In classrooms across the country, informational text often takes center stage, especially as students move into the upper grades and the focus of academic reading shifts toward analyzing evidence, constructing arguments, and mastering academic content. Yet when narrative texts are pushed aside, students can lose access to one of the most powerful tools for growth and understanding: fiction.
Research in cognitive and social psychology shows that fiction serves a far deeper purpose than simply entertainment. It acts as a “simulation” of the social world, allowing readers to explore and gain insight into the thoughts, emotions, and motivations of others (Mar & Oatley, 2008). This research underscores why reading stories is essential not only for literacy development, but also for cultivating empathy, perspective, and emotional intelligence.
Fiction as a Simulator of Human Experience
Narrative fiction can function like a flight simulator for life. When students read stories, their brains have the opportunity to rehearse complex social and emotional experiences, helping them learn to understand and navigate real-world situations more skillfully. Through the power of imagination and the lens of a character, readers can practice interpreting intentions, resolving conflict, showing kindness, and making thoughtful, human-centered choices.
This process strengthens what psychologists call theory of mind, which is our ability to understand the perspectives of others. Fiction helps students “try on” the lives of others and build the cognitive flexibility to understand different ways of thinking and being.
Empathy and Perspective-Taking
One of the most powerful findings from the research is that fiction can build empathy (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013). When students identify with a character, they can experience empathic growth, an expanded capacity to see things from another's perspective and feel their emotions.
Research shows that reading stories with diverse characters can reduce prejudice and increase perspective-taking (Vezzali et al., 2014). In other words, stories help students not only imagine other worlds but also relate more effectively to people in their own lives. For schools striving to nurture communities in which all learners feel a sense of belonging, this is a strong reminder that making time for stories can be an investment in strengthening a healthy community.
Emotional Practice
Fiction can also serve as a sort of emotional laboratory. Through characters, readers can experience fear, courage, or heartbreak and learn how to process those emotions in a non-threatening space. This may be particularly important for adolescents, who are gaining maturity with developing both emotional awareness and healthy coping strategies. Through narratives, students of all ages can explore what it means to make difficult choices, to work through anger, or to consider other people’s feelings and needs.
Sharing Social Wisdom
Fiction can also help with imparting social wisdom. Rather than teach about something through direct instruction, stories can teach through a more relatable experience. Readers of fiction don’t just learn about integrity, compassion, or justice—they have a chance to see and feel those values embodied and acted out in characters. A chart or detailed outline can present us with information about conflict resolution; a novel can show us how conflict resolution might be carried out and how it feels for the characters involved. Through a more immersive emotional experience, knowledge can become more personal and enduring.
From Research into Action
For educators and leaders, these findings invite a simple yet important reflection: stories are not an “extra.” They are essential tools for helping students grow as thinkers and as people.
Whether through read-alouds, book clubs, independent reading time, or ELA assignments, fiction helps students engage with language, imagination, and emotion all at once. When we make space for stories that challenge students and help them cultivate greater understanding of human experiences—including their own—we are nurturing qualities like empathy, curiosity, and reflection. Some might say that these qualities not only help students learn well but live well.
