Non-fiction Reading Response to "Reading Fiction 'Improves Empathy', Study Finds"

     In the article "Reading Fiction 'Improves Empathy', Study Finds" by Alison Flood, a newly discovered concept that reading YA books such as Twilight and Harry Potter helps improve empathy is discussed. Alison Flood tells us about tests that were given to undergraduates to see how empathic they were becoming to the characters in these franchises. Flood then presents us with an analysis of the findings, and continues with comparing this experiment to one done with a Chekhov story a couple years back. Flood continues with some professional opinions from Keith Oatley, a professor dealing with the subject, and closes with some of Oatley's ideas that leave the reader thinking.
     Alison Flood uses a variety of craft moves to better share her ideas with the reader. She starts out with a strong and compelling hook that immediately has your eyes glued to the article. "Burying your head in a novel isn't just a way to escape the world: psychologists are increasingly finding that reading can affect our personalities." She uses very sophisticated language to back up her claim, such as "delving," "cohorts," and "absorption." She also uses quotation marks to make YA subject words like "wizards" and "vampires" stand out. Lastly, she directly quotes the people working on the study and another expert in the field.
     In conclusion, in her article "Reading Fiction 'Improves Empathy,' Study Finds," Alison Flood focuses on the concept that there is another, possibly beneficial layer to reading YA literature that people don't usually think about. I personally agree that reading improves empathy. I know when I read books like Harry Potter and Twilight with very unique and unrealistic characters, I sort of begin to feel like I am "one of them." Other than the fantastic hook that Flood uses, I found a few other lines of this article very interesting. One of these was, "Books provide the opportunity for a social connection and the blissful calm that comes from becoming a part of something larger than oneself for one precious, fleeting moment." This was said by Dr. Shira Gabirel and Ariana Young. I thought this line was very beautiful and it really summed up the whole idea of empathy in general. Another meaningful line was, "I think the reason fiction but not non-fiction has the effect of improving empathy is because fiction is primarily about selves interacting with other selves in the social world." This was said by Kevin Oatley. I found this line really thought-provoking about what fiction really is. Fiction is considered "made-up," but when you think about it, it's really not. Every part of fiction, even if it's as imaginative as unicorns and dragons, is really taken from something in the world. I agree with Alison Flood's claim, and I think that fiction is not only a way of escaping, but it can also be used to better understand the world and the people in it.