Is fiction a remedy for our wish to live many lives? Testing a popular assumption among contemporary readers

Abstract

A widespread assumption about the intrinsic function of reading fiction is that it allows us to live other lives beyond our own, satisfying our need to experience alternative identities. This claim is not only recurring among some of the most quoted statements made by literary authors (Eco, 1991; Martin, 20,111; Vargas Llosa, 1984), but it is also at the core of theories within media psychology and literary studies that focus on fundamental motivations for engaging with narratives (TEBOTS, Slater et al., 2014; Storyworld Possible Selves, Martínez, 2014). This study investigates whether this motivation for reading is part of the conscious perception of avid readers, in a comprehensive sample of various contemporary reading practices (books, digital fiction, and Wattpad). In a within-subjects design with an indirect approach, readers (N = 498) were presented with two short literary excerpts (one on the theme of unrealized possibilities and one unrelated “control” excerpt) via an online survey. They were asked to elaborate freely on their immediate reactions and to complete a measure for individual differences on their “sense of possibility” (Musil, 1965), operationalized through the Maximization and Regret (Schwartz et al., 2002) personality traits. Results obtained with a mixed-methods content analysis show that individuals with an active sense of possibility are significantly more likely to report that they regularly experience feelings of longing towards their alternative lives. Additionally, within this subset of readers, 34.5 % also spontaneously mentioned that they read fiction in order to satisfy this longing because it allows them to assume alternative identities.