This findings are clearly interesting in many aspects. However, I fail to see (please correct me) how the authors of the research can jump to the conclusion that changes in perceived personality == reading makes us think about ourselves — Surely there are other, reasonable explanations that don't make such a logical leap... Such as, the literature is such a powerful force on our emotions that it changes the way we feel (not how we view ourselves) for some time afterwards. I find the 'how we view ourselves' point far too philosophical.
I'm curious about the tests to measure our emotions.
What kind of test is it that can measure an emotional change before and after reading a story, which I guess takes 20min to read. Do they ask the same questions?. Anyone know more about this?
I've often thought that an interesting use of facial recognition would be a component of phone UI. So if I get a call and the phone sees my face looks angry when I see the caller ID, it autoroutes to voicemail.
I wonder if this applies to movies and other medias in the same way as well.