Perspective-taking in families based on the social relations model

Abstract

Although previous studies have verified that perspective-taking differs according to the individuals involved and their relationships, the balance between individual and relationship effects remains unclear. Thus, we examined perspective-taking in families based on the social relations model (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). We conducted a triadic survey of 380 undergraduates and their fathers and mothers. We analyzed the triadic responses of the 166 families in which all three members completed the survey. It was found that perspective-taking in families is affected by the family itself, each actor, fathers as partners and all dyadic relationships. The relative contributions of individual effects and relationship effects differed between parent-child relationships and marital relationships. We discuss the implications of our findings for enhancing perspective-taking.