Cognitive Effects and Correlates of Reading Fiction: Two Pre-Registered Multi-Level Meta-Analyses

Despite significantly increasing research efforts, the psychological effects of reading fiction remain under debate. We present two pre-registered meta-analyses synthesizing cognitive effects and correlates of reading fiction. In meta-analysis 1 (371 effect sizes/70 experiments), reading fiction led to significant small-sized cognitive benefits, g = 0.14, 95% CI [0.06, 0.21]. This effect of fiction reading was moderated by comparison group (effects were greater when reading fiction was compared with watching fiction or reading nothing than when reading fiction was compared with reading nonfiction) and outcome variable (significant effects emerged for empathy and mentalizing only). In meta-analysis 2 (559 effect sizes/114 studies reporting correlations), lifetime exposure to print fiction was linked with significant small-sized cognitive benefits, r = .16, 95% CI [.13, .19]. This effect was moderated by outcome variable (effects were greatest for verbal abilities, followed by general cognitive abilities and empathy/mentalizing/outgroup judgments), fictionality of the print material (greater effects were found for fiction than nonfiction), publication status (published work exhibited greater effects than unpublished work), type of assessment measure (larger effects emerged when neither the outcome nor print exposure were assessed via self-report, than when either the outcome or print exposure were assessed via self-report), participant group (community samples showed greater effects than student samples), study design (greater effects were found for correlational than for experimental designs), and percentage of female participants (via a negative relationship with cognitive benefits). Together, these meta-analyses provide robust evidence for a small-sized positive relationship between reading fiction and cognitive benefits.