Thursday 11 August 2016 at 7.30 pm

Holt’s Planetarium, Chambers Street, Napier

A presentation by Dr Raymond Mar, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology,  York University, Toronto, Canada

Reading has long been identified as an important contributor to important outcomes related to language, such as vocabulary. However, the reading of narrative fiction might have additional benefits tied to perspective-taking and empathy. In this talk, Dr Mar will present a critical review of the available evidence from his own lab and others on the possibility that reading stories might help us to better understand other people in the real world.

Raymond Mar holds three degrees in Psychology from the University of Toronto. His post-doctoral research work at York University in Cognitive Sciences has recently been focussed on the neurological impacts of reading fiction.