- Put yourself in their shoes
- Think of times you’ve been in a similar situation and explain your reaction
- Can the behavior be explained by a more “universal” model than a person-specific one?
- How are they empathizing with you, given they are projecting?
- How are they empathizing with you, given what you know about how they perceive others?
- What successful model have you used to explain similar behavior for similar people?
- Is your conclusion affected by your attitude towards the subject?
Thanks for the article, I have been considering doing that very thing for years, not out of a desire to connect with humans though, but to understand them and their behavior. Now that I know that it is a viable concept, it's time to make my own Field Guide to Human Interaction.