Power of Storytelling: Why Stories Captivate Us
A look into how stories affect us...
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Have you ever considered the effect stories have on us? Think about it.
Storytelling’s impact reaches far and wide. It’s interwoven in the human condition, and has been for centuries.
The American psychologist Jerome Bruner once wrote, “We are storytelling creatures, and as children we acquire language to tell those stories that we have inside us.”
Building on this idea, British novelist Dorris Lessing explains:
“Humanity’s legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences. At the very simplest, it can be: ‘He/she was born, lived, died.’ Probably that is the template of our stories – a beginning, middle, and end. This structure is in our minds.”
We think best in stories. It’s as simple as that. Let’s explore the psychology behind stories, the evolution of storytelling, and how narratives influence our society and culture.
Psychology Behind Engaging Stories
Our brains resonate with stories. It’s just how we’re wired.
When we hear a narrative, our brain doesn’t just process language. It activates areas associated with lived experiences – making us participants in the tale. This explains our physiological reactions to stories – the quickened pulse during a thriller, or tears during a poignant saga.
That means storytelling is not merely a form of entertainment – although that’s how we may see it. Instead, it’s a primary mode of human thought.
Cognitive psychologists, like Bruner, tell us that storytelling is a lens through which we understand our world and our place in it. Stories allow us to navigate complex social landscapes.
Or, as Aleks Krotoski, the British-American journalist and social psychologist, tells us, “Stories are memory aids, instruction manuals and moral compasses.”
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