Sunday 3 August 2008

Stories and the Mind

In the current issue of Scientific American Mind (August-September, 2008, pp. 46-51), Jeremy Hsu has an article entitled "The secrets of storytelling," with the subtitle "Our love for telling tales reveals the workings of the mind." In the article, Hsu argues that "the imaginary world of stories may serve as a proving ground for vital social skills." He reviews research by Melanie Green, Daniela O'Neill & Rebecca Shultis, Steven Pinker, Robin Dunbar, Jonathan Gottschall, Patrick Colm Hogan, and Jennifer Edson Escalas, as well as by Raymond Mar & Keith Oatley.

2 comments:

Barbara M. said...

Great article, linking together research on theory of mind, persuasion, gender depiciton and stereotypes and our universal common underlying biology revealed by narratives (studied by literary Darwinists, what a term!).

Keith Oatley said...

Thanks very much, Barbara, for this comment. I'm glad you like the Scientific American article. We were pleased with it too.

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