How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation
Open accessAbstract
The current study investigated whether fiction experiences change empathy of the reader. Based on transportation theory, it was predicted that when people read fiction, and they are emotionally transported into the story, they become more empathic. Two experiments showed that empathy was influenced over a period of one week for people who read a fictional story, but only when they were emotionally transported into the story. No transportation led to lower empathy in both studies, while study 1 showed that high transportation led to higher empathy among fiction readers. These effects were not found for people in the control condition where people read non-fiction. The study showed that fiction influences empathy of the reader, but only under the condition of low or high emotional transportation into the story.
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Bal and Veltkamp (2013) did not contrast narrative with expository texts or examine effects on morality; they used only short texts as stimuli.
“Bal and Veltkamp (2013) did not contrast narrative with expository texts or examine effects on morality; in addition, they used only short texts as stimuli.”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 0 partially supported, 1 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredExperiment 2 advances Bal and Veltkamp (2013) by incorporating an expository non-fiction condition.
“incorporating an expository non-fiction condition”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
The Study 1 Materials and Methods describe Bal and Veltkamp’s own non-fiction control as factual newspaper reports primarily aimed at explaining events. Their Study 2 Materials and Methods also report a non-fiction newspaper-article condition. Thus, incorporating an expository non-fiction condition was not an addition to Bal and Veltkamp’s design. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTheory of mind posits that reading increases individuals' empathy.
“For example, theory of mind (the ability to understand others' feelings and emotions (Shamay-Tsoory and Aharon-Peretz, 2007)) posits that reading increases individuals' empathy (Bal and Veltkamp, 2013; Mar and Oatley, 2008; Mar et al., 2009; Scales et al., 2000), which can foster prosocial behaviours and inhibit antisocial acts (Lonigro et al., 2014).”
From Reading for pleasure in childhood and adolescent healthy behaviours: Longitudinal associations using the Millennium Cohort Study (2020) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp, 2013
The Introduction’s “Effects of Fiction Experience on Empathy” section argues that imagining fictional characters’ thoughts and feelings can make readers more empathic. It does not identify this account as theory of mind, and its claim concerns fiction reading rather than reading in general. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredReading helps readers to understand the emotions of others better.
“helps readers to understand the emotions of others better (Bal and Veltkamp, 2013; Mar and Oatley, 2008; Oatley, 2012).”
From Longitudinal associations between reading for pleasure and child maladjustment: Results from a propensity score matching analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp, 2013
The Introduction describes understanding others’ feelings as part of empathy, and the Study 1 Results and Discussion report increased empathy after fiction reading. The finding is narrower than the claim: empathy increased for readers who were emotionally transported into the story, while it decreased for readers who were not. The claim leaves out both the fiction-reading scope and the transportation condition. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMental transport into fiction is necessary for social benefits.
“Since mental transport into fiction is necessary for social benefits (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013;Johnson 2012;Johnson et al., 2013a), our Fantasy Scale results suggest that effects of fiction could depend on what reading format students use, or anticipate using.”
From Reading Books and Reading Minds: Differential Effects of Wonder and The Crossover on Empathy and Theory of Mind (2017) · cites this paper as Bal & Veltkamp, 2013
The Introduction proposes that fiction enhances empathy only when readers are emotionally transported, and the Conclusion reports that low transportation was related to lower empathy while high transportation might be related to higher empathy (page unavailable). This supports the claim for empathy, but the paper does not establish that transportation is necessary for social benefits generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Classroom activities presumably encouraged extended and deeper reflection about the text, which may have helped psychosocial changes develop and persist.
“Classroom activities presumably encouraged extended and deeper reflection about the text, which may have helped psychosocial changes develop and persist (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013).”
From Reading Books and Reading Minds: Differential Effects of Wonder and The Crossover on Empathy and Theory of Mind (2017) · cites this paper as Bal & Veltkamp, 2013
The Introduction’s “Sleeper Effects of Fiction on Outcomes” section proposes that time to rethink and relive a story can allow changes in empathy to emerge. The General Discussion likewise describes reflection during an incubation period. Neither passage addresses classroom activities or shows that they encouraged deeper reflection, so that part of the attributed explanation is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredBal and Veltkamp (2013) randomly assigned participants to read either a short narrative fiction excerpt or a set of narrative non-fiction newspaper articles.
“Bal and Veltkamp (2013) randomly assigned participants to read either a short narrative fiction excerpt or a set of narrative non-fiction newspaper articles.”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
The Study 1 and Study 2 Materials and Methods say participants were randomly assigned to fiction or newspaper-article control conditions, with the fiction group reading a story or a novel chapter. But Study 1 explicitly describes the nonfiction newspaper reports as “not narrative in nature,” so the claim’s characterization of the control articles as narrative is not supported. (LLM, conf=0.89)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMany studies that deployed the Simulation Model sought and claimed to find effects that became manifest after reading a single text.
“However, many studies that deployed the model (e.g., Bal & Veltkamp, 2013;Chlebuch et al. 2020;Djikic et al., 2013) sought and claimed to find effects that became manifest after reading a single text.”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal & Veltkamp, 2013
Experiment 2 advances Bal and Veltkamp (2013) by using entire books as stimuli.
“It advances the experiment byBal and Veltkamp (2013) by using entire books as stimuli”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
Experiment 2 advances Bal and Veltkamp (2013) by applying a broader range of outcome measures going beyond self-report.
“applying a broader range of outcome measures going beyond self-report”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
Empathy increased from the pre-test baseline only in the fiction group at follow-up, and only when readers were emotionally transported into the story.
“Empathy increased from the pre-test baseline only in the fiction group at follow-up, and only when readers were emotionally transported into the story.”
From The effects of reading narrative fiction on social and moral cognition (2021) · cites this paper as Bal and Veltkamp (2013)
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- Authors
- Bal, P. M., & Veltkamp, M.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- FrieslandCampina (Netherlands) (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Bal, P. Matthijs
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2013-01-30
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e55341
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3559433
- OpenAlex
- W2154860432
- Cited by
- 588
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 60 · 2018: 62 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 403.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Lincoln Repository (University of Lincoln) (acceptedVersion)
- The University of Bath Online Publications Store (The University of Bath) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Pure (University of Bath) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Empathy and Medical Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Narrative Theory and Analysis
- Keywords
- fiction reading, empathy, transportation theory, nonfiction reading
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Emotions, Empathy, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Netherlands, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reading, Narration
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