Amount awarded: $26,684
Human beings intrinsically are tellers and receivers of stories - and stories can be a powerful and beneficial tool for change (Green, 2021). When engaging with another person’s story, we gain access to their motives, beliefs, and emotions, which enables us to have a better understanding of their actions than merely observing their behavior (Oatley, 2011). Work in the psychology of fiction suggests that engaging with stories can improve individuals' socio-cognitive abilities and increase empathy (Dodell-Feder & Tamir, 2018; Mumper & Gerrig, 2016). Additionally, research suggests that narratives of first-person experiences of critical life-events - such as those experiences of mental disorders, can generate awareness, impart knowledge, and promote understanding on topics such as mental illness (Boltanski & Burtchell, 1999; Baldwin, 2005). This project aims to shed light on the mechanisms and circumstances in which narratives can impact stigma towards those in stigmatized groups, specifically those who experience psychotic mental disorders (e.g. Schizophrenia). First, through an online behavioral study, subjects will be randomly assigned to read either a) non-narrative (informational) texts, b) non-fictional (personal) narrative stories or c) fictional (literary) narrative stories about psychotic disorders. The effect of this intervention will be assessed on measures of Theory of Mind (ToM), emotional engagement, and prosocial behavior towards people suffering from these disorders. In the second stage Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) will be used to temporarily inhibit the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) - a brain region associated with perspective taking processes (Saxe & Kanwisher, 2003) - while reading the narratives to assess the role of perspective-taking on these measures of socio-emotional processing. Through the proposed methodology, this project will: a) Provide experimental evidence of the effect of fictional and non-fictional narratives on perspective taking and socio-emotional processes (those involved in ToM, emotional engagement, and prosocial behavior). b) Enable a deeper understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms involved in perspective taking, especially as it is triggered by narrative and/or fiction. c) Suggest a potential intervention to reduce stigma and increase empathy towards people suffering from mental disorders. d) Inform work in the philosophy of emotion, moral philosophy, and embodied cognition.
Fernanda Perez-Gay Juarez, PhD. Postdoctoral Scholar, Departments of Philosophy and Psychiatry, McGill University
Rodrigo Diaz, PhD. Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Research in Ethics, University of Montreal
Kate Finley, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy , Hope College
Laura Matthews, PhD. Instructor, Department of Philosophy, Auburn University
Samantha Fede, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences , Auburn University