An investigation into the relationship between fiction and nonfiction reading exposure, and factors of critical thinking

Abstract

Reading fiction has been associated with improved social and imaginative reasoning that could lead to improved critical thinking. This observational study investigated the relationship between fiction and nonfiction exposure, narrative transportation, and factors of critical thinking (critical thinking disposition, and epistemological orientation). Self-selecting participants (N = 335) completed an online survey including an author recognition test and self-report scales. Fiction scores were significantly associated with higher critical thinking disposition, while nonfiction had an inverse effect correlating with lower disposition. Fiction reading was associated with decreased absolutism, and nonfiction score conversely with higher absolutism. Total and nonfiction print exposure were associated with lower multiplism, with no significant association for fiction. Total and fiction print exposure were associated with higher evaluativism, with no significant association for nonfiction. Narrative transportation mediated some of these relationships. These findings provide a basis for further research into reading fiction and nonfiction, and critical thinking.

The eclectic landscape: examining Spanish secondary school teachers’ beliefs on literary education

“…While the benefits of an explicit approach are currently highlighted, some authors defend the implicit approach, based on promoting reading through a generic selection of literary works among which the students establish their own reading itinerary, triggering a sustained reading habit over time (Hogan, 2018). According to this, the mission of the educational institution is to guide only indirectly, based on generic (although well-oriented) recommendations from the teacher with the aim of influencing the two variables considered essential to consolidate the reading habit: the reading frequency and the students' emotional intelligence (Bennett and Royle, 2004;Allen, 2009;Álvarez-Álvarez and Viejo, 2017;Patte, 2022).…”

“…The horizon is the literary practice of adults, surrounded by agents (critics, literary supplements, etc.) that orient the reader's interest toward specific options without determining such interest (Hogan, 2018).…”

“…In the classroom, this perspective translates into the need to cultivate the reading habit, assumed in the 70s (see, for example, Patte's, 2023 reflections about the French context) and explored from various points of view, among them from the students' engagement in reading (Hogan, 2018), the support provided to the learner (Colomer et al, 2018;Fabregat, 2022), the professional development of the teacher (Taylor, 2014), the guided interpretative processes (Ballester and Ibarra, 2015), the role of writing in literary education (Schneuwly et al, 2017), free reading (Jiménez-Pérez et al, 2019) or classroom intervention (Colomer et al, 2020).…”