Reading Builds Empathy (and Intellect) | Diagnostic

Literary fiction, by contrast, focuses more on the psychology of characters and their relationships. “Often those characters’ minds are depicted vaguely, without many details, and we’re forced to fill in the gaps to understand their intentions and motivations,” Kidd says. This genre prompts the reader to imagine the characters’ introspective dialogues. This psychological awareness carries over into the real world, which is full of complicated individuals whose inner lives are usually difficult to fathom. Although literary fiction tends to be more realistic than popular fiction, the characters disrupt reader expectations, undermining prejudices and stereotypes. They support and teach us values about social behavior, such as the importance of understanding those who are different from ourselves.

The results suggest that reading fiction is a valuable socializing influence.

Diagnostic Prompt: For the next 30 minutes, respond to this prompt:

What is a specific book, story, poem that has helped you develop some understanding of humanity? If not a book, story, or poem—what is an event in your life that helped you changed the way you look at people?  What was it you came to understand? (Try to make a topic sentence that combines both the subject and what you learned from it)