Research Summary: New Perspectives
Emotional Perspective Taking Skills in Greek Life Affiliates
By Sophia Marchetti, MA Counselling Psychology (Year 2) & Ashley Rodrigues, MA School and Applied Child Psychology (Year 1)
When we talk about the risks of sexual and dating violence on university campuses, most of us think about alcohol use, party culture, or hazing. But our research suggests that something less obvious (i.e., how well students can put themselves in someone else’s shoes) may also play a role. This skill, which we call emotional perspective-taking, appears to be different depending on whether students are affiliated with Greek Life (fraternities or sororities).
In a study involving more than 350 undergraduates, the LOL lab aimed to investigate perspective-taking among Greek Life affiliates. Notably, we found that students involved in Greek Life (attending Greek Life parties and previous/current membership) scored significantly differently on a task-based behavioural measure of emotional perspective-taking compared to their non-Greek peers.
The task is grounded in Relational Frame Theory, it asks participants to imagine how one person might feel if they were in another person’s shoes in a social situation. Unlike a survey where you might be inclined to give a socially desirable answer, this task required participants to engage with the complexities of shifting viewpoints. The results showed that Greek-affiliated students performed significantly differently from non-Greek students, suggesting that affiliation with these organizations may be linked to the ways people take the perspectives of others.
We found that self-reported perspective-taking did not differ between Greek and non-Greek students, this adds another layer of concern. It suggests that Greek-affiliated students may believe they are good at empathizing when, in practice, their ability to take another’s perspective is less developed.
While our research does not claim that Greek Life inevitably diminishes perspective-taking, it does highlight an area that may benefit from intervention. Training programs that target perspective-taking, could help students build empathy and disrupt harmful relational frames. Workshops that move beyond lectures or videos and instead ask participants to actively role-play or practice shifting perspectives may be especially effective.
Why does this matter for dating violence on campus? Perspective-taking is a cornerstone of empathy. If someone struggles to see how their partner feels in a difficult situation, they might be more likely to dismiss, minimize, or justify harmful behaviours. Conversely, strong perspective-taking skills can act as a protective factor, helping people recognize when their actions or the actions of their peers cross a line. Confirming the real-life impact of these differences on attitudes and behaviours requires further research.
This single finding underscores how dating violence prevention cannot be reduced to surface-level policies or awareness campaigns. If we want to change attitudes and behaviours in meaningful ways, we need to understand the cognitive and cultural dynamics at play. Perspective-taking may be one key piece of the puzzle.
As universities continue to grapple with the troubling rates of dating and sexual violence on campus, insights like this remind us that solutions must go beyond rule-setting. They must foster the skills and mindsets that make respectful, empathetic relationships possible in the first place.
This report is a preliminary finding from the research of Sophia Marchetti, an MA thesis student in the LOL Lab. For further results or inquiries, please contact Sophia, smarche5@uwo.ca.
