{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T21:24:39Z","timestamp":1788470679150,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"Elsevier BV","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2027,2,1]],"date-time":"2027-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1801440000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/tdm\/userlicense\/1.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2027,2,1]],"date-time":"2027-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1801440000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/legal\/tdmrep-license"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003246","name":"Dutch Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["406 .XS. 25 . 03 . 192"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["406 .XS. 25 . 03 . 192"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003246","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003246","name":"Dutch Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["VI.Vidi.241G.067"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VI.Vidi.241G.067"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003246","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["elsevier.com","sciencedirect.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Current Opinion in Psychology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2027,2]]},"DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T08:58:42Z","timestamp":1787389122000},"page":"102410","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/elsevier_cm_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"special_numbering":"C","title":["Art as a scaffold for social cognition"],"prefix":"10.1016","volume":"73","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0436-9580","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yagmur","family":"Ozbay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eftychia","family":"Stamkou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suzanne","family":"Oosterwijk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"78","reference":[{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-psych-080123-102254","article-title":"Possible worlds theory: how the imagination transcends and recreates reality","volume":"76","author":"Keltner","year":"2025","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib2","series-title":"Social cognition: from brains to culture","author":"Fiske","year":"2021"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1239918","article-title":"Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind","volume":"342","author":"Kidd","year":"2013","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/pspa0000064","article-title":"Does reading a single passage of literary fiction really improve theory of mind? An attempt at replication","volume":"111","author":"Panero","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000533","article-title":"Does reading a single short story of literary fiction improve social-cognitive skills? Testing the priming hypothesis","volume":"19","author":"Lenhart","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0000395","article-title":"Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition: a meta-analysis","volume":"147","author":"Dodell-Feder","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Gen"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"723","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0001302","article-title":"Does a brief exposure to literary fiction improve social ability? Assessing the evidential value of published studies with a p-curve","volume":"152","author":"Quinlan","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Gen"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1464","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0001583","article-title":"Cognitive effects and correlates of reading fiction: two preregistered multilevel meta-analyses","volume":"153","author":"Wimmer","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Gen"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1515\/COMM.2009.025","article-title":"Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy: ruling out individual differences and examining outcomes","volume":"34","author":"Mar","year":"2009","journal-title":"COMM"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000806","article-title":"Books or films, ephemeral or habitual? Untangling the path from narrative fiction to social cognition","author":"Ozbay","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000089","article-title":"Leisure reading and social cognition: a meta-analysis","volume":"11","author":"Mumper","year":"2017","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9695","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-35346-7","article-title":"Adolescent leisure reading and its longitudinal association with prosocial behavior and social adjustment","volume":"13","author":"Lenhart","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijer.2025.102535","article-title":"Can leisure reading enhance college students' social emotional competencies: a large-scale empirical study","volume":"130","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Educ Res"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"481","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000269","article-title":"The relationship among different types of arts engagement, empathy, and prosocial behavior","volume":"14","author":"Kou","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jesp.2021.104138","article-title":"Attending live theatre improves empathy, changes attitudes, and leads to pro-social behavior","volume":"95","author":"Rathje","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Exp Soc Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7786","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-022-35235-z","article-title":"Using performance art to promote intergroup prosociality by cultivating the belief that empathy is unlimited","volume":"13","author":"Hasson","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat Commun"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"455","DOI":"10.1177\/09567976221150616","article-title":"Awe Sparks prosociality in children","volume":"34","author":"Stamkou","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychol Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib18","article-title":"Film intervention increases empathic understanding of formerly incarcerated people and support for criminal justice reform","volume":"vol 121","author":"Reddan","year":"2024"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib19","first-page":"87","article-title":"Psychical