PROJECT OVERVIEW

In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in youth mental health challenges, making emotional well-being one of the most urgent issues facing students today. While traditional therapies are often used, we became interested in a powerful but lesser-known approach: bibliotherapy, the use of books to improve mental health. Our project explores not just whether bibliotherapy is effective, but also asks: can certain genres improve mood more than others—and can personality play a role in which genres work best? By combining psychology, literature, and data analysis, our goal is to take bibliotherapy a step further by identifying personalized reading strategies that could one day help educators, counsellors, and mental health professionals support youth in new and meaningful ways.

MAIN QUESTION

Which genres are most effective for bibliotherapy, and does personality affect which genre works best?

HYPOTHESIS

If one reads the coming-of-age genre, then they will find that their mood and actions improve because they will feel a sense of connection and relatability to the main character, which can reassure them that they are not alone.

The Brain

1. How does the brain work?

Obviously, it is very hard to explain exactly how the brain works. But overall, the brain has many different regions responsible for different things. It also has billions of neurons, which are nerve cells that send electrical and chemical signals all over your body that allow you to do basically everything. The brain processes information from the senses and controls all bodily functions, whether that be walking or the beating of your heart. Communication Brain and Whole Body: The brain is connected to the whole body through a network of nerves that travel through the spinal cord. This allows rapid communication, such as when you pull your hand away from a hot kettle. Neurons and synapses: As mentioned earlier, the brain has billions of neurons organized into complex circuits. When a neuron receives enough signals, it “fires,” meaning it sends signals to other connected neurons. It sends signals through the neurotransmitters into the synapse, which is the gap between cells.

2. What are the parts of the brain?

The brain can be divided into 3 main sections: the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain. 

The forebrain

The cerebrum      • The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres: the left and right hemispheres. The hemispheres are not connected directly, but rather through nerve fibres that communicate with each other. The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere controls the left side. There is a myth that the left hemisphere is the logical hemisphere, and the right is the creative hemisphere. But this is not true; both hemispheres have logical and creative components, it is just that one side may have more of these components than the other. The cerebrum spans across parts of the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.

Each hemisphere has lobes that specialize in different functions:      • The frontal lobe is responsible for the following: Reasoning, as in processing information, logic, judgment, creativity, and decision-making. Social Understanding—being aware of social norms, what and what not to say. Executive Functions—skills needed to do everyday tasks, such as memory, self-control, and cognitive ability. Intentional movement of body parts. And learning and recalling information.      • The motor cortex is at the back of the frontal lobe, and it is responsible for the intentional movement of body parts: planning, controlling, and executing voluntary movements.      • The parietal lobe supports senses such as taste, smell, and touch. It also supports reading and arithmetic.      • The somatosensory cortex is located in front of the parietal lobes. It acquires information about temperature, taste, touch, and movement from the rest of the body.      • The occipital lobe processes images from the eyes and connects that information to images kept in memory.      • The temporal lobe has an area designated for receiving information from the ears. Another portion of the temporal lobe helps with forming and retrieving memories, including those associated with music. The other parts of this lobe relate memories to the senses of taste, sight, sound, and touch.

Each of these next structures lies within the cerebrum and the spinal cord. They each have two identical components, one on each side of the brain: The hippocampus: Sends memories to different parts of the cerebrum and retrieves the memories when necessary. The hypothalamus: Controls chemicals that make one feel excited, angry, and upset. It wakes a person up in the morning and sends signals to the adrenal glands before something scary or exciting. The thalamus:Conducts signals between the cerebrum and the spinal cord. Basal ganglia: Clusters of nerve cells that surround the thalamus. Responsible for initiating and combining voluntary movements and choosing which movements to initiate.

The midbrain

Lies on top of the brainstem, is responsible for auditory and visual processing, and controls some reflexes. The Hindbrain: Includes the top part of the spinal cord, the brainstem, and the cerebellum.      • The cerebellum coordinates and helps with learned movements: sports, instruments, etc. It controls vital functions, such as respiration and heart rate. The Cerebral Cortex:  Most information processing takes place in the cerebral cortex. It is a thick surface of the brain covering the cerebrum and cerebellum. The folds of the cerebral cortex add to the surface area and, therefore, the volume of information that can be processed. 

3. What parts of the brain are used when reading?

Four main parts of the brain are used when reading:

|
| Visual Cortex | Phonological Cortex | Semantic Cortex | Syntactic Cortex | | --- | ------------- | ------------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | | Function | Helps recognize letters and words | Helps relate the sounds to letters | Stores word meanings | Helps us understand the rules and structure of sentences |

What is a cortex? The cortex is the outermost layer of tissue in an organ, meaning it isn’t just in the brain. However, there is a more specific term we use for the cortex in the brain, which is the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain, also known as gray matter. It is known as gray matter due to the lack of the fatty myelin sheath, which “allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells” (Vorwick 2023). It has many different functions, and it is also where the different lobes of the brain are.

Different lobes of the brain that are used when reading:

• The parietal temporal region (where a written word is separated into the letters/sounds that it consists of)
• The