University Psychology team discusses the inside story on reading fiction in new podcast

Having taken a short break from their Psychology Of... podcast series following the discussions on the thrilling Celebrity Traitors series, the team has opened a new chapter with a podcast exploring why people love reading.

Hosted by Senior Lecturer in Psychology Dr Clea Wright with guests Dr Julie Kirkham, Programme Leader for the MSc Family and Child Psychology, and Dr Suzanne Stewart, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, The Psychology Of...Reading Fiction podcast comes as this month marks World Book Day, World Poetry Day, Shakespeare Week and Tolkien Day.

Among the insights and discussions in the 30-minute podcast are:

• How reading more fiction can help the reader create more detailed worlds in their mind 
• How children who engage in pretend play become better storytellers and are more likely to have had imaginary friends 
• How readers can gain new perspectives on books by discussing them with others 
• How readers can relate to unreliable narrators and anti-heroes 

Clea said: “Following the positive responses we’ve had with our podcast series, particularly The Psychology Of...The Traitors and The Psychology Of...Celebrity Traitors, we’ve turned our attention to a subject loved by so many – reading fictional stories. From helping children’s literacy to sharing thoughts on plots and characters in book clubs, it was a pleasure to hear the views of Julie and Suzanne in this latest podcast.

“Our team will continue to discuss other topics in the coming weeks and months.”

The latest episode of the podcast, along with all the other episodes, can be found on Spotify here.