For a host of reasons, training students and teachers to more accurately discern the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of others is more important than ever. One approach to improving social perspective taking entails teaching students to understand when and how bias impedes their efforts to "read" others. To facilitate this…

Despite the enthusiasm around social-emotional learning, the vast number of skills, dispositions, and attitudes we hope to infuse into students will overwhelm even the most ambitious schools. However, a single core capacity underlies a great many social-emotional learning outcomes: social perspective taking. Recent research on this process of…

Background/Context: A growing literature describes multiple benefits of social perspective taking--many of which are particularly important for schools. Despite these potential benefits for administrators, counselors, teachers, and students, little is known about social perspective taking as a process. Purpose/Research Question: If educational…

Background/Context: Research indicates that social perspective taking--the capacity to discern the thoughts and feelings of others--plays a role in many important outcomes in schools. Despite the potential benefits for students and educators, little is known about social perspective taking (SPT) as a process. Purpose/Research Question: If…

People are intrinsically motivated to connect to others socially. One of the most important mechanisms in fostering social relationships is social perspective taking (SPT)--the capacity to discern the thoughts and feelings of others. Thus, students in social studies classrooms might be motivated to engage with their subject either through taking…

Background: Although teacher-student relationships lie at the heart of students' schooling experience, fundamental questions regarding these relationships remain unanswered. Aims: This study investigates three related questions about these relationships: To what extent do they change from the beginning to the end of a school year? Are any emergent…

Quality teacher-student relationships are linked with numerous valued student outcomes. Yet, questions remain about how to best facilitate these relationships. Social perspective taking--the process of discerning others' thoughts, feelings, and motivations--is critical to relationships; yet, its promise as a facilitator of teacher-student…

Frequently and accurately discerning others' thoughts and feelings is associated with multiple valued educational outcomes across an array of settings. Despite its foundational role in social interactions, it is unclear whether individuals can be taught to improve their social perspective taking capacities. This experiment assesses whether a…

This study examined the potential of simulations to bolster interest in middle school social studies classrooms. Using a pre-post-design, we examined 305 middle school students (49% female) who participated in the web-based "GlobalEd" simulation. In contrast to the motivation declines middle school students usually experience, participants in this…

Social perspective taking (SPT) is thought to be important in its own right and is often associated with other important skills, such as interpersonal conflict resolution. Previous research on SPT, however, has conceptualized it as a unidimensional construct leaving scholars with an insufficient understanding of this aptitude and how it relates to…

This article examines the relationship between social perspective taking (SPT) and student achievement in three domains: conflict resolution, historical empathy, and social studies grades. Although many have asserted that SPT relates to important educational outcomes, varying conceptualizations of SPT have impeded researchers' abilities to assess…