Absorption in narrative fiction and its possible impact on social abilities
Abstract
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.
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Greater absorption in a story can influence readers' attitudes and perspectives so that they are more aligned to those experienced in the story.
“Indeed, greater absorption in a story can influence readers ' attitudes and perspectives so that they are more aligned to those experienced in the story (Calarco et al., 2017).”
From Reading and Empathy: Qualitative insights into adolescents' experiences with fiction books (2025) · cites this paper as Calarco et al., 2017
Cites
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“Similarly, Pino and Mazza (2016) report that when their participants read an entire book infer the mental states of others.”
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The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition
Wimmer, L., Currie, G., Friend, S., & Ferguson, H. J. (2021) · Scientific Study of Literature · doi:10.1075/ssol.21010.wim · Cited by 16 · see citing works
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“(Male, aged 17) Realistic events and recognizable character traits (see also Calarco et al., 2017) also helped to facilitate connection for adolescents: It’s got humans and the people who you can relate to, things that you could see happening in real life, despite how unbelievable it may seem, it…”
Reading and Empathy: Qualitative insights into adolescents' experiences with fiction books
Santi, E., Cebula, K., & McGeown, S. (2025) · Literacy · doi:10.1111/lit.70006 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Calarco, N., Fong, K., Rain, M., & Mar, R. A.
- Affiliations
- York University (CA)
- Venue
- Linguistic Approaches to Literature
- Publisher
- John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Published
- 2017-10-17
- Pages
- 293-313
- ISSN
- 1569-3112 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2767135837
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 22 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 10.73
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Linguistic approaches to literature (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Narrative Theory and Analysis
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- narrative fiction, fiction reading, empathy, theory of mind, mental state inference, narrative absorption, narrative transport, social cognition, audiovisual narrative, television, video games
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