The power of narratives in shaping social cognition

Abstract EN

The relationship between narratives and social cognition has been widely debated, with some research suggesting that narratives enhance social cognition through interaction with story worlds and characters or by imparting social knowledge.

while there have been studies linking exposure to narratives with social cognition, the validity of these findings has been questioned due to conflicting results.

this review evaluates existing research and highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the diverse factors involved, including specific narrative features, individual reader differences, and various aspects of social cognition affected by reading narratives.

the goal is to develop a research agenda to determine the circumstances under which exposure to narratives can benefit social cognition and for whom, by focusing on these factors.