1.2 Stories as a simulation of the social world
One of the arguments about why stories involve us so much is that they are ways of simulating the complex social world around us and also allowing us to imagine and rehearse taking part in social interactions (Mar and Oatley, 2008). Moreover, when you read a book about a social situation you are able to gain an insight directly into the inner workings of the mind of the character you are reading about (and potentially also the minds of other characters, depending on how the book is written). When you take a moment to consider this idea you can see how reading might be quite a powerful exercise enabling us to take the perspective of someone else.
Activity _unit3.2.1 Activity 1 Switching places
Take a moment to think about a conversation you recently had. It might be simplest to choose the very last conversation you had, no matter who that conversation was with, reducing the amount of work you need to do to select a conversation. This might have been a conversation at home with a family member or friend, a conversation in the workplace, or even an interaction where you spoke to your dog, cat or other family pet.
First, jot a few notes down about the context: where you were, when it was, and who the ‘characters’ were in this conversation. Who was present and who had a speaking role? If you can remember approximately what was said, make a quick note of it. Don’t take more than two minutes to make these notes. Remember that this might have been quite a fleeting interaction.
If you are struggling to come up with something, there is an example response in the discussion below.
Comment
An example of this exercise: ‘My good friend Paula just popped round to my house. She was dropping off a pair of trousers which she had bought but didn’t fit her, and she wondered if I might want to try them on. She didn’t come in. We stood at the door and chatted briefly. She was on her way to the gym. It was 9am. I had been in my office upstairs at the computer working. My two dogs both came to the door to see Paula.’
Next, choose any of the other people (or animals!) who were involved in the interaction BUT DO NOT CHOOSE YOURSELF. You are going to write a description of the same conversation but this time from the point of view of the other character you chose. This means they will be observing what you said, and how you behaved, but from their own point of view. In writing this description, think about what the other person might have noticed about what you were wearing, or other things about your appearance. Also think about what they might have observed about your behaviour, for example did you appear tense or relaxed, upbeat or more subdued?
Take about ten minutes to write this description, and rather than in note form, write a more fully formed paragraph or two that could be a part of a novel or short story, about that conversation. Even though you are writing from the perspective of one of the other characters in the scene, you should write in the ‘first person’, i.e. as though you are actually the person in question (e.g. using I or me or my). It doesn’t matter if you only really capture a minute or two of the conversation.
Again, if you are struggling to come up with something, there is an example response in the discussion below.
Comment
An example of this exercise: ‘As usual I am rushing. It is a beautiful morning and as I pull up outside Zoe’s house there is no free parking. I just stop the car in the quiet lane she lives on, grab the trousers, and quickly climb the steps up to Zoe’s house. I notice that her garden is looking a bit overgrown, she needs to get the secateurs out. There are loads of overhanging plants. Clematis, Honeysuckle, Ivy. Even on a morning as beautiful as this some of it is wet and the moisture catches on my skin as I head up her steps. I’m dressed for the gym so it doesn’t matter. Maybe she is too busy to tidy her garden, I know she is working hard, something I don’t need to worry about anymore. God, I’m glad those days are behind me. I’d prayed for redundancy for months and just four weeks ago it had finally come. I knock and the dogs start barking. When she opens the door, she looks older than I remembered. She isn’t wearing any make up. She might be thin enough to get into the trousers I am holding but it wouldn’t hurt her to run a brush through her hair before work.’
The activity that you have just undertaken has asked you to take the perspective of someone else while interacting with you. You may have found it rather strange to imagine how you may have appeared, sounded and come across to someone else.
You will come back to learn more about this task of perspective taking shortly when you learn more about empathy. First though you will learn a little more about one of the potential reasons that reading books might have a positive effect on health by learning a little about what psychologists call social cognition.