distance\u2019 as a factor in art and an aesthetic principle","volume":"5","author":"Bullough","year":"1912","journal-title":"Br J Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib20","series-title":"Art and illusion","author":"Gombrich","year":"1960"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib21","first-page":"155","article-title":"The evolution of psychical distance as an aesthetic concept, cult","volume":"8","author":"Cupchik","year":"2002","journal-title":"Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1037\/a0018963","article-title":"Construal-level theory of psychological distance","volume":"117","author":"Trope","year":"2010","journal-title":"Psychol Rev"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"956","DOI":"10.1111\/jcom.12112","article-title":"Making sense of violence: perceived meaningfulness as a predictor of audience interest in violent media content","volume":"64","author":"Bartsch","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Commun"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2022.0413","article-title":"The aesthetic valve: how aesthetic appreciation may switch emotional states from anxiety to curiosity","volume":"379","author":"Barbieri","year":"2024","journal-title":"Phil Trans Biol Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib25","article-title":"The Distancing-embracing model of the enjoyment of negative emotions in art reception","volume":"40","author":"Menninghaus","year":"2017","journal-title":"Behav Brain Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib26","article-title":"Art promotes exploration of negative content","volume":"vol 122","author":"Ozbay","year":"2025"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1348\/0007126042369811","article-title":"A model of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic judgments","volume":"95","author":"Leder","year":"2004","journal-title":"Br J Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"701","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.79.5.701","article-title":"The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives","volume":"79","author":"Green","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib29","series-title":"Narrative absorption","first-page":"11","article-title":"Beyond metaphors and traditions: exploring the conceptual boundaries of narrative engagement","author":"Bilandzic","year":"2017"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib30","series-title":"Handbook of empirical literary studies","first-page":"279","article-title":"Narrative absorption: an overview","author":"Kuijpers","year":"2021"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib31","first-page":"1","article-title":"Narrative transportation: how stories shape how we see ourselves and the world","volume":"70","author":"Green","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv Exp Soc Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1163\/15691624-20221397","article-title":"Aesthetic empathy: an investigation in phenomenological psychology of visual art experiences","volume":"53","author":"Hansen","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Phenomenol Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.14790","article-title":"The forgotten role of absorption in music reward","volume":"1514","author":"Cardona","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ann N Y Acad Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"808","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2025.01.016","article-title":"The neuroscience of dance takes center stage","volume":"113","author":"Cross","year":"2025","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib35","series-title":"Empathy","first-page":"181","article-title":"The empathic body in experimental aesthetics \u2013 embodied simulation and art","author":"Gallese","year":"2017"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"439","DOI":"10.1111\/jcom.12100","article-title":"Temporarily expanding the boundaries of the self: motivations for entering the story world and implications for narrative effects","volume":"64","author":"Slater","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Commun"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.poetic.2025.102018","article-title":"Is fiction a remedy for our wish to live many lives? Testing a popular assumption among contemporary readers","volume":"111","author":"Loi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Poetics"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib38","series-title":"Media effects","first-page":"258","article-title":"Eudaimonia as media effect","author":"Raney","year":"2019"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.1177\/1754073916684557","article-title":"Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality","volume":"9","author":"Stellar","year":"2017","journal-title":"Emot Rev"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib40","series-title":"Kama muta : discovering the connecting emotion","author":"Fiske","year":"2020"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib41","article-title":"Being moved by modern abstract art","volume":"17","author":"Zhou","year":"2026","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib42","article-title":"Bridging me to we: awe is a conduit to cohesive collectives","volume":"62","author":"Piff","year":"2025","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-6924.2008.00073.x","article-title":"The function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social experience","volume":"3","author":"Mar","year":"2008","journal-title":"Perspect Psychol Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"741","DOI":"10.1111\/jcom.12248","article-title":"More than shoot-em-up and torture porn: reflective appropriation and meaning-making of violent media content","volume":"66","author":"Bartsch","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Commun"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib45","series-title":"Handbook of ethics and social psychology","first-page":"256","article-title":"The morals of (and in) stories","author":"Dunk","year":"2025"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000541","article-title":"Can art promote understanding? A review of the psychology and neuroscience of aesthetic cognitivism","volume":"19","author":"Christensen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib47","series-title":"The moral laboratory : experiments examining the effects of reading literature on social perception and moral