The Art of Reading People: Character, Expression, Interpretation

The Science Behind Connecting to Literature

Just what is it that makes us laugh, cry, and identify with characters in a piece of fictional literature? Many of us have looked forward to the next installment in a beloved series, or grieved when a favorite author decides to "kill off" a character that we enjoyed. One needs only to consider the world- wide phenomenon of Harry Potter to see that the same is true for many young readers. We know the characters and the worlds in which they exist are not real, yet the emotional connection certainly is!

In "Didactic Narratives: Literary Characters and Human Learning Processes", Isabel Jaen Portillo says that literature is "a symbolic fictional parallel of the human domain, modeled after humankind's perspective on the world, and thus populated by beings that closely resemble us." ⁵ She puts forth the notion that the real and the fictional worlds can both be important components of human cognitive development. Just as my students experiment with roles of responsibility at school, literature can also provide a rich learning environment, in which they can safely participate and study behavior and the ensuing consequences. Indeed, Jaen Portillo refers to fiction as a practical tool that provides a "showcase of social behavior." Being absorbed in the fictional life of someone who is involved in risk taking behavior, for instance, gives the reader the opportunity to safely experience it (and its consequences!) through the eyes of the character. The careful selection of literature for specific purposes can be an excellent tool for helping students navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence. Difficult issues such as substance abuse, sexuality, violence, and family conflicts can be addressed with the guided use of specific fictional literature.

Theory of Mind (ToM)

When readers "get lost in a great book", they are actually exercising the fundamental property of our human consciousness that enables us to exhibit a wide range of mental states. Much like a fantasy, it is an immersion into the world of a fictional environment. We breathe life into characters and make them real to us. In a sense, we read the characters' minds in an attempt to determine their motives and intentions. Even though we know that the events are fictional, we still feel a connection. This cognition is mediated by an essentially emotional process, which is an important component in recent research into the science of "Theory of Mind".

Theory of Mind (ToM) can be described as a type of mind- reading that describes our skill at explaining human behavior in terms of their thoughts, feelings, and desires. In our careers, each time that we prepare a presentation, write a speech, or conduct research for a paper, we are doing so with a specific audience in mind. We worry about the way our words will be received and make a kind of educated guess about a response. By imagining the motivations for the behavior of others, it helps us make sense of our social environments. The same may be true when we read fiction: when we humanize fictional characters, it seems possible that we are making use of this same mechanism. There are often many things that an author may not fully explain, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions about characters in fiction. Instead of just identifying the elements (including character) of a given piece of literature, active engagement by the reader seems to be key in identifying and drawing meaning from the characters.

Current brain research now provides us with some concrete evidence that when we immerse ourselves in fiction, our brains are cognitively attempting to mimic or impersonate the mental state of a character. The reader has then created a "pretend state", thus enabling him to experience the joys and pitfalls of the character. ⁶ Using fMRI neuroimaging techniques, scientists have found that mirror neurons in the brain (once thought to only have motor functions) are clearly activated when we mentally follow the actions and activities of a fictional character. By making sense of a character's situational actions we are able to imitate them. This mimicry then sets off a mechanism that allows us to truly "feel" along with the character. Therefore, Theory of Mind can facilitate empathy, which is essentially emotional imitation. This mimicry is referred to as "Simulation Theory" ⁷. In the action of trying to understand the behavior of others, real or imagined, we place ourselves in the other person's circumstances and thus emotionally imitate what they might be feeling.

ToM: Do We All Think This Way?

In Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel, author Lisa Zunshine ⁸ explores the ability to activate this Theory of Mind. In her quest to understand why we read fiction, she begins with the notion that we perceive character motivation and action by virtue of our past experiences in life and as readers. However, there are indications that all humans are not able to connect to fiction in this way, even if they are capable readers. Rather, it seems that the ability to "mind-read" (and thus empathize with a fictional character), is often not available to people with cognitive differences such as autism. By studying individuals affected by autism, cognitive scientists now see that our mind- reading ability is actually a unique cognitive ability. For the average person, interpreting motive and assigning attributes to others may seem fairly automatic (although not always accurate!), but for individuals with cognitive deficits such as autism, this ToM seems to be impaired.

Autism is a condition that is now often diagnosed in the first few years of life and includes impaired development of communication and socialization skills, and a lack of flexibility and imagination. It is also often characterized by a lack of interest in fiction and storytelling. One reason for this might be a low tolerance for things that are out of the ordinary. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, ⁹ Christopher (the narrator, who is affected by autism) explains this by saying that he does not like novels because "they are lies about things which didn't happen and they make me feel shaky and scared"(Chapter 37). If individuals with autism find comfort in routine, rigidly- ordered environments, then it is understandable that fantasy is quite difficult and uncomfortable for them.

Personally, I have had several students who have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. Often very bright, these students have had difficulty in social situations and often prefer to work alone. This presents difficulty in the regular classroom, where their behavior can be misinterpreted by others. A fascinating glimpse into the thinking processes of someone with autism is provided by a woman named Temple Grandin. ^{1 0} Having autism herself, she is a brilliant engineer and published author. She gives us a "window" into her world as she can explain the way in which she sees and interprets things. Grandin says that school was very difficult for her as a young child because she simply could not interpret the cues and nonverbal forms of communication used so readily by her peers. She is able to explain that she has an extremely strong visual memory, actually creating her own mental library of "videos" that help her to function socially. When confronted with an unfamiliar situation, she calls up a "video" from her memory to help her to interact appropriately. When asked about her ability to comprehend fictional narratives, she seems to agree with the fictional Christopher, when she admits that it gives her great difficulty and that she could not understand texts such as Romeo and Juliet. However, one must keep in mind that Temple Grandin is an extraordinary individual, despite the fact that she happens to have autism. It does not mean that all individuals who face this challenge do not enjoy fiction. The degree of severity and individual differences in experience certainly are important. Despite this, her insights are not to be discounted in this field of research. They remind us of the absolute complexity of the issues involved and provide significant insight into the brain mechanics of the ways in which we perceive and attribute traits to others.

The ability to read the signals of others is in no way an exact science, even for people not affected by autism. We make errors in our assessment of social situations every day. When we see our supervisor frowning as we enter the building, we may mistakenly think it is directed at us, while the truth may be that he is not feeling well and is wondering if he should go home. The student who repeatedly asks to go to the bathroom may not be avoiding our class, but actually has a medical reason for doing so. The appearance of tears is another classic example of an opportunity to misread a situation. Tears may be caused by joy, fear, or pain. An inability to read additional clues in a given situation might make the situation difficult to decipher. The question then becomes: How can active participation in literature encourage the development of self-identity and help us read other people more effectively?