Perspective taking and emotion: The case of disgust and sadness.

ABSTRACT

In a recent study (Gilead et al., 2016), perspective taking (PT) was found to have a significant effect on affect ratings of negative pictures compared to neutrals. The current study explores the question whether PT would be affected equally by distinct negative emotions. We used neutral pictures and pictures classified as provoking sadness or disgust, matched for their intensity and arousal. Participants were asked to rate the pictures (on a scale from 1-no emotional reaction, to 5-very strong reaction) from 3 different perspectives - tough, sensitive, or their own - "me". In Experiment 1, all pictures were mixed in the same blocks. In Experiment 2, the sad and disgust pictures were separated into two different blocks (each including neutrals). Both experiments showed significant interaction between PT and emotion. PT was found to be influenced by valence; however, distinct negative emotions were found to affect PT similarly.