Literary narrative fiction may be particularly effective in enhancing Theory of Mind (ToM), as it requires readers to contemplate author and character intentions in filling the literary ‘gaps’ that have been suggested to characterise this fiction type. The current study investigates direct and cumulative effects of reading literature on ToM using confirmatory Bayesian analyses. Direct effects were assessed by comparing the ToM skills of participants who read texts that were manipulated to differ in the amount of gap filling they required. Cumulative effects were assessed by considering the relationship between lifetime literary fiction exposure and ToM. Results showed no evidence for direct effects of reading literature on ToM. However, lifetime literary fiction exposure was associated with higher ToM, particularly cognitive ToM. Although reading a specific piece of literary fiction may thus not have immediately measurable effects on ToM, lifetime exposure to this fiction type is associated with more advanced ToM.
2024. Training deaf college students to improve their theory of mind: based on a two-component model. Frontiers in Psychology 15
Rivero-Contreras, Miriam, David Saldaña & Martina Micai
2023. An Introduction to Theory of Mind: Fundamental Concepts and Issues. In The Theory of Mind Under Scrutiny [Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning, 34], ► pp. 11 ff.
Eekhof, Lynn S., Kobie van Krieken & Roel M. Willems
2022. Reading about minds: The social-cognitive potential of narratives. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 29:5 ► pp. 1703 ff.
Jin, Jian & Siyun Liu
2022. An Analysis of the Linguistic Features of Popular Chinese Online Fantasy Novels. Discourse Processes 59:4 ► pp. 326 ff.
van der Kleij, Sanne W., Ian Apperly, Laura R. Shapiro, Jessie Ricketts & Rory T. Devine
2022. Reading fiction and reading minds in early adolescence: A longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 222 ► pp. 105476 ff.
Chlebuch, Natasha, Thalia R. Goldstein & Deena Skolnick Weisberg
2020. Fact or fiction?. Scientific Study of Literature 10:2 ► pp. 167 ff.
2019. Evidence of Theory of Mind in the Written Language of Deaf Children. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 24:1 ► pp. 32 ff.
Deane, Paul, Swapna Somasundaran, René R. Lawless, Hilary Persky & Colleen Appel
2019. The Key Practice, Building and Sharing Stories and Social Understandings: The Intrinsic Value of Narrative. ETS Research Report Series 2019:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Vaziri, H., L. Tay, M. G. Keith & J. O. Pawelski
2019. History, literature, and philosophy: A systematic review of positive functioning. The Journal of Positive Psychology 14:6 ► pp. 695 ff.
Carpenter, Jordan M., Melanie C. Green & Kaitlin Fitzgerald
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