Why do we tell stories? Evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson says: "Storytelling is far more fundamentally human than even human beings realize." Stories allow us to re-live our emotions, Wilson says. Stories also reflect the human the impulse to find causes and explanations for events in life, researchers say.
But what are the costs of storytelling? Research shows that stories can mesmerize us: we approach stories less critically than other types of information and our behavior and beliefs are influenced by stories, even those we know are false, according to the work of psychologist Melanie Green.
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