Part of
Directions in Empirical Literary Studies: In honor of Willie van PeerEdited by Sonia Zyngier, Marisa Bortolussi, Anna Chesnokova and Jan Auracher
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 5] 2008
► pp. 127–137
Edited by Sonia Zyngier, Marisa Bortolussi, Anna Chesnokova and Jan Auracher
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 5] 2008
► pp. 127–137
Effects of reading on knowledge, social abilities, and selfhood: Theory and empirical studies
Reading exhibits a principle of expertise: the more one does it the more skilled one is likely to become both in the activity and in content knowledge. Our experiences with text lead to the acquisition of both vocabulary and general knowledge. Research from our group examines how reading can have other outcomes. With a starting point of fiction as an entryway into simulations of social interactions, we review empirical studies of how the reading of fiction can improve empathy and other social abilities, and prompt changes in personality.
Keywords: empathy, fiction, personality change, reading, simulation, theory-of-mind
Cited by
Cited by 32 other publications
Appel, Markus
2012. Are heavy users of computer games and social media more computer literate?. Computers & Education 59:4 ► pp. 1339 ff. 
Appel, Markus & Barbara Malečkar
2012. The Influence of Paratext on Narrative Persuasion: Fact, Fiction, or Fake?. Human Communication Research 38:4 ► pp. 459 ff.
Balo, Vincent Theodore M., Angeline M. Pogoy, Michel Plaisent & Prosper Bernard
2023. 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MATHEMATICAL MODELING IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES [11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MATHEMATICAL MODELING IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES, 2872], ► pp. 020017 ff.
Bianchi, Marina
2014. The Magic of Storytelling: How Curiosity and Aesthetic Preferences Work. Economics 8:1
Canning, Patricia
2017. Text World Theory and real world readers: From literature to life in a Belfast prison. Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics 26:2 ► pp. 172 ff.
Cho, Hyerim, Denice Adkins & Ngoc‐Minh Pham
2022. “I only wish that I had had that growing up”: Understanding Webtoon’s Appeals and Characteristics as an Emerging Reading Platform. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology 59:1 ► pp. 44 ff.
Currie, Gregory
2012. Literature and Truthfulness. In Rationis Defensor [Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 28], ► pp. 23 ff.
Deane, Paul, Swapna Somasundaran, René R. Lawless, Hilary Persky & Colleen Appel
2019. The Key Practice, Building and Sharing Stories and Social Understandings: The Intrinsic Value of Narrative. ETS Research Report Series 2019:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Duncan, Charles, Georgene Bess-Montgomery & Viktor Osinubi
2017. Why Martha Nussbaum is Right: The Empirical Case for the Value of Reading and Teaching Fiction. Interdisciplinary Literary Studies 19:2 ► pp. 242 ff.
Gittel, Benjamin, Robert Deutschländer & Martin Hecht
2016. Conveying moods and knowledge-what-it-is-like through lyric poetry. Scientific Study of Literature 6:1 ► pp. 131 ff.
Hollis, Helena
2023. Readers’ experiences of fiction and nonfiction influencing critical thinking. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 55:1 ► pp. 18 ff.
Kaakinen, Johanna K., Orsolya Papp-Zipernovszky, Egon Werlen, Nuria Castells, Per Bergamin, Thierry Baccino & Arthur M. Jacobs
2018. Chapter 6. Emotional and motivational aspects of digital reading. In Learning to Read in a Digital World [Studies in Written Language and Literacy, 17], ► pp. 141 ff.
Kneeskern, Ellen E. & Patricia A. Reeder
2022. Examining the impact of fiction literature on children’s gender stereotypes. Current Psychology 41:3 ► pp. 1472 ff.
Lindahl, Carl
2018. Dream Some More: Storytelling as Therapy. Folklore 129:3 ► pp. 221 ff.
Mangen, Anne
2016. The Digitization of Literary Reading. Orbis Litterarum 71:3 ► pp. 240 ff.
Mersha, Abraham Tarekegn, Amare Haile Kiros Gebre Egzi, Hailu Yimer Tawuye & Nigussie Simeneh Endalew
2020. Factors associated with knowledge and attitude towards adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation among healthcare professionals at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: an institutional-based cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 10:9 ► pp. e037416 ff.
Michaelson, Christopher
2015. How Reading Novels Can Help Management Scholars Cultivate Ambiculturalism. Academy of Management Review 40:1 ► pp. 147 ff.
Michaelson, Christopher
2016. A Novel Approach to Business Ethics Education: Exploring How to Live and Work in the 21st Century. Academy of Management Learning & Education 15:3 ► pp. 588 ff.
Michaelson, Christopher
2016. Business in the Work and World of David Foster Wallace. Journal of Management Inquiry 25:2 ► pp. 214 ff.
Mittmann, Gloria, Beate Schrank & Verena Steiner-Hofbauer
2024. Portrayal of autism in mainstream media – a scoping review about representation, stigmatisation and effects on consumers in non-fiction and fiction media. Current Psychology 43:9 ► pp. 8008 ff.
Namba, Shushi, Russell Sarwar Kabir, Kiyoaki Matsuda, Yuka Noguchi, Kohei Kambara, Ryota Kobayashi, Jun Shigematsu, Makoto Miyatani & Takashi Nakao
2021. Fantasy Component of Interpersonal Reactivity is Associated with Empathic Accuracy: Findings from Behavioral Experiments with Implications for Applied Settings. Reading Psychology 42:7 ► pp. 788 ff.
Wang, Lijuan
2024. Book clubs as a possible approach to bibliotherapy: an L2 online book club for EFL learners. Journal of Poetry Therapy ► pp. 1 ff.
Whiteley, Sara & Patricia Canning
2017. Reader response research in stylistics. Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics 26:2 ► pp. 71 ff.
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2018. Notes. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 197 ff.
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2018. Andys and Auties. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 86 ff.
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2018. Introduction. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 1 ff.
[no author supplied]
2018. Epilogue. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 191 ff.
[no author supplied]
2018. The Heavens of the Brain. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 57 ff.
[no author supplied]
2018. Take for Grandin. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 155 ff.
[no author supplied]
2018. From a World as Fluid as the Sea. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 23 ff.
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2018. Bibliography. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 247 ff.
[no author supplied]
2018. Finding Her Feet. In See It Feelingly, ► pp. 122 ff.
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