Perspective Taking

(Theory of Mind)
Objectives
• Demonstrate an increased ability to attend to others
• Better understand that others have perspectives
• Learn that others may see, understand, think, feel, believe, or desire differently than one an-
other and the student
• Understand and ascertain when others have knowledge or perspectives different than the
student’s
• Build the requisite skills for responding to others’ perspectives
• Build the requisite skills for empathy

Prerequisite Skills
• Imaginative play*
• Joint attention*
• Comprehension*
• Receptive and expressive identification of emotions*
• Cause and effect (including how one comes to “know” something)*
• Recall*
• Environmental and social awareness*
• Inferences
• “People don’t always mean what they say”
• Understanding the concept of perspective
*See A Work in Progress.

Procedure
The phases outlined here describe the process of teaching perspective-taking skills. Development
of these abilities usually occurs in a specific sequence, so it may be necessary to teach most of
the phases in the order in which they are outlined here, as mastery of one phase may be requisite
before the student can fully comprehend the next phase.

Phase 1: Differing perspectives

Step 1: Differing vantage points

“What do you see?” “What does someone else see?”
• Show a picture. The teacher holds a picture of interest up. Set up the situation so that a
number of people, including the student, are sitting in various places around the room.

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 Hold the picture so one person can see it, but not another. Ask the student, “Can (stu-
dent 1) see the picture? Can (student 2) see the picture?” The student should discrimi-
nate who can see the picture based on who is oriented toward it.Turn the picture away
from the student and ask, “Can you see the picture?”
• Have the student show his or her own work. The student should orient the page so the
person can see it, rather than the student orienting it toward himself or herself. Place a
number of people around the room. Tell the student, “Now show the picture to (stu-
dent 3). Next, show it to (student 4).” The student should turn the picture, orienting it
to each person’s point of view.
• Use objects and photographs of those objects to teach how something can look different depending
on the point of view. In this exercise, the student learns that two people may see the same
object differently. Use known items and take photos of known objects having different
attributes when viewed from different angles. For example, a toy car looks different
when viewed from the front, the back, the side, from above, and from below. This is
obviously also true with a chair, a doll, a teddy bear, a model airplane, or a doll house.
For each object, take two or three photos from different angles. Start with items that
provide dramatically different views from different angles.
Place an object in the middle of a table. Place the student so he or she can see
only one view of the object (e.g., the back of the car). Place a second person so they
can see a different view of the object (e.g., the front of the car).
Place all photos of the various angles in front of the student. Ask the student,
“Which view do you see?” versus “Which view does (person 2) see?” This part of the
exercise can be done expressively as well: “Who sees the front of the bus?” or “What
does (person 2) see?”
• Use objects within rooms to further demonstrate the concept. Have the student stand in front
of one object in the room. Have another person stand in front of another object. Each
person is looking at the object in front of him or her. Teach the student to discriminate
what can be seen in a room versus what someone is actually looking at.
A further step: Have the student and a cohort walk to a different room. Once
the pair are in the new room together, have the student return to the original room.
Have the cohort stay in the different room (for example, initially the two were in the
living room, and then both walked to the kitchen; the student returned to the living
room, while the cohort stayed in the kitchen). Offer photos of objects from each room
for the student to choose from. Ask the student, “Can (cohort) see this?” The student
should discriminate what he or she thinks the cohort might be able to see, based on
the room that person is in. For example, the cohort might be able to see the refrigera-
tor, but cannot see the television in the living room.
• Use a blocked view. Set up a situation in which a small item (e.g., a toy car) is blocked
from view by a larger item (e.g., a partition). Have a person look in the direction of the

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 car. Ask the student, “Can (person 1) see the car?” The answer is “no,” even when the
person is looking in the direction of the object. Move the box away and ask the same
question. The answer is now “yes,” because the person can indeed see the object. The
student is learning to discriminate between a blocked view—even if the student can
see the object, that doesn’t mean the other person can—and a view that is no longer
blocked—now both parties can see the object.

Step 2: What the student knows versus what someone else knows
• Set up a variety of situations involving a range of sensory modalities. Have the stu-
dent observe someone doing a specific activity causing that person to “know” or learn
something. For example, a friend watches as his mother takes a cake from the refrig-
erator and puts it on the table. Ask the student, “Does (your friend) know the cake is
on the table?” The student should answer “yes.” Then ask, “How does (your friend)
know?” The answer is, “because (the friend) saw her put it there.”
• The student learns to discriminate between things he or she knows versus things an-
other person knows. The student may learn a number of discriminations:
• The student knows, but the other person does not know
• The other person knows, but the student does not know
• Both the student and the other person know
• Both the student and the other person do not know
• The other person does not know, and the student knows the other person doesn’t
know
• The other person knows, and the student knows the other person knows
• The other person does not know, and the student does not know the other person
doesn’t know
• The other person knows, and the student does not know the other person knows

Example 1
The student and the other person go to separate rooms and perform an action written down
in each room. After performing the action, both return to the teacher. Ask the student, “Do
you know what (person) did?” and “Does (person) know what you did?”