self-concept","first-page":"167","author":"Hakemulder","year":"2000"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1037\/a0033261","article-title":"Potentiating empathic growth: generating imagery while reading fiction increases empathy and prosocial behavior","volume":"7","author":"Johnson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.1080\/10888691.2022.2096610","article-title":"Deeper engagement with live theater increases middle school students' empathy and social perspective taking","volume":"27","author":"Troxler","year":"2023","journal-title":"Appl Dev Sci"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1037\/aca0000514","article-title":"The effects of literariness on social-cognitive skills: examining narrative engagement, transportation, and identification as moderators","volume":"19","author":"Schwerin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol Aesthet Creat Art"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1037\/rev0000349","article-title":"A reward-learning framework of knowledge acquisition: an integrated account of curiosity, interest, and intrinsic\u2013extrinsic rewards","volume":"129","author":"Murayama","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Rev"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/spc3.70135","article-title":"Aesthetic revolution: how art shapes social worlds","volume":"20","author":"Stamkou","year":"2026","journal-title":"Soc Personal Psychol Compass"},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib53","unstructured":"This paper tests the widely assumed priming hypothesis that reading a single literary story temporarily improves empathy and theory of mind, but finds no evidence for such short-term effects across two experiments. These findings challenge the brief-exposure paradigm and support the need for models emphasizing repeated, self-selected engagement rather than isolated art encounters."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib54","unstructured":"Provides empirical evidence that the brief-exposure literary-fiction literature has limited evidential value, showing that published effects are fragile and sensitive to the inclusion of individual studies. These findings support the need for a broader framework that moves beyond the brief-exposure paradigm to explain art\u2019s social-cognitive impact."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib55","unstructured":"This paper shows that literature and film afford different qualities of engagement, but that richer engagement\u2014regardless of medium\u2014predicts stronger intentions to engage with similar experiences in the future, supporting the qualities of engagement and reinforcement components of our framework."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib56","unstructured":"This paper introduces and empirically tests the \u201caesthetic valve\u201d hypothesis, showing that aesthetic appreciation shifts responses to uncertainty from anxiety toward curiosity. The findings support the motivational gate proposed in our framework by demonstrating how anticipated aesthetic rewards promote exploratory engagement."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib57","unstructured":"This paper shows that art increases voluntary engagement with negative content, making people more likely to choose it and spend longer with it than matched non-art depictions. By demonstrating that art shifts engagement through increased aesthetic rewards and reduced affective costs, the paper provides direct empirical support for the motivational gate in our framework."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib58","unstructured":"This paper provides a comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of narrative transportation research, reviewing its antecedents, underlying psychological processes, and consequences for attitudes, beliefs, self-concept, and social cognition. The chapter highlights transportation as a central experiential mechanism through which narratives influence cognition and behavior, supporting the experiential engagement component of our framework."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib59","unstructured":"This paper develops a theoretical framework explaining how repeated rewarding experiences strengthen intrinsic motivation and promote sustained engagement through reinforcement and habit formation. This perspective provides the theoretical foundation for the reinforcement and habit formation component of our framework."},{"key":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410_bib60","unstructured":"This review synthesizes evidence on art\u2019s social influence across domains of social life (e.g., civic engagement, gender equality, intergroup relations, and environmental conservation) and the psychological levers through which effects arise. It shows that art can shift attitudes and behavior in prosocial directions but can also entrench prejudice and affirm the status quo, underscoring that the processes art engages are not inherently benevolent. The same scaffolding mechanisms can be mobilized toward connection or toward exclusion."}],"container-title":["Current Opinion in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/api.elsevier.com\/content\/article\/PII:S2352250X2600148X?httpAccept=text\/xml","content-type":"text\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/api.elsevier.com\/content\/article\/PII:S2352250X2600148X?httpAccept=text\/plain","content-type":"text\/plain","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T20:59:17Z","timestamp":1788469157000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/linkinghub.elsevier.com\/retrieve\/pii\/S2352250X2600148X"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2027,2]]},"references-count":60,"alternative-id":["S2352250X2600148X"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410","relation":{},"ISSN":["2352-250X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2352-250X","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2027,2]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Elsevier","name":"publisher","label":"This article is maintained by"},{"value":"Art as a scaffold for social cognition","name":"articletitle","label":"Article Title"},{"value":"Current Opinion in Psychology","name":"journaltitle","label":"Journal Title"},{"value":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.copsyc.2026.102410","name":"articlelink","label":"CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version"},{"value":"article","name":"content_type","label":"Content Type"},{"value":"\u00a9 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright"}],"article-number":"102410"}}