Does reading develop empathy?
Intuitively it seems obvious that reading narrative fiction might make it easier for us to be more empathetic. After all, what is reading fiction if not putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and walking though their life?
Reading feels as close as it’s possible to get to telepathy - the mind-to-mind connection with another human being in a different time and place. How could we even avoid better understanding the lives and experiences of others if we read fiction?
A new study has sought to answer this question, specifically by examining whether reading fiction helps develop children’s Theory of Mind (ToM).
Theory of Mind — the ability to attribute the beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge we possess to others — has been developed and refined over time through contributions from various researchers across psychology, philosophy, and cognitive science. In 1978, Premack and Woodruff published a landmark paper titled “Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?” suggesting that chimpanzees might be capable of attributing intentions to others. Then, Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues expanded on the concept in the 80s and 90s showing that children with autism often have difficulty developing a ToM, particularly seen in the famous ‘false belief test’.
ToM deals with more than just empathy; it’s what allows us understand and predict other people’s behaviour. and is the foundation for most of our social interactions. If reading can be shown to make us better at this than that would have to be a good thing. (Or, maybe not as there’s evidence we’re all reading less now than we were 10-15 years ago.)
So, what did this new study find?
Researchers tracked the development of ToM in 238 children at five different points between the ages of 12 ½ - 16, controlling for verbal ability, gender, and parents’ education. The key findings were these:
ToM improves between ages 12 ½ and 16, but growth rates are similar across individuals.
Fiction reading decreases slightly over adolescence (Sadly, not a surprise)
Initial bidirectional links between ToM and fiction reading were found: more fiction reading led to better ToM later, but also, better ToM led to more fiction reading later.
However, these links disappeared after controlling for verbal ability and gender.
What does this mean?
Well, firstly it suggests that reading fiction does not make people more empathetic. Instead, it likely works indirectly, by improving language skills, which then support the development of ToM. Verbal ability seems to be a mediating or confounding factor: if you can describe and articulate how someone else might be thinking or feeling maybe that increases empathy. So, while fiction may be beneficial for social understanding, it’s possibly through boosting language, not ToM directly.
The important lesson is possibly that we should see reading as inherently worthwhile rather than as a form of exercise that results in better social health. Just as playing chess and listening to Mozart won’t make you better at maths but will improve your ability to play chess and appreciate classical music.