Fiction literature has largely been ignored by psychology researchers because its only
function seems to be entertainment, with no connection to empirical validity. We argue that …

To Ellen Dissanayake, the arts are biologically evolved propensities of human nature: their
fundamental features helped early humans adapt to their environment and reproduce …

The Artful Species explores the idea that our aesthetic responses and art behaviors are
connected to our evolved human nature. Our humanoid forerunners displayed aesthetic …

Background: Many definitions of information, knowledge, and data have been suggested
throughout the history of information science. In this article, the objective is to provide …

The world's first known empires took shape in Mesopotamia between the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf, beginning around 2350 BCE. The next 2,500 …

Drama, at least according to the Aristotelian view, is effective inasmuch as it successfully
mirrors real aspects of human behavior. This leads to the hypothesis that successful dramas …

Horror fiction is a thriving industry. Many consumers pay hard-earned money to be scared
witless by films, books, and computer games. The well-told horror story can affect even the …

The portrayal of the actions of fictive characters for purposes of entertainment is a familiar
phenomenon. Theories that seek to explain why we are attracted to such fictions and …

'Before there could be children's books, there had to be children', wrote John Rowe
Townsend (1990, p. 3) at the very beginning of what was, for many years, the standard …

Storytelling, and the delivery of societal narratives, enable human beings to communicate,
connect, and understand one another and the world around them. Narratives can be defined …