Casual Reading Habits and Interpersonal Reactivity: A Correlational Study

Empathy, as a factor has been widely researched about in counselling and clinical situations. Most recently, it is being explored in terms of positive psychology. Several studies have linked empathy to general well-being and life satisfaction of people. It has also shown a reduction in social conflicts and increased peace-keeping intentions. Therefore it is important to understand factors that can lead to an increase in empathy in individuals. This is a study that attempted to understand if there is a relationship between casual reading and interpersonal reactivity-which measures dimensions of cognitive and emotional empathy. Reading has been linked to several benefits for people among which are also emotional and cognitive maturity. This study tried to understand if these benefits extend to include empathy as well. The respondents were all post-graduate students chosen through convenient sampling method. For this purpose, the researcher developed a Casual Reading Checklist which was aimed at understanding the frequency and range of the casual reading habits of people. A total reading habit score was derived out of the same. Along with this, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davies, 1980) was administered to respondents. This scale helps understand empathy over four distinct dimensions- Perspective-taking, Fantasy, Empathic Concern and Personal Distress. A correlation analysis was undertaken to check if there was a relationship between the dimensions of empathy and casual reading habits. Results indicated a significant correlation between casual reading habits and the combined score from the dimensions of Cognitive Empathy. This was an attempt to understand if there is a possibility of using the habit of reading in the form of psychotherapy for general well-being and life satisfaction-at the individual as well as the societal level.