Does Personality Organization Affect Empathic Perspective-taking?

Empathic perspective taking is the psychological process that enables us to identify and understand other people’s emotions. A recent study published in Science (Kidd & Castano, 2013) suggests that reading literary fiction can improve empathic perspective taking abilities. In the present investigation, I present a history of scientific efforts to explain and measure empathy as well as how empathic perspective-taking is diminished in individuals with personality disorders. I review efforts at an extension of existing research that resulted in a failed replication with important repercussions. I outline potential directions for researchers looking to investigate the relationship of empathic perspective taking, literary fiction, and personality organization.