Correlates of lifetime exposure to print fiction (original) (raw)
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Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 2021
Two pre-registered studies investigated associations of lifetime exposure to fiction, applying a battery of self-report, explicit and implicit indicators. Study 1 (N = 150 university students) tested the relationships between exposure to fiction and social and moral cognitive abilities in a lab setting, using a correlational design. Results failed to reveal evidence for enhanced social or moral cognition with increasing lifetime exposure to narrative fiction. Study 2 followed a cross-sectional design and compared 50–80 year-old fiction experts (N = 66), non-fiction experts (N = 53), and infrequent readers (N = 77) regarding social cognition, general knowledge, imaginability, and creativity in an online setting. Fiction experts outperformed the remaining groups regarding creativity, but not regarding social cognition or imaginability. In addition, both fiction and non-fiction experts demonstrated higher general knowledge than infrequent readers. Taken together, the present results do...
The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition
Scientific Study of Literature
We present two experiments examining the effects of reading narrative fiction (vs. narrative non-fiction vs. expository non-fiction) on social and moral cognition, using a battery of self-report, explicit and implicit indicators. Experiment 1 (N = 340) implemented a pre-registered, randomized between-groups design, and assessed multiple outcomes after a short reading assignment. Results failed to reveal any differences between the three reading conditions on either social or moral cognition. Experiment 2 employed a longitudinal design. N = 104 participants were randomly assigned to read an entire book over seven days. Outcome variables were assessed before and after the reading assignment as well as at a one-week follow-up. Results did not show any differential development between the three reading conditions over time. The present results do not support the claim that reading narrative fiction is apt to improve our general social and moral cognition.
Journal of Research in Personality, 2006
While frequent readers are often stereotyped as socially awkward, this may only be true of non-Wction readers and not readers of Wction. Comprehending characters in a narrative Wction appears to parallel the comprehension of peers in the actual world, while the comprehension of expository non-Wction shares no such parallels. Frequent Wction readers may thus bolster or maintain their social abilities unlike frequent readers of non-Wction. Lifetime exposure to Wction and non-Wction texts was examined along with performance on empathy/social-acumen measures. In general, Wction print-exposure positively predicted measures of social ability, while non-Wction print-exposure was a negative predictor. The tendency to become absorbed in a story also predicted empathy scores. Participant age, experience with English, and intelligence (g) were statistically controlled.
Effects of exposure to literary narrative fiction
Scientific study of literature, 2017
Literary narrative fiction may be particularly effective in enhancing Theory of Mind (ToM), as it requires readers to contemplate author and character intentions in filling the literary 'gaps' that have been suggested to characterise this fiction type. The current study investigates direct and cumulative effects of reading literature on ToM using confirmatory Bayesian analyses. Direct effects were assessed by comparing the ToM skills of participants who read texts that were manipulated to differ in the amount of gap filling they required. Cumulative effects were assessed by considering the relationship between lifetime literary fiction exposure and ToM. Results showed no evidence for direct effects of reading literature on ToM. However, lifetime literary fiction exposure was associated with higher ToM, particularly cognitive ToM. Although reading a specific piece of literary fiction may thus not have immediately measurable effects on ToM, lifetime exposure to this fiction type is associated with more advanced ToM.
Fiction, Genre Exposure, and Moral Reality
Prior research has shown that there are parallels in the ways that people judge the possibility of extraordinary events, such as time travel, and the moral permissibility of extraordinary actions, such as a medical examiner dissecting his own mother’s body (Shtulman & Tong, 2013). One arena in which people frequently encounter extraordinary events and actions is that of fiction. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship, if any, between exposure to various literary genres and both moral and modal judgment. The Genre Familiarity Test (GFT), an author recognition checklist based on similar instruments (e.g., Stanovich & West, 1989), was developed to assess exposure to seven different genres, including fantasy and science fiction. Exposure to genres was compared to scores on two tasks adapted from Shtulman and Tong (2013) tapping participants’ intuitions about physical possibility and moral permissibility. Results suggest that reading genre fiction is differentially related to both moral permissibility and physical possibility judgment, with strong evidence for distinct relationships between familiarity with Science Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary Literary, and Romance genres and the two types of judgment.
