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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, [email protected] [email protected]; https://www.kurtjgray.com/
Jordan W. Moon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, [email protected]; https://sites.google.com/view/jordanmoon/[email protected]; https://sites.google.com/site/mewvarnum
Brent Stewart
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada [email protected]
Kurt Gray
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, [email protected] [email protected]; https://www.kurtjgray.com/
Michael E. W. Varnum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, [email protected]; https://sites.google.com/view/jordanmoon/[email protected]; 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.

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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