Putting Perspective Taking in Perspective

Abstract

We present a new framework for the discussion of perspective taking, particularly with reference to the processing of literary narrative. In this framework, adopting a perspective entails matching evaluations with those of the narrative character. This approach predicts that perspectives should be piecemeal rather than holistic, dynamic rather than consistent, effortful rather than automatic, and reactive, in the sense that they are a function of the reader's online processing as it interacts with narrative technique. We describe evidence from an interpolated evaluation method in which readers are periodically interrupted and asked to rate evaluations from a character's perspective. The results indicate that interpolated evaluations interact with narratorial stance to determine a character's transparency—that is, the extent to which she is rational and understandable. In particular, interpolated questions increase transparency of the focal character when there is minimal narratorial guidance, but decrease transparency when the narrator adopts a relatively distanced stance towards that character. These results demonstrate that perspective taking depends on the details of a reader's processing over the course of the story.