Empathy & Literature

Bibliographic Data

ID21790102
AuthorsAlison Denham (0000-0003-1073-9338, University of Oxford, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume16
Issue2
Pages84-95
Publication date2024-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEmotion Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1754-0739 • E-ISSN: 1754-0747
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/17540739241233601
OpenAlexW4393051115
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited68

There is a long tradition in philosophy and literary theory defending the view that engagement with literature promotes readers’ empathy. Until the last century, few of the empirical claims adduced in that tradition were investigated experimentally. Recent work in psychology and neuropsychology has now shed new light on the interplay of empathy and literature. This article surveys the experimental findings, addressing three central questions: What is it to read empathically? Does reading make us more empathic? What characteristics of literature, if any, affect readers’ empathy? While experimental studies have delivered no conclusive answers to these questions, it has exposed their psychological complexity and constructed a more nuanced picture of the diverse ways in which literature interacts with our empathic capacities

Empathy · Film in Education and Therapy · Media Influence and Health · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology

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