Cumulative Reading Engagement Predicts Individual Sensitivity to Moral Judgment: The Mediating Role of Social Processing Tendencies

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that one-time literary fiction exposure facilitates the ability to infer the other’s emotions/intentions, but the effect has a relatively low statistical power, and the mechanism re - mains poorly understood. To obtain greater statistical power and understand the mechanism, the index of cumulative reading engagement (CRE) with fiction is being proposed in the present research. College students ( N = 408) described their reading engagement by completing questionnaires about reading in - terest, reading time, diversity of reading materials, and fiction exposure. Next, participants assessed the moral judgment of actions and interpersonal reactivity scales. We analyzed the data using the structural equation technique to study the three-path mediation model. The results indicated that 1) CRE was relat - ed to social processing tendencies; 2) CRE contributed to moral intentions toward moral dilemma; 3) the effect of CRE on moral judgment was mediated by empathic concern, but not by perspective-taking and imaginary engagement. This study suggests that CRE is a reliable indicator of fiction exposure. Alternative - ly, reading fiction may involve exploring and expressing complex emotions, which in turn helps individuals increase their ability to infer and prioritize actors’ moral intentions.