Can Watching Fictional TV Series Boost Social Cognition?

You’ve likely heard the common belief that reading fiction is beneficial, while watching TV series is often dismissed as unproductive. But what about fictional TV series? Could they have a positive impact on empathy and theory of mind compared to non-fictional documentaries? Researchers Lenhart and Richter (2024) explored this question through a series of experiments to determine whether fictional TV series, which depict human lives and inner experiences, could enhance these cognitive and emotional abilities.

Study overview

In the first two studies, with a combined total of 366 participants, university-aged students were randomly assigned to watch either fictional TV series (3 episodes in total) or documentary series (3 episodes in total). These sessions were spread over a period of seven days (Study 1) and five days with a follow-up tests (Study 2). Participants' empathy and theory of mind were evaluated both before and after viewing the content, using established measures such as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). 

The third study involved 46 university-aged students in a controlled lab setting. Participants watched an increased number of episodes—five fictional TV series episodes or six documentary episodes—across four sessions over 7 to 10 days. Empathy was measured using the IRI as both a pre- and post-test, while theory of mind was evaluated using both the RMET and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition as pre- and post-tests.

Findings

Across all three studies, researchers found no statistically significant improvement in empathy or theory of mind for participants who watched fictional TV series compared to those who watched non-fictional documentaries. These studies highlight the need for further research into the potential cognitive and emotional impacts of fictional TV series. 

For detailed information, please refer to the original article.

Lenhart, J., & Richter, T. (2024). Does Watching Fictional TV Series Increase Social-Cognitive Skills? Scientific Study of Literature. https://doi.org/10.61645/ssol.184

Picture Credit.

Family Television by Nick Banks

Does Language Affect Fiction Transportation?

We love reading fiction. It allows us to escape reality and become fully immersed in another world. While reading, we often lose track of time, mimic the emotions of the characters, focus intently on the story, and place ourselves in the characters' shoes. This deep engagement is known as "narrative transportation," where we feel as if we are spectators within the story.

This raises an interesting question: does the language we read in affect our level of transportation? Some of us read fiction in our native language, while others prefer to read in a second language. Do both groups experience the same level of being transported? Are they equally drawn into the story, or does the language (native vs. non-native) influence their experience? To answer these questions, Chung-Fat-Yim et al. (2019) conducted an experiment (Experiment 1).

Study overview

Chung-Fat-Yim et al. studied 143 adult participants, including 87 native English speakers and 56 non-native English speakers. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of two short stories provided by the researchers. The stories featured a student pursuing an academic goal, with one version ending in success and the other in failure.

After the reading sessions, participants completed a validated scale to rate their level of transportation. They answered questions on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from ‘Not at all’ to ‘Very much’. Sample questions included: “While reading the narrative, I could easily picture the events taking place,” “The narrative affected me emotionally,” and “I was mentally involved in the narrative while reading it.”

Findings

According to the data from the study, researchers suggest that both native and non-native readers experience the same level of transportation while reading fiction. In other words, regardless of whether one is a native or non-native speaker, it appears that narrative transportation can be achieved equally. They also discovered that years of English fluency did not strongly relate to narrative transportation, even after controlling for age.

Surprisingly, this effect held true across different modalities. Participants in both the native and non-native groups experienced similar levels of transportation when exposed to auditory stories (Experiment 2) or films (Experiment 3).

For detailed information, please refer to the original article.

Chung-Fat-Yim, A., Cilento, E., Piotrowska, E., & Mar, R. A. (2019). Are stories just as transporting when not in your native tongue? Language and Cognition, 11(2), 285-309. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2019.15

Picture Credit.

"Girl reading book" by Fatima Karashaeva

Using Fantasy Stories to Foster Positive Attitudes in Children Towards Minorities

The real physical world has limitations that restrict us from fully experiencing it. Fictional worlds do not have these limitations. For example, it is costly to meet people from different cultures face-to-face, and it is impossible to travel through time to converse with people who lived centuries ago. Direct contact might be difficult in the real world. However, reading fiction can enrich our experiences through indirect contact. By reading fiction, people can indirectly meet individuals from other cultures. In fiction, the hero "acts as a fictional friend and role model for the reader" (p. 83). This "positive vicarious experience" can help readers change their social and cognitive perspectives as well as their attitudes.

