Don’t feel guilty about reading trashy fiction: it might help hone your people skills

In a one study, frequent readers of narrative fiction scored more highly on tests of empathy and social acumen than did those who read expository non-fiction. In a follow up study, those reading a short story did better on a social reasoning task than did those reading an essay (both studies are cited in Psychology Today, November/December, 2006). One interpretation is that reading stories seems to force us to empathise with those who are different from us, and as a consequence helps us understand better the many different types of people we run into.

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