响取决于心理依存关系。换位思考的影响，但同理心的影响没有，在消极的结果依存关系下减弱或反转；在竞争环境中，换位思考会导致优势的获取。在行动者拥有高权力的情况下，换位思考特别有益，但同理心的好处与等级无关。最后，与我们的理论相反，社会差异对换位思考或同理心的影响没有可察觉的影响。总体结果表明了两个关键结论。首先，换位思考和同理心对工作相关结果有强大的影响。其次，每个结构都有其独特的、可预测的影响。我们最后提出了通过换位思考和同理心来改善工作场所互动的实际建议。
