Researchers describe “theory of mind” as the ability to recognize mental states in others and understand that others have perspectives and desires that are different from one’s own. When classroom assignments develop students’ social emotional skills, they include fostering an ability to regulate one’s own emotions, often in an attempt to communicate or otherwise form relationships with others.
The term theory of mind, from cognitive science, and the concept of social-emotional skill-building, now very much in vogue in U.S. classrooms, are connected. And ongoing research indicates students might be able to improve their theory of mind abilities by reading fiction.
A 2013 study by Harvard University researchers and Joseph Coulson, president of the Great Books Foundation, found study participants who immersed themselves in the mental life of fictional characters performed better on theory of mind tasks. While researchers stopped short of claiming causation, they theorized about how reading fiction could improve such ability.
“One possibility is that fiction provides an opportunity to simulate the character’s social experience and thus provide a forum for the reader to practice reasoning about others’ mental states,” the paper reads. “Another possibility is that fiction helps readers build their social knowledge by exposing them to social rules and contingencies presented in the context of the story.”
Coulson, who spent almost 20 years as an English teacher, primarily at the high school level, sees reading fiction as an important element in social-emotional development among students. His evangelism for fiction, however, comes in troubled times.
The Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts emphasize the importance of having students read nonfiction and develop a facility for academic language. A fake news scandal during the latest election season has prompted some to go so far as to question the validity of the results. And recent research out of Stanford University showed students of all ages are poorly equipped to assess the legitimacy of information presented online.
In schools across the country, there is a sense of urgency to help students be more critical consumers of nonfiction. But Coulson is among those who believes fiction should not be left behind as a result.
He says reading nonfiction falls outside of the realm of social-emotional learning.
“It’s not engaging you on an emotional level and it’s not asking you to understand a kind of social ordering that is not familiar to you,” Coulson says.
Simply by reading fiction, students must decipher the feelings and mental states of characters who may not be saying or acting in line with their emotions. Teachers who assign pieces of imaginative literature ask students to do this work and amplify the impact by getting students to discuss the stories and their interpretations of them. These conversations offer practice with civil discourse, and they force students to think about other students’ perspectives and possible interpretations of a single text.
“There’s something very powerful about that and also something very egalitarian about it,” Coulson says. “The teacher moves out of the role of didactic expert who’s going to tell you what you should think about this. Instead, you engage students in this other way.”
Students need to develop a sense of media literacy and critical thinking that will allow them to fulfill their roles in a democracy. Reading nonfiction can help that. But as schools seek to educate the “whole child,” teachers and administrators may want to keep the value of fiction in mind for its impact on the developing brain.
