Canadian psychologist Raymond Mar studies stories, curiosity and social cognition
Prof Raymond Mar, psychologist at York University (Canada), will be visiting the Centre for Language Studies (CLS) these coming months. His stay is part of the Radboud Excellence Initiative, which allows internationally prominent scientists to intensively collaborate with researchers in Nijmegen. Mar studies how stories, ranging from novels to obituaries, can help us better understand others.
What obituaries reveal about us
Together with Prof Enny Das, Mar is studying a striking phenomenon: why do some people like to read strangers’ obituaries? North American obituaries often contain extensive descriptions of someone’s life. Some people read them with great interest, even if they did not personally know the deceased person. Others tend to avoid them due to their association with death. The first results of the research project show a clear pattern. “People that are naturally more curious about the lives of others also tend to read obituaries more often,” Mar says. “On top of that, these readers seem less likely to avoid engaging with the topic of death.” A follow-up study aims to examine whether reading obituaries will actually make people more curious about others.
More collaborations within CLS
Next to the obituary project, Mar is participating in several other CLS projects. Together with Dr Natalia Levshina, he examines texts written by participants of a study about how people imagine their futures. Together with Dr Sebastian Sadowski, he studies how people react to watching a movie that they are not enjoying, and what this says about engagement and communication.
Communication Reimagined
During the Communication Reimagined symposium, organised on the initiative of CLS, Mar will be one of the keynote speakers. The symposium will study how new media and technologies transform the way in which we experience and share stories, and how this impacts our understanding of communication, empathy and social influence. Other keynote speakers are Dr Hannah de Mulder (Leiden University) and Prof Karina van Dalen-Oskam (KNAW).
Language and connection
Raymond Mar’s visitation fits well with CLS’s mission to research language and communication in their social, cultural and cognitive context. “It’s an honour to be back in Nijmegen for the second part of my Excellence Professorship,” Mar says. “CLS is a good environment for research into stories and empathy.”