ABSTRACT
How.many.times.have.you.had.a.conversation.with.someone,.only.to.ask.yourself.as.you.were.leaving,.“What.was she.thinking?!”.Researchers.have.also.asked.this.question,.and.the.last.20.years. in.particular.have.produced.active.attempts.to.identify.why.some.people.are.better.at.understanding.another.person’s.thoughts.and.feelings.than.others..Over.time,.many.terms.have.been.used.to. describe.this.ability,.such.as.social.insight.(Chapin,.1942),.cognitive.role-taking.(Eisenberg,.1986),. accurate.empathy.(Ickes,.1993),.everyday.mindreading.(Ickes,.2003), and.simply.“empathy”.itself. (see. also. Batson,. Chapter. 18,. this. volume).. However,. most. recently. researchers. have. gravitated. toward.the.term.empathic accuracy,.which.is.defined.as.one’s.ability.to.accurately.infer.the.specific. content.of.another.person’s.covert.thoughts.and.feelings.(Ickes,.1993)..Empathic.accuracy.is.a.diabolically.difficult.task,.in.large.part.because.one.never.has.direct.access.to.the.contents.of.another. person’s.mind..One.cannot.“peer”.into.a.friend’s.head.and.understand.all.of.his.thoughts.and.feelings..The.friend’s.mind-like.the.mind.of.every.other.person.in.this.world-is.simply.not.available.for.direct.“download”.(a.modern.metaphor.for.the.ancient.“other.minds”.problem)..Invariably,. mental.contents.are.interpreted,.translated,.converted,.degraded,.and.otherwise.changed.during.the. inference.process.
