Anežka Kuzmi?ová|Anne Mangen|Hildegunn Støle|Anne Charlotte Begnum
Literature and readers’ empathy: A qualitative text manipulation study
Stockholm University|University of Stavanger|University of Stavanger|University of Stavanger
alleged crisis humanities currently fueling renewed interest affective benefits literary reading several quantitative studies shown positive correlation literary reading empathy however literary nature stimuli used studies defined detailed stylistic level order explore stylistic underpinnings hypothesized link literariness empathy conducted qualitative experiment degree stylistic foregrounding manipulated subjects n 37 read versions katherine mansfields fly short story rich foregrounding marking striking evocative passages choosing afterwards asked select three markings elaborate experiences writing one group read original story read nonliterary version produced established author suspense fiction young adults stylistic foregrounding reduced found nonliterary version elicited significantly p lt 001 explicitly empathic responses original story finding stands contradiction widely accepted assumptions recent research assimilated alternative models literariness affect literary reading present analysis data view offering one interpretation observed effects stylistic foregrounding