Want people to feel more empathy? Give them a good book!

Written by RedRover President and CEO Nicole Forsyth

If you have ever lost yourself in a good book – where you feel you are in the mind of the characters, feeling what they are feeling – you would not be surprised to discover that reading high quality literature is linked to an increased Theory of Mind (the ability to understand others’ mental states) and empathy. Last October, an exciting article came out in The New York Times that demonstrates this phenomenon.

Read the article from The New York Times

RedRover reached out to one of the authors of the research, Emanuele Castano, Ph.D., Chair and Director of the Cognitive, Social and Developmental Psychology Department at the New School for Social Research, to determine whether they would be interested in partnering to investigate whether the RedRover Readers program has a similar effect. 

The data collection phase of our Fall 2014 research study has concluded. If you are a teacher who is currently using the RedRover Readers program in your classroom and you would like to investigate the impact the program is having on your students, please contact RedRover and ask for the research measures to administer to your students. 

The RedRover Readers program uses high-quality children’s books combined with engaging classroom discussion to help children practice taking the perspectives of the people and animal characters in the books and better understand their emotions and behaviors. Teachers in the Sacramento, California, area who are interested in helping RedRover further research the RedRover Readers program should contact Director of Education and Outreach Karly Noel at knoel@RedRover.org.