Two Sides of the (Same) Story: How Fiction Enhances Empathy

A Laboratory for the Empathetic Mind

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.

Jane Austen, Emma

Most of us love a good story. If you have ever found yourself immersed in an engrossing book, or simply giving in one more episode of a gripping television series, you know how a good story can have a strong, emotional hold on us. Well-crafted storytelling is a creative concoction of plot, characters, and environments, transporting us into imaginary worlds and others’ minds. The dramatis personae are a central element of a good story; we feel strongly for, against, and alongside the fates and fortunes of characters in the literary works we engage with. We see parts of ourselves in these characters, and in doing so, we breathe life into them. It is only then that we feel the story that the characters in them come alive.

Fictional works are reflections of worlds and minds different from ours. When we embark on these literary journeys, we transport ourselves to and experience the story through the eyes of the characters in them. Fictional works are akin to a ‘moral laboratory’ for the mind’ [1] – a fitting description given how they allow us to experience worlds and characters differently, yet, in personal ways, connected with our own. We find strands of the story and the characters we relate to and are changed by these literary elements. Recent psychological research shows that reading fiction can help us develop empathy – the ability to perceive and understand others’ emotions [2].

Two Sides to Empathy

Reading literary fiction can increase empathy, enhancing a specific ability that researchers call ‘Theory of Mind.’ Theory of Mind is a cognitive system that allows us to take others’ perspectives. It helps us realize that other people’s minds – and by extension, their thoughts, are different from ours. This is the system that allows us to be mentally transported to the other person’s thoughts and to live vicariously through them [3]. To fully appreciate a story, we transport ourselves into the minds of the characters on the page. When we read literary fiction, we are essentially practising our Theory of Mind ability [4].

Is empathy more than just taking another’s perspective, however? Is empathy more than just enhancing one’s Theory of Mind? Neuroscientists seem to think so. When other researchers attempted to replicate these findings, a number of them found that reading literary fiction did not increase Theory of Mind [5]. This is because empathy is not just a distanced, impartial or ‘cold’ assessment of another’s thoughts. It is also a close, subjective, and ‘hot’ connection with another’s feelings. Empathy is both hot and cold. You know about the ‘cold’ half, but we also need the ‘hot’ half of empathy – a system that lets us be receptive toward and susceptible to catching emotions from others [6]. For literary fiction to enhance our empathy, we need to balance both our ‘cold,’ distanced theory of mind system with our ‘hot,’ intimate emotional system. In doing so, we not only understand the minds of the fictional characters. We connect with them emotionally as well.

Moving In and Out of Fictional Worlds

To be fully transported to, and changed through another’s mind means that we embrace literary fiction characters’ thoughts with their emotions [7]. And some literary works may be helpful in this regard. The neuroscientist and literary expert Angus Fletcher explains the popularity of Jane Austen’s works is because of the famed author’s use of a literary invention – a style of prose called ‘free indirect discourse.’ This style found in Austen’s work moves between a first- and third-person narration – Austen weaves the story of universal longing and unrequited love from both impartial observers’ and first-hand experience’s experiences [8]. Reading famous works like Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility shows how Austen masterfully welcomes readers into the minds and hearts of the characters. But the author also switches the narrative to a more distanced, impartial, and comically wry perspective on matters of the heart. Fans of the Netflix series Bridgerton might have noticed the same instrument of literary fiction at work. The introductions and interludes narrated by Lady Whistledown both foreshadow and forward the fates of characters in the Ton.

Being able to employ both the hot and cold empathy systems is essential in helping us connect with the characters in literary works. Combining both our Theory of Mind and affective empathy systems means that we practice relating to and trying to understand the thoughts and emotions of all characters – heroes, villains, and all other characters that fall between this moral spectrum [9]. It is perhaps for this reason why book clubs continue to be so popular. Virtual book clubs, where members meet online, were a feature during the pandemic [10]. Some research also shows that book clubs can facilitate empathy, lead to greater understanding and kindness, and are effective in countering racism [11].

Literary fiction not only has the power to transport us to new experiences – it also has the power to transform us. It is perhaps no coincidence that when we say that a story ‘moves’ us, we are indicating that we feel changed by putting ourselves – our minds and emotions, into the characters in our favourite stories. Immersing ourselves in literary fiction can enhance our empathy and our connections with the most important people in our lives. The two sides of our empathy give us a complete telling and retelling of our most tantalizing tales.

References:

[1] Hakemulder, F. (2000). The moral laboratory. John Benjamins.

[2] Breithaupt, F. (2012). A three-person model of empathy. Emotion Review, 4(1), 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073911421375

[3] Mumper, M. L., & Gerrig, R. J. (2017). Leisure reading and social cognition: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000089

[4] Kidd, D., Ongis, M., & Castano, E. (2016). On literary fiction and its effects on theory of mind. Scientific Study of Literature, 6(1), 42-58. https://doi.org/10.1075/ssol.6.1.04kid

[5] Samur, D., Tops, M., & Koole, S. L. (2018). Does a single session of reading literary fiction prime enhanced mentalising performance? Four replication experiments of Kidd and Castano (2013). Cognition and Emotion, 32(1), 130-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2017.1279591

[6] Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. (2009). Empathic processing: its cognitive and affective dimensions and neuroanatomical basis. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.)., The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 215–232). Boston Review. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0017

[7] Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2003). In the mind's eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In M.C. Green, J.J. Strange & T.C. Brock (Eds.)., Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 315-341). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410606648

[8] Fletcher, A. (2021). Wonderworks: The 25 most powerful inventions in the history of literature. Simon & Schuster.

[9] Breithaupt, F. (2012). A three-person model of empathy. Emotion Review, 4(1), 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073911421375

[10] Calvi, M. (2023). Book clubs thrive online in the pandemic era. Available at https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/book-clubs-thrive-online-in-the-pandemic-era/

[11] Davis, K. C. (2004). Oprah’s Book Club and the politics of cross-racial empathy. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7(4), 399-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877904047861

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