Evidence for Nonfiction as Intervention

Despite the enormous reach of popular nonfiction, its psychological effects remain poorly understood. This evidence-synthesis project revisits research on nonfiction reading and psychological outcomes, bridging prior literature with the lab’s experimental work on books as interventions.

The immediate goal is to determine which forms of reading, outcomes, and study designs yield credible evidence of change—and where the literature remains too weak or heterogeneous for firm conclusions.

Current pipeline

• Cleaning and recoding the existing evidence base
• Conducting the first meta-analytic reanalysis
• Identifying moderators of durable versus short-lived change
• Preparing the structure of a manuscript