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Part of
Narrative Absorption
Edited by Frank Hakemulder, Moniek M. Kuijpers, Ed S. Tan, Katalin Bálint and Miruna M. Doicaru
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 27] 2017
► pp. 293–313

Chapter 14
Absorption in narrative fiction and its possible impact on social abilities

| York University
| York University
| York University
| York University

A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to narrative fiction may be related to our ability to empathize with others, take their perspective, and understand what they are thinking and feeling. In this chapter we review the available empirical research linking narratives with the ability to infer others’ mental states, as well as the possibility that those who become more transported into a story might exhibit better mental-inference ability. We conclude with a discussion of how these issues relate to narratives in audiovisual modalities, such as TV shows and videogames.

Keywords: reading, television, videogames, empathy, mentalizing, mental inference, perspective-taking, neuroscience, transportation, autism spectrum disorder
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Fiction supports the simulation of social experiences
  • 3.Empirical evidence that fiction is related to real-world social understanding
    • 3.1Neuroscience
    • 3.2Behavioral – correlational
    • 3.3Behavioral – experimental
  • 4.Could absorption moderate the relation between reading and social outcomes?
  • 5.Absorption into fictional narratives as a possible intervention
  • 6.Television and videogame narratives
  • 7.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 9 November 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.27.15cal
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