Age and cultural differences in the relationship between reading and theory of mind

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown a positive relationship between reading fiction and Theory of Mind (ToM) in children and young adults. However, there is little evidence to evaluate how reading habits relate to ToM in older adults. Also, nearly all studies exploring this topic have focused only on Western participants. In the current study of 229 participants, we tested whether age groups (young vs older adults) and cultural groups (British vs Malaysian adults) differ in their reading habits, and how reading habits related to socio-affective and cognitive ToM. We investigated both fiction and non-fiction reading habits. Our results showed that there was a positive relationship between fiction reading and socio-affective ToM across the whole sample. Associations between reading more fiction and ToM differed depending on the age group and cultural background of participants: only in the older Malaysian group was this correlation significant. Relationships between non-fiction reading and ToM were also positive in older Malaysians, but negative in older British adults. These results indicate that age and cultural groups differ in the relationship between reading habits and the ability to understand others’ mental states, and highlights the need for future research to consider diverse samples and more detailed analysis of reading habits.