Benefits of Fiction for Skilled Reading and Social Cognition

Benefits of Fiction for Skilled Reading and Social Cognition

In her Leverhulme Trust funded Fellowship (2020 - 2023), Sanne van der Kleij explores the idea that narrative fiction is a crucible for interaction between social ability, motivation, language and literacy. Reading is an essential practical skill, and key for accessing education and culture. Regular reading builds and maintains reading skills, yet reading for pleasure remains an infrequent activity for many. We know from previous research that narrative fiction is an important driver of reading development, but we don’t know how narrative fiction motivates readers or generates cognitive change. This project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, explores the roles of social motivation in increasing engagement in reading narrative fiction, and the roles of the social content of fiction in driving the beneficial effects of this engagement.

Click here for a summary of the project.