Perspective Taking in Fiction: A Comparison of Two Texts

This study examines associations between reading comprehension and perspective taking for children who read 2 fictional stories. One story is rich in social and emotional content, describing a girl making new friends and experiencing an intergroup conflict. The other story contains less social content. The study uses hierarchical linear modeling to examine whether perspective taking is associated with comprehension of either or both stories. There is a positive relationship between perspective taking and the comprehension of the story with relational content, but the magnitude of the effect is moderated by reading ability. Students who perform in the bottom quartile of reading comprehension but demonstrate high perspective taking understand the story almost as well as their peers with better overall reading skills. Perspective taking does not play a role in comprehension of the story without social content.