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Abstract

Interactions with others in our social milieu make it possible to sharpen our emotional intelligence and to develop skills such as empathy and sympathy. The reading of books can be considered as an alternative way to accomplish such interactions. Of course, this interaction is artificial, but precisely herein lies hidden the enormous power of this medium: It offers the reader the power to enter into a limitless range of contexts and emotion ‘scenario's’ together with the fictional character. It offers the possibilities for examining uncommon emotional experiences and experimenting with them without too many ‘risks’ to the reader. In preliminary exploratory research on emotional involvement in the reading of books, questionnaires were completed by 198 pupils age nine to fifteen. From analysis of this research-material it appears that children who read frequently report more involvement concerning empathy and sympathy compared to children who read less frequently. From that, we can conclude with reasonable prudence that the reading of books correlates positively with the process of development in sympathy and empathy.

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The Connection between the Reading of Books and the Development of Sympathy and Empathy

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