Investigating the impact of anxiety on perspective taking

Perspective taking is an important skill to function in society. Previous studies have shown that certain moods can impair the ability to effectively take another’s perspective, including anxiety. However, this research has not made distinctions between anxiety types, including social and general anxiety, despite these being known to present differently in clinical populations. Anxiety is a prevalent and pervasive emotion that people experience regularly, either momentarily as a normal response to a perceived threat, or as a personality characteristic.