To become a nicer, more empathetic person, pick up a good novel. New research proves what any English literature teacher could tell you: Reading fiction enables people to better understand other people’s feelings and perspectives.(click below to read more)
Psychologists at the New School for Social Research asked people between the ages of 18 and 75 to read 10 to 15 pages of either literary fiction, including short stories by Anton Chekhov and Don DeLillo; popular fiction, including a potboiler by Danielle Steel; or nonfiction articles from Smithsonian magazine. Then they tested the subjects’ ability to look at pictures of people’s eyes and faces and tell what emotions those pictured were feeling. The researchers found that the subjects who read the literary works scored much higher on the tests than the other readers, suggesting that within just a few minutes, the stories had heightened their emotional intelligence. That’s likely because literary fiction “forces you as a reader to contribute your own interpretations, to reconstruct the mind of the character,” study author Emanuele Castano tells USA Today. That, in turn, may make readers better at empathizing with others and navigating complex social situations in real life.
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