Social Decentering

Batson (2009) identified eight ways in which empathy has been defined, two of those involved this projective or imaginative use of self. He cited a number of different terms for describing empathy, including the original definition of empathy from 1909, role-taking, cognitive empathy, projective empathy, simulation, perspective-taking, decentering, and imagine-self perspective. While a myriad of terms have been used, they share a common denominator – a process whereby people imagine their thoughts and feelings as if they were in someone else’s situation. This perspective is reflected further in the following discussion in which projection is viewed as a natural process that contributes to empathy:

It seems the most natural thing in the world ...