We are in the process of constructing this site, and we envisage doing so between May and September 2008. On it we will post items on the psychology of fiction. We will also archive items of interest on this topic, as well as pointing out, from time to time, new items that can be accessed here. Archived items will include academic papers from our research group, psychological reviews of movies, book reviews, and pieces of fiction.
Currently archived is a paper by Raymond Mar and colleagues which shows that reading fiction, as compared with non fiction, is associated with improved social skills. This is the first empirical finding of which we are aware to show that reading fiction is associated with important social accomplishments. Also in the archive is another paper, by Raymond Mar and colleagues, on differences that are detectable in brain imaging between a movie of real actors and a computer animated movie that was traced from the original movie, which depicts exactly the same patterns and movements. Human perception of social agency seems finely tuned to detect real people and real movements.
Currently archived is a paper by Raymond Mar and colleagues which shows that reading fiction, as compared with non fiction, is associated with improved social skills. This is the first empirical finding of which we are aware to show that reading fiction is associated with important social accomplishments. Also in the archive is another paper, by Raymond Mar and colleagues, on differences that are detectable in brain imaging between a movie of real actors and a computer animated movie that was traced from the original movie, which depicts exactly the same patterns and movements. Human perception of social agency seems finely tuned to detect real people and real movements.
2 comments:
This is the first finding of which we are aware to show that reading fiction is associated with important social accomplishments.
This is fascinating. Are you aware of the program initiated some years ago by faculty at UMass called "Changing Lives Through Literature"? I'm not actually sure whether it was based on scientific findings, but it has certainly provided some empirical support for the social benefits of literature in a very concrete context.
I look forward to reading the attached papers. You probably know Lisa Zunshine's Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel, which explores some related areas.
Thanks Rohan for this comment. I'm delighted you find what we are doing interesting. I'm going to look up the UMass people, and see where they have got to on this problem.
Post a Comment