On the literary mindset. I wonder if there may not be a “placebo” effect.
Koopman and Hakemulder note the possibility of prompting:
A simple solution for many of the methodological problems involved here, is using an instruction variable, leading one group of participants to believe they will be reading a fictional text, while the other group, reading the same text, thinks it is a “true story” (cf. Zwaan 1993, whose instruction to respondents reading a newspaper text that they were reading a “literary” text lead to slower reading, deeper processing, and better recall for text surface structure).
Emy Koopman and Frank Hakemulder “Effects of Literature on Empathy and Self-Reflection: A Theoretical-Empirical Framework” Journal of Literary Theory 9(1):79-111.
Could it be that future reading attitudes are conditioned by schooling? Approach is as important as content and style.
And so for day 2656
22.03.2014