Genre or artistic merit?: The effect of literature on personality
Abstract
We tested whether the genre of a literary text (essay as compared with short story) or its artistic merit would be primarily responsible for the variability in the self-perceived personality traits that individuals experience when they read. One hundred participants were randomly assigned to read either one of eight essays or one of eight short stories, matched for length, reading difficulty, and interest. The Big-Five personality traits were measured before and after reading. Genre did not affect variability in personality. Rather, participants who judged the text they read to be more artistic reported a greater variability in their personality trait profile after reading, independently of whether the text was an essay or a short story. Artistic merit appears to be associated with literature’s transformative effects through the instability in the self-perceived experience of the reader’s personality.
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Reading for pleasure allows young people to gain knowledge and to be open to change by entering into different imaginary worlds.
“One potential behaviour that enables young people to change their behaviour themselves is engagement in reading for pleasure, which allows them to gain knowledge and to be open to change by entering into different imaginary worlds (Djikic et al., 2012).”
From Reading for pleasure in childhood and adolescent healthy behaviours: Longitudinal associations using the Millennium Cohort Study (2020) · cites this paper as Djikic et al., 2012
Reading fiction has a direct relationship with empathy and helping behaviours.
“This research has demonstrated a direct relationship between reading fiction and both empathy and helping behaviours (Clark and Rumbold, 2006; Djikic et al., 2012; Johnson, 2012).”
From Longitudinal associations between reading for pleasure and child maladjustment: Results from a propensity score matching analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Djikic et al., 2012
There is a mixed literature on the relationship between the Big 5 and cultural preferences.
“There is a mixed literature on the relationship between the Big 5 and cultural preferences.”
From Five studies evaluating the impact on mental health and mood of recalling, reading, and discussing fiction (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
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Cited by 42
- Authors
- Djikic, M., Oatley, K., & Carland, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- ORCID
- Oatley, Keith
- Venue
- Scientific Study of Literature
- Published
- 2012-08-13
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 25-36
- ISSN
- 2210-4372 (ISSN-L)
- 2210-4380
- OpenAlex
- W2024025092
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 0.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Scientific Study of Literature (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Aesthetic Perception and Analysis
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- literary genre, artistic value, Big Five personality traits, reading effects, essays, short stories, reader experience
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