Week 2: How literature affects us psychologically

Introduction

Although not everyone reads, and certainly not everyone is a ‘bookworm’, reading fiction has endured despite the many competing entertainment options that now exist, such as streaming TV series, online gaming, watching films and even experiencing virtual worlds through VR headsets. Given all these options, why has reading remained so popular? One answer to that question is something that you might not previously have given much thought to, which is the idea that who you spend your time reading about might be both changing your sense of self, and also your relationships with other people.

This week you will learn about the power of a story to affect you psychologically. You will learn about some of the research that has been carried out by psychologists and other social scientists to try and discover ways in which you might relate to what you read about, such as how you respond to particular characters, and the extent to which you feel immersed in the story worlds you read about.

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

• understand some of the ways that reading can change us psychologically, according to research
• understand what is meant by transportation into narrative worlds
• learn about the impact of reading on empathic responses towards other people.