Different Stories: How Levels of Familiarity With Literary and Genre Fiction Relate to Mentalizing.
Our ability to infer and understand others’ thoughts and feelings, known as theory of mind (ToM), has important consequences across the life span, supporting empathy, pro-social behavior, and coordination in groups. Socialization practices and interpersonal interactions help develop this capacity, and so does engaging with fiction. Research suggests that lifetime exposure to fiction predicts performance on ToM tests, but little evidence speaks to the type of fiction most responsible for this effect. We draw from literary theory and empirical work to propose that literary fiction is more likely than genre fiction to foster ToM, describe the development of a new method for assessing exposure to literary and popular genre fiction, and report findings from 3 samples testing the specificity of the relation between exposure to literary fiction and ToM. Results indicate that exposure to literary but not genre fiction positively predicts performance on a test of ToM, even when accounting for demographic variables including age, gender, educational attainment, undergraduate major (in 2 samples), and self-reported empathy (in 1 sample). These findings offer further evidence that habitual engagement with others’ minds, even fictional ones, may improve the psychological processes supporting intersubjectivity. We discuss their implications for understanding the impacts of fiction, and for models of culture more generally.
The effects of reading material on social and non-social cognition
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of reading material on both social and non-social cognition. Prior research supports the hypothesis that reading fiction improves theory of mind (Kidd and Castano, 2013, Mar et al., 2006 and Mar et al., 2009a); however, little has been done to test its effects on other cognitive abilities. In this study, we tested the effect of reading literary fiction vs. non-fiction on both theory of mind and intuitive physics understanding. In line with previous research, results indicate a small but significant within-subject effect of reading material on theory of mind once other variables are controlled. Although the experimental manipulation (literary fiction vs. nonfiction) had no effect on intuitive physics understanding, we found that familiarity with fiction predicted intuitive physics ability. These results are discussed in terms of theories of fiction.
Fiction Media, Genre, and Empathic Abilities
Scientific Study of Literature, 2018
Fiction enables readers to simulate the social experiences of characters and may facilitate prosociality. Research has indicated that fiction print exposure positively relates to empathy and may promote altruistic behaviors. Whether associations hold across different media formats and thematic genres remains unclear. This study took a multidimensional approach to both fic- tion engagement and empathic abilities. Specifically, it aimed to replicate previous findings that lifetime fiction exposure positively predicts empathy, and to extend this literature through an exploration of the relationships between media and genre formats, empathy and altruism. Participants (N = 404) completed a multidimensional task measure of fiction media exposure and answered questions about fiction engagement, empathic and altruistic tendencies. Results showed divergent associations between fiction format, genre, and empathic abilities, and fiction media exposure positively predicted the tendencies to become transported into narratives and to help others. Engagement with fiction formats and thematic genres may differen- tially support adults’ prosocial development.
Literary Fiction's Influence On Social Cognitive Brain Activity
We think of reading fiction as mainly entertainment, but a recent study (Kidd & Castano, 2013) found that literary fiction, in comparison to popular fiction or nonfiction, improves Theory of Mind (ToM) skills in adults. ToM refers to the ability to accurately ascribe, predict, or understand others' perspectives, intentions, beliefs, mental states, and actions. The present study extends the previous research by examining the neurological aspects of ToM after exposure to literary or popular fiction using EEG analysis. Directly after reading either a popular fiction or literary fiction short story, college students engaged in an EEG task to measure neural activity. The results suggest that the brain areas involved in ToM skills are significantly more active not only while reading, but for some time after exposure to literary fiction compared to other types of writing. Implications of my research include the importance of reading for social cognitive development in early education and beyond, as well as potential benefits for individuals with social cognition disorders, such as those with autism spectrum disorders. No prior research has demonstrated the impact of reading literature on brain activity with respect to social cognition (e.g., Theory of Mind). This research is significant in that it ties a behavioral finding of improved social cognition after reading literature to an expansive set of neuroimaging studies related to the brain areas involved in social cognition.