TY - JOUR
T1 - Reading fiction and reading minds in early adolescence
T2 - A longitudinal study
AU - van der Kleij, Sanne W
AU - Apperly, Ian
AU - Shapiro, Laura R
AU - Ricketts, Jessie
AU - Devine, Rory T
N1 - Copyright © 2022 The Authors.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Reading fiction is argued to have benefits for our understanding of others' thoughts, feelings and desires, referred to as 'theory of mind'(ToM). We aimed to test this assumption by examining whether children's reading experience is longitudinally associated with later ToM. We examined reading experience and ToM in 236 children between the ages of 11-13 years. Participants were asked to report on their time spent reading both fiction and non-fiction at ages 11 and 13, ToM was measured at age 13. Verbal ability, reading comprehension, and reading motivation were included as control variables in all analyses. Results showed that children's self-reported fiction, but not their non-fiction reading was associated with ToM. Further, the association was concurrent but not longitudinal: fiction reading and ToM at age 13 were associated but fiction reading at age 11 did not predict ToM at age 13. Our findings motivate further research on what types of reading materials might be beneficial, and the level of exposure to fiction that is needed for measurable benefits for later ToM.
AB - Reading fiction is argued to have benefits for our understanding of others' thoughts, feelings and desires, referred to as 'theory of mind'(ToM). We aimed to test this assumption by examining whether children's reading experience is longitudinally associated with later ToM. We examined reading experience and ToM in 236 children between the ages of 11-13 years. Participants were asked to report on their time spent reading both fiction and non-fiction at ages 11 and 13, ToM was measured at age 13. Verbal ability, reading comprehension, and reading motivation were included as control variables in all analyses. Results showed that children's self-reported fiction, but not their non-fiction reading was associated with ToM. Further, the association was concurrent but not longitudinal: fiction reading and ToM at age 13 were associated but fiction reading at age 11 did not predict ToM at age 13. Our findings motivate further research on what types of reading materials might be beneficial, and the level of exposure to fiction that is needed for measurable benefits for later ToM.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Child
KW - Emotions
KW - Humans
KW - Longitudinal Studies
KW - Reading
KW - Theory of Mind
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131960231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105476
DO - 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105476
M3 - Article
C2 - 35709569
SN - 0022-0965
VL - 222
JO - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
M1 - 105476
ER -