Example 2
Person 1 and the student go outside to play soccer, where person 1 kicks the ball over the
fence. Person 2 stays inside to watch TV. Ask the student, “Does (person 1) know the soccer
ball went over the fence?” and “How does he know?” Also ask, “Does (person 2) know the
ball went over the fence?” and “Why not?” The answer to the last question is “because Per-
son 2 did not see the action occur.”

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 Example 3
The student receives an award at school assembly. The student’s mother did not attend the
ceremony. Ask the student, “Does your mom know what you got at assembly today?” and
“Why not?” Then ask, “Does your teacher know?” and “How does she know?”

Example 4
A person looks into a bag to see an object within. The student does not watch this action.
Ask the student, “Do you know if (person) knows what’s in the bag?” (The answer is “no.”)
As a contrast, the student then watches the person look into the bag. Ask the same question
(the answer is now “yes”).

Phase 2: Identify desire

Step 1: “What is important to you?”
• Provide the student with a worksheet listing 15–20 desires common to all of us. Have
the student indicate how important each desire is (low, medium, or high interest level).
It is helpful to stress that a middle ground exists for individuals with regard to prefer-
ence of desires and that preference is typically not an all-or-nothing proposition. De-
sires may include the following:
• Control
• Family time
• Sports
• Learning new things
• Eating
• Fame
• Getting good grades
• Acceptance
• Video games
• Power
• Popularity
For younger children, listing tangible items or familiar games and activities may
be more helpful with this lesson. Older children may better understand abstract con-
cepts such as control or independence; if not, more understandable language can be
used (e.g., “Being able to do things without help”).
Once the worksheet is completed, review the student’s choices and compare them
with those of other people. Explain that, for the most part, no two people will have
exactly the same desire profile, and that is what makes us unique. The teacher may also
have the student provide possible rationales for why another person would have high
desire for an area the student indicated as a “low desire” and explain what the student’s
own rationales for his or her choices.

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 Step 2: Observing and assessing desire in others
• Determining what a person wants or desires is possible by simply asking or observing that
individual. The student should observe a person who wants an object versus one who
does not want the object. Have the person visually show he or she wants the item, or does
not want it. Ask the student, “Does (the person) want the chips?” and “How do you know
(the person) wants them?” or “How do you know (the person) doesn’t want them?”
How does someone demonstrate whether he or she has a preference for some-
thing? Some helpful hints to teach the student might include the following:
• Does the person look at it?
• Does the person reach for it?
• Does the person ask for it?
• If it is offered, does the person choose it?
• Is the person happy when he or she gets it? (Smile, laugh, say something positive)
• Does the person spend time with it?
• Does the person talk about it?
• Does the person do these things often when in the presence of it, rather than just once?
Over time, the student can get to know what another person wants through
observation. Knowing—or inferring—what a person wants by watching his or her
actions can assist the student in understanding the person’s general desires. This, in
turn, can assist the student in interpreting intention based on the relevant actions and
words someone uses.

Phase 3: Identify emotions (“affective perspective taking”)

• Affective perspective taking refers to the ability to understand another person’s emotions
and feelings. Identifying another’s emotions is described in detail in the Emotions program.
• It is important to teach the student how to interpret verbal and nonverbal cues about emo-
tions. The student should learn to answer questions such as “How does she feel?” and “How
do you know she feels sad/angry/happy?” or “Why is she sad?” The “People Don’t Always
Mean What They Say” program in this book would be useful here.

Phase 4: Identify thoughts and beliefs (What is someone

else thinking?)

Step 1: Predicting what a person might be thinking

• Use pictures, videos, or role-plays to illustrate situations involving clear actions or
events. Ask the student to determine what each person might be thinking. The student
should base his or her answers on the knowledge and skills built from previous phases
and requisite programs, including identifying nonverbal cues and the situation’s con-
text (e.g., setting, event, person’s words, body language).

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 EXAMPLE SITUATIONS POSSIBLE THOUGHTS
Child falls off bike, father nearby. Child: “Ouch!”
Father: “I hope he’s okay.”
Child walks onto road; another person is shouting out Person: “Oh no, he’s going to get hit by a car.”
something. Child: Thinking about getting to soccer practice on time.
Child is drawing on wall; mother is standing behind child Mom: “You are in big trouble!”
with her hands on hips. Child: “I am in big trouble!”
Peer has a box of old rotten fruit and says to friend, “Put your Peer: “I’ll trick him.”
hand in here—I’ve got something for you.” Friend: “This is exciting.”

