Perspective-Taking During Conversation

In conversation, each person has their own perspective which is shaped by their unique set of life experiences. Considering of how one’s own perspective is similar to, or different from, the perspective of their conversational partner is crucial in order to communicate effectively in conversation. Effects of perspective are found in both production and comprehension, from the message level, to sentence type and structure, to words and their sounds. This chapter provides a review of past and present literature on the representations of perspective and the underlying mechanisms that support use of perspective in conversation, outlining both the central empirical findings and the key theoretical positions. We also discuss future lines of inquiry that would be essential to maintaining progress in our understanding of this most basic phenomenon.