Background

Perspective-taking exercises are used in a range of therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Therapy (CT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). Perspective-taking has been theorised in ACT to foster cognitive defusion, self-compassion and a sense of self as distinct from and containing self-related negative thoughts and feelings. To date, few experimental studies have investigated the impact of typical perspective-taking exercises. This study sought to investigate whether perspective-taking exercises were able to decrease state cognitive fusion and emotional discomfort and increase state self-compassion associated with a self-related, negative thought (SRNT). It also sought to investigate whether there are differences in effects between temporal (‘now’ vs ‘then’) and interpersonal (‘self’ vs ‘other’) perspective-taking and between giving and receiving perspectives.

Method

A convenience sample of non-clinical participants (n = 61) generated a SRNT and then rated levels of emotional discomfort, state cognitive fusion and state self-compassion in relation to the thought. Participants were then guided through three within-participant conditions: a control procedure, a giving perspective and a receiving perspective condition. Participants were allocated to one of two groups: temporal perspective-taking or interpersonal perspective-taking. Mixed ANOVAs showed that both interpersonal and temporal exercises significantly reduced emotional discomfort and cognitive fusion and increased self-compassion associated with a SRNT. The effects of giving or receiving perspective differed between interpersonal and temporal groups.

Conclusion

These results provide experimental evidence that perspective-taking is a psychologically beneficial process, therefore supporting the existing use of perspective-taking exercises in clinical practice.

中文翻译：

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对观点采择对情绪不适，认知融合和同情心影响的实验研究

背景

采取观点锻炼的方法广泛用于各种疗法中，例如接受和承诺疗法（ACT），认知疗法（CT），辩证行为疗法（DBT）和同情专注疗法（CFT）。ACT中已将理论取景理论化，以促进认知消沉，自我同情心和自我意识，这种自我意识与与自我相关的消极思想和情感有所区别并包含自我相关的消极思想和情感。迄今为止，很少有实验研究调查典型的观点采摘练习的影响。这项研究试图调查采取观点锻炼是否能够减少与自我相关的消极思想（SRNT）相关的状态认知融合和情绪不适并增加状态自我同情心。

方法

一个非临床参与者的便利样本（n  = 61）生成了一个SRNT，然后对与该思想有关的情绪不适，状态认知融合和状态自我同伴进行了评估。然后，通过三个参与者内部条件指导参与者：控制程序，给予视角和接收视角条件。参与者被分配到以下两组之一：时间观点或人际观点。混合方差分析表明，人际和颞部运动均显着减少了与SRNT相关的情绪不适和认知融合，并增加了自我同情心。在人际和临时群体之间，给予或接受观点的效果是不同的。

结论

这些结果提供了实验证据，表明观点采择是一种有益于心理的过程，因此支持在临床实践中现有观点采择练习的使用。