Empirical studies have questioned whether reading fictional stories can help change readers' attitudes toward minorities. For example, in a recent study, Oľhová and colleagues (2023) examined whether reading fantasy stories improved the attitudes of Slovakian elementary students toward minorities (i.e., wheelchair users, the Hungarian minority, Black people, Muslims, the Roma, homosexuals, and refugees). They studied whether reading alone or reading with relevant activities (i.e., group discussion) could change attitudes.

To investigate this question, they conducted a pretest-posttest study where participants' attitudes were measured before and after reading the stimuli to observe differences.

Study overview

The study investigated 177 sixth-grade Slovakian students, aged 11 to 12 years old. Students were randomly assigned to experimental conditions. In one condition, students read passages from the Harry Potter series for five weeks; in another condition, they read and discussed the passages for five weeks; and in the last condition (control group), students received no intervention stimuli. Before reading, participants' intergroup emotional attitudes were measured using a feeling thermometer. After reading, participants' intergroup emotional attitudes were measured again using a feeling thermometer, and they filled out questionnaires regarding perspective-taking and narrative transportation.

Findings

The study found that the intervention using indirect intergroup contact, specifically reading passages from the Harry Potter series and engaging in discussions, had a significant impact on intergroup attitudes. The results show that the intervention led to a positive change in attitudes towards the Roma minority, refugees, homosexuals, and Muslims. In particular, the intervention that involved reading followed by discussion had a relatively large and significant effect on attitudes towards the Roma minority compared to reading alone. However, attitudes towards Black people, the Hungarian minority, and wheelchair users remained unchanged following the intervention. Importantly, the intervention did not worsen intergroup attitudes towards any minority group, highlighting the overall positive impact of the intervention on intergroup attitudes.

The study found two key mediators in the effectiveness of the intervention on improving intergroup attitudes: 1) narrative transportation and, 2) perspective-taking. These two factors were found to play crucial roles in mediating the impact of the intervention on intergroup attitudes, with higher levels of narrative transportation and perspective-taking leading to more positive changes in attitudes towards minority groups, particularly the Roma minority.

For detailed information, please refer to the original article.

Oľhová, S., Lášticová, B., Kundrát, J. et al. Using fiction to improve intergroup attitudes: Testing indirect contact interventions in a school context. Soc Psychol Educ 26, 81–105 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-022-09708-4

Picture Credit.

Attributed to Piotr Konchalovsky "The portrait of a boy reading book" 1940's

The Sci-Fi effect: Boosting creativity in STEM fields

Every day, many of us immerse ourselves in fiction for enjoyment, whether through reading, watching, or listening to stories. Some of us even have a particular interest for specific genres like Science-Fiction (Sci-Fi). Sci-Fi is fascinating, sparking discussions about how enjoyable and beneficial it can be for audiences (check here for more). But with all this interest, there are still big questions hanging around: is there solid empirical evidence supporting the idea that exposure to Sci-Fi is indeed beneficial? And if there is, which ability could it affect? Does this impact hold true across all demographics?

To explore these questions empirically, I would direct your attention to the findings from a recent study by Veronica Marozzo and her colleagues (2024) from Italy. Their research promises illuminating insights.

Study overview

Marozzo and her colleagues conducted an experiment to determine whether exposure to a short Sci-Fi TV series could affect viewers' creativity. Their experiment specifically aimed to investigate how individual academic preferences, particularly a preference for STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), influenced the impact of exposure to a short Sci-Fi TV series on viewers' creativity. Furthermore, they investigated divergent thinking, which entails generating numerous novel ideas.

    To find the answers, Marozzo et al. (2024) recruited 204 university students who either had a STEM background or a non-STEM background (i.e., other disciplines). They were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, in which they either watched a 45-minute Sci-Fi TV series or a 45-minute non-Sci-Fi TV series.

    In the Sci-Fi series condition, participants were presented with a TV series depicting humanity's colonization of the solar system in a distant future era set in deep space, delving into the socio-economic dynamics and conflicts among various factions. In the non-Sci-Fi condition, participants watched a TV series about the experiences of workers on a offshore oil platform after an explosion, focusing on their struggles and the risks they encounter.

    After watching, all participants were asked to complete a task. In this task, participants were presented with a problem of a social nature (i.e., the management of a waste process). After delivering the task, participants were asked to generate as many solutions and ideas as possible that could improve the problem (i.e., divergent thinking). Participants were also informed that the ideas and solutions should not already be present in their hometown.

