Perspective-Taking Accuracy in the Domain of Threat Perception

• In Event: The Sources of Interstate Signaling Failures

Abstract

Successful signals are those that are (1) intended to be received by the target; (2) in fact received by the target; and (3) accurately interpreted by the target. Each one of these requirements generates unique opportunities for signal failure. For example, correct interpretation of a signal requires the target to represent accurately the sender’s thoughts – that is, to adopt the sender’s perspective. In this paper, I investigate individual-level variation in perspective-taking accuracy in the domain of threat perception. Existing International Relations literature attributes errors in perspective-taking to noise, biases, or trait-level attributes. These explanations have only been tested across a limited range of situations, however, and do not represent an exhaustive set of possibilities. Across two survey experiments, I consider three additional potential causes of perspective-taking accuracy: sender/target similarity, issue area, and empathetic accuracy. In the first study, MTurk participants (N = 297) engaged in either self-reporting or perspective-taking threat perception exercises for a number of political and non-political issues. I use these data to empirically define variation in perspective-taking accuracy and test hypotheses related to noise, bias and issue area differences. In the second study, a nationally diverse sample of U.S.-based participants (N = 1,060) were randomized into a fully-factorial design to isolate the causal effects of sender/target similarity, issue area, and empathetic accuracy on perspective-taking accuracy.

Author

• Marika Landau-Wells, University of California, Berkeley