On literary fiction and its effects on theory of mind

Abstract

Storytelling is a hallmark human activity. We use stories to make sense of the world, to explain it to our children, to create communities, and to learn about others. This article focuses on fictional stories and their impact on complex sociocognitive abilities. Correlational and experimental evidence shows that exposure to fiction recruits and hones our ability to represent others’ mental states, or theory of mind (ToM). Experimental studies suggest this effect is specific to literary fiction. Using a unique set of texts, we replicate the finding that literary fiction improves ToM performance. Consistent with the expectation of greater focus on characters in literary fiction, linguistic analysis of the texts revealed that the literary texts contain more markers of reflective function, a sophisticated manifestation of ToM. Further analysis showed the prevalence of markers of reflective function partially mediated the effect of literary fiction on ToM performance.

Reading Literary Fiction and Theory of Mind: Three Preregistered Replications and Extensions of Kidd and Castano (2013)

“…Drawing on this distinction, Kidd and Castano (2013) tested the hypothesis that reading literary fiction would lead to improved ToM performance in five experiments, four of which directly contrasted literary and popular fiction. Consistent with the hypothesis, results revealed higher ToM performance among participants assigned to read literary fiction (see also Black & Barnes, 2015; Kidd et al, 2016; Pino & Mazza, 2016; van Kuijk, Verkoeijen, Dijkstra, & Zwaan, 2018). A subsequent series of large-scale correlational studies further demonstrated that the reliable finding that lifetime exposure to fiction positively predicts ToM performance (Mar, Oatley, Hirsh, dela Paz, & Peterson, 2006; Mar, Oatley, & Peterson, 2009; Mumper & Gerrig, 2017) is driven by exposure to literary fiction (Kidd & Castano, 2017a).…”

“…Whether reading fiction shifts our habitual reliance on general social knowledge, or theory of society (Hirschfeld, 2006), to a mode of social perception that emphasizes ToM may depend on how authors depict social content (Kidd & Castano, 2013; Kidd & Castano, 2017a; Kidd, Ongis, & Castano, 2016). Encountering stereotypical (or stock) characters and formulaic situations, readers can draw on well-rehearsed social stereotypes or genre-specific expectations (Culpeper, 2001; Schneider, 2001).…”

Predictors of Individual Differences in Emerging Adult Theory of Mind

“…NfC has been found to relate to understanding of indirect meanings in conversation (Holtgraves, 1997) and in written metaphors (Olkoniemi, Ranta, & Kaakinen, 2016), perspective-taking in adolescents (Vanwesenbeeck, Ponnet, & Walrave, 2017), and considering others in moral behaviour (Strobel, Grass, Pohling, & Strobel, 2017). Kidd, Ongis, and Castano (2016) suggest that NfC may partly explain the relationship between fiction reading and ToM. Kidd, Rogers, and Rogers (2010) also found that adults who retrospectively report high levels of CFP (creating imaginary companions) scored higher on measures of cognitive absorption and achievement.…”

Ekspozycja na fabularną prozę a spontaniczna versus jawna mentalizacja

“…Wśród proponowanych wyjaśnień pozytywnego wpływu czytania utworów beletrystycznych na zdolności mentalizacyjne najczęściej wymienia się dwa komplementarne względem siebie wyjaśnienia -treściowe i procesualne (Mar, Oatley, 2008;Kidd, Ongis, Castano, 2016;Oatley, 2016). Według wyjaśnienia treściowego kluczowe znaczenie w mechanizmie ekspozycji na fabularną prozę ma sposób przedstawiania postaci w utworach fabularnych, zwłaszcza tych o walorach literackich.…”