Step 2: Sometimes others have different beliefs

• The student learns his or her beliefs may differ from those of others. Provide the stu-
dent with many different examples where his or her own beliefs vary from the beliefs
of others.

Example 1
Person 1 puts a hat on a table and walks away. Person 2 picks up the hat, puts it in Person
1’s school bag, and then walks out. Person 3 takes the hat out of the bag and puts it under
a bed. Ask the student, “Where does (Person 1) believe the hat is?” (“On the table”) and
“Where does Person 2 believe the hat is?” (“In the school bag”).

Example 2
Show the student a box of chocolates in which the chocolates have been replaced by pen-
cils. Have someone else (Person 1) enter the room and look at the closed box of chocolates.
Ask the student, “What does (Person 1) think is inside the box?” and “What do you think is
inside the box?”

Example 3
Hide an object in a box. Have the student and another person (Person 1) try to guess what
is inside the box. Person 1 should indicate what he or she thinks is in the box (e.g., “Maybe
it’s a ball” or “It might be a donkey”). Right before the teacher discloses the answer, ask the
student, “What do you think is inside the box?” and “What does (Person 1) think is inside
the box?”

Step 3: Advanced perspective-taking effort

• In time, the student should learn that individuals may come away from the same event
with differing beliefs (potentially based on different vantage points).
• Additionally, “second-order” belief can be addressed. Second-order beliefs occur when
a person has a perspective about what someone else believes about another person’s
beliefs, thoughts, or feelings. For example, “The student believes Rick thinks Sally feels
she won’t get invited to the party.”

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 • Further complexity can be added to perspective taking. For example, the student can
learn that differing beliefs and values occur not just based on viewing the same event.
Differing beliefs can also occur when two people hear the same content, topic, or is-
sue. In addition, having read something, people can have different ideas about what the
main idea is or what the perspective is.
• The student can learn that others’ perspectives can change. Scenarios can be created in
which events produce a change in another’s perspective (thoughts, opinions, feelings,
beliefs). The student can be asked to explain why the perspective changed or, based on
the new occurrences, what the other person’s perspective may now be.
• Finally, the student can work toward developing a better ability to infer intent, based
on observing someone’s actions, gestures, or body language. Essential elements of this
level of perspective-taking effort include remembering and using specific situational
context, having previous observational history, “knowing” the person whose actions
are being evaluated, and a firm understanding of nonverbal cues.

Examples of Advanced Perspective-Taking Exercises

• Giving Directions to Others
• Have the student guide you toward an item by giving instructions. Initially, the student
may walk with you. Eventually, the student should be able to give directions from a sta-
tionary location and modify the instructions to suit the perspective of the accomplice.
• Progress to the student giving directions based on memory. For example, if the student
and an accomplice are watching television in the living room, have the student direct
the accomplice to go to the kitchen (a different room) and retrieve sodas (the student
does not have the benefit of being in the same room to watch the accomplice and
modify the instructions).
• Withholding Information
Games such as I Spy, Guess Who, Charades, and Kids on Stage are good options for teach-
ing children to withhold information (teaching that “you know something and the other
does not”). All of these games rely on the players’ ability to hold back information and give
meaningful clues without revealing the answer.
• Practical Jokes, Magic Tricks, and Optical Illusions
Playing harmless pranks on other people can be a great way of understanding another per-
son’s perspective. For example, hide a toy snake in the pantry and prepare to ask another
person to check there. Ask the student, “What does (person) think is in the cupboard?” and
“What might (person) do happen when she sees the snake?”
Many magic tricks also involve perspective taking. Objects that are placed in a magic
hat often turn into to different things, so you can ask the student, “What does the magician
think is in the hat?” and “What does the audience think is in the magic hat?”

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 Optical illusions or magic eye pictures, if different images can be perceived (emphasis
prompts can sometimes be used to assist in this process), can also be fun and illustrate the
possibility of multiple perspectives
• Deception
Developing an understanding of deception is another way to teach perspective taking. An
added bonus may be the development of a student who is less naïve and gullible. In this
sense, the goal would be generating an understanding that someone can actively create and
promote an alternative perspective and direct it at another. A note of caution here: This
activity would not mean explicitly teaching deception, but rather that examples of others’
deception would be utilized as perspective-taking exercises. The focus here is the develop-
ment of deception recognition. Monitoring for the potential adoption of deceptive prac-
tices should occur and, if necessary, would need to lead to additional skill instruction (e.g.,
on the importance of honesty).
Fairy tales such as those involving Snow White, the Gingerbread Man, and Little Red
Riding Hood include themes of deception. These examples can be used to probe themes
relating to deception. Questions such as “Who does Snow White think the lady is?”, “Who
is the lady, really?”, “What do you think the wolf hopes to gain by dressing up as Granny?”,
and “Why did the witch dress up as a lady selling apples?” can guide the student to a better
understanding of others’ perspectives and motives.

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