Empathy and perspective-taking already anchored Allport’s account of prejudice reduction.

Evidence

Similarly, the beneficial effects of taking the perspective of a member of another group during intergroup contact can occur through both affective and cognitive mechanisms. Empathy is generally defined as a vicarious emotional state triggered by witnessing the emotional state of another. Empathy is thought to be the result of perspective-taking, which is imagining how another person perceives their situation and how they might feel as a result. Allport (1954/1979) informally defined empathy as an “ability to put [oneself ] in other people’s shoes” (1954/1979, p. 436) or a “capacity to know the other person’s state of mind, and adapt to it” (p. 436); he cited a positive relationship between empathic ability and tolerance for social differences. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1835

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the vault’s Allport reassessment thread — evidences that modern contact-theory variables (anxiety, empathy) descend directly from Allport’s original formulations rather than being later inventions.