    Thus, the researchers instructed the participants to generate ideas and solutions to the problem as an index of divergent creativity. In terms of scoring, researchers proposed four criteria: 1) originality (uncommon ideas compared to overall responses); 2) fluency (the number of relevant ideas); 3) flexibility (in how many fields responders provided ideas); 4) elaboration (the amount of detail for each idea). They calculated the mean of creativity.

The interaction of Sci-Fi and academic background

Regarding creativity and individuals' background, the results showed no significant impact of exposure to sci-fi. However, they found a significant interaction between Sci-Fi and individuals' backgrounds. Planned analysis showed that participants with a STEM background showed enhanced divergent creativity after watching a Sci-Fi TV series, while participants with a non-STEM background showed less creativity after watching a Sci-Fi TV series compared to a non-Sci-Fi TV series.

    Additionally, the study showed a short-term effect of Sci-Fi on divergent creativity, wherein exposure to a 45-minute Sci-Fi TV series could improve participants' divergent creativity. However, this effect is not consistent across all populations, as individuals with different disciplines showed less creativity.

    The reason behind these findings suggests that the Sci-Fi genre may enhance critical thinking in people with a STEM background because of their analytical and problem-solving thinking patterns, while it may not have the same effect on non-STEM individuals due to their preference for realistic and tangible scenarios.

    Overall, this study has shown that brief exposure to the Sci-Fi genre enhances creativity. However, the enhanced creativity was not consistent across all individuals, as participants with a STEM background benefited more from exposure to Sci-Fi, while participants with a non-STEM background may not find effective results.

For detailed information, please refer to the original article.

Marozzo, V., Crupi, A., Abbate, T., Cesaroni, F., & Corvello, V. (2024). The impact of watching science fiction on the creativity of individuals: The role of STEM background. Technovation, 132, 102994. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102994

Picture Credit.

"Unwanted Guest" by Alex Shuper

Learn more about the surprising link between Sci-Fi and creativity!

https://homofictusbulletin.blogspot.com/2024/02/sci-fi-enjoyment.html

Beyond Entertainment: The Power of Literary Fiction for Theory of Mind Development

For many of us, reading is an enjoyable pastime. Throughout the day, we engage in various genres, including both fiction and non-fiction. While some may prefer non-fiction, it is worth pausing to consider the value of fiction as well. Could fiction serve as a tool to cultivate skills transferable to our social interactions? The question have captivated researchers across disciplines, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of fiction and its profound effects. Noteworthy among these scholars are Emanuele Castano from the University of Trento, Italy, and David Comer Kidd from Harvard University, MA.

    In their groundbreaking work titled "Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind," Castano and Kidd (2013) delve into the intricate relationship between fiction and theory of mind ability—a crucial social skill. Their investigation probes whether fiction can directly enhance theory of mind and whether this effect is influenced by the literary quality of the fiction. Crucially, they aim to establish causality between reading literary fiction and improved theory of mind.

Understanding Theory of Mind

Theory of mind is a vital social skill involving the ability to infer others’ inner worlds, including their beliefs and desires. With theory of mind, individuals can interact more effectively. It comprises two distinct aspects: cognitive theory of mind and affective theory of mind. Cognitive theory of mind entails understanding another person's mental state, while affective theory of mind involves empathizing with others' emotions, closely linked to empathy. It is hypothesized that readers engage in theory of mind practice while reading fiction, immersing themselves in the protagonist's role and dilemmas while temporarily setting aside their own concerns. Kidd and Castano’s study (2013) tested this hypothesis and explored the effects of a single session of literary fiction reading experience versus popular fiction reading experience.

Experimental Endeavors

To explore the causal link between reading literary fiction and heightened theory of mind ability, Kidd and Castano (2013) conducted a series of five experiments. Using various measurements to assess both cognitive theory of mind ability and affective theory of mind ability, they found profound effects of literary fiction on theory of mind ability. In online trials with adults, participants exposed to short literary fiction demonstrated heightened theory of mind abilities immediately after the reading session, surpassing those engaged in popular fiction, non-fiction reading, or no-reading condition.

    The findings of the study were thought-provoking. They suggest that: 1) reading literary fiction transcends mere entertainment, 2) literary fiction impacts specific abilities, such as theory of mind, crucial for social interactions, 3) literary fiction with complex characters influences readers' theory of mind ability, while popular fiction genres like romance may not have the same effects, and 4) these effects are direct.

For detailed information, please refer to the original article.

Kidd, D. C., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. Science, 342(6156), 377-380. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1239918

Photo Credit.

"The Artist's Wife Reading" by Albert Bartholomé