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LEXINGTON - A study by a Washington and Lee University psychology professor has showed reading a short work of fiction can lead readers to empathize with the work’s characters, to detect subtle emotional expressions more effectively and to be helpful.

Dan Johnson, assistant professor of psychology, published the results of his study in the November 2011 edition of the journal “Personality and Individual Differences.”

With the help of three WL students Johnson had 200 subjects read a five-page story written specifically for the experiment.

Based on the results of some post-reading exercises, Johnson concluded that the more immersed the readers were in the story, the more empathy they felt for the characters. In addition, he found that the heightened empathy led to an enhanced ability to perceive subtle emotional expressions such as fear or happiness. Individuals who experienced higher levels of empathy were also nearly twice as likely to engage in pro-social, or helpful, behavior as individuals experiencing low levels of empathy.