Investigating the possible relationships between narrative empathy, neuroticism and reading experience.
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2020-06-08
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en
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Abstract
This research project aimed to investigate the possible relationships between narrative
empathy, neuroticism and reading experience. By doing this, it contributes to the literature on
the relationship between narrative empathy and readers characteristics, a relatively young area
of research (Koopman, 2015a), because most studies investigating narrative empathy have
been focused on its relationship with text characteristics (Keen, 2006). Narrative empathy has
been defined by Keen (2013) as the sharing of feeling and perspective-taking induced by
reading, viewing, hearing, or imagining narratives of another’s situation and condition.
Neuroticism, a personality characteristic, reflects the tendency to be highly emotional,
impulsive, anxious, and stress reactive (Costa & McCrae, 1992b). Reading experience refers
to the amount of literature someone has read in the past.
An online survey (N = 92) was used to study these relationships, which included a short
narrative and several questionnaires. Based on previous literature, a positive correlation
between narrative empathy and neuroticism was hypothesized, which was found by the
current study as well. Additionally, the study investigated the possible relationship between
narrative empathy and reading experience, which has been proposed as a positive correlation
by academics, although this was not supported by results of the current study. In conclusion,
the study gathered interesting insights in the relationships between narrative empathy,
neuroticism and reading experience useful for both academia and broader contexts.
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Faculteit der Letteren