The power of books

I’m thinking I need to find novels about a woman who become super rich and successful, or an average runner who somehow becomes a crazy good runner, or a girl who meets her dream boy-band member and lives happily ever after…

Why?

A new study from Ohio State University found that when you lose yourself in a book, you start to identify with the fictional character, so much so it can affect your real life. You start to think and feel like the character as if it’s actually you, and it can translate into changes in behaviour in real life. In one experiment, when reading about a character who had to overcome obstacles to vote, those readers were more likely to vote in real life in an election a few days afterwards.

Hence my new reading list.

6 Comments May 9, 2012

Shady behaviour

Photo: style.com

Be wary of people wearing sunglasses. According to new research published in Psychological Science, darkness — such as being in a lowly lit room but even from sporting a pair of shades — makes us believe we are shielded from people’s attention and inspection, leading us to behave more unethically.

In one of the experiments, participants wore sunglasses or clear glasses and were given money to share with a person in another room they’d been interacting with. Those wearing sunglasses acted more selfishly, giving way less of the money to the other person so they could pocket it for themselves.

Which has got me wondering: I’ve been coveting these Dior sunglasses. Does that in turn mean I’m subconsciously planning on acting immorally?

Leave a Comment March 9, 2010