Scientists decode secret of book lovers’ minds

By Stephen Beech

Understanding book readers’ imaginations could lead to better mental health therapies, according to research .

A new tool to understand how people imagine differently when reading has potential implications for treating mental health issues, say scientists.

The ReaderBank Imagination Quiz has been developed by a team led by Durham University researchers.

It has identified four “forces” of imagination - space and vision, voice and language, people models, and perspective.

Researchers say those forces have "strong and specific" connections to mental imagery, immersion in a story, daydreaming, and intrusive thoughts.

The quiz reveals the "complexity" of people’s reading minds and what the researchers describe as a "radical diversity" of imagination skills.

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