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Not just a hijack: Imaginary worlds can enhance individual and group-level fitness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Danica Wilbanks Open the ORCID record for Danica Wilbanks [Opens in a new window] ,
Jordan W. Moon ,
Brent Stewart ,
Kurt Gray  and
Michael E. W. Varnum
Danica Wilbanks
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA danicaw@email.unc.edu kurtgray@unc.edu; https://www.kurtjgray.com/
Jordan W. Moon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA jwmoon1@asu.edu; https://sites.google.com/view/jordanmoon/home mvarnum@asu.edu; https://sites.google.com/site/mewvarnum
Brent Stewart
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada brent.stewart@psych.ubc.ca
Kurt Gray
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA danicaw@email.unc.edu kurtgray@unc.edu; https://www.kurtjgray.com/
Michael E. W. Varnum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA jwmoon1@asu.edu; https://sites.google.com/view/jordanmoon/home mvarnum@asu.edu; https://sites.google.com/site/mewvarnum
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Abstract

Why has fiction been so successful over time? We make the case that fiction may have properties that enhance both individual and group-level fitness by (a) allowing risk-free simulation of important scenarios, (b) effectively transmitting solutions to common problems, and (c) enhancing group cohesion through shared consumption of fictive worlds.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e305
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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