“…First, while changes in the valence of readers’ moral attitudes may in some cases be owed to genuine enhancements of awareness and sensitivity, in others they are better explained by simple observational learning: readers acquire morally positive and negative attitudes when, for instance, a story character is rewarded or punished for her actions, and young readers and children are particularly susceptible to such effects (Black & Barnes, 2021; Johnson et al, 2013a; Mumper & Gerrig, 2019). As Wimmer points out, “if such a pattern of reward is absorbed blindly, without attaining insight into principles of ethical conduct, readers could just as well acquire morally negative attitudes and behaviours when a story character is rewarded for a morally negative action or punished for a morally positive one” (Wimmer et al, 2021, p. 231). Attitudinal and evaluative shifts driven by observational learning of this kind will have little or nothing to do with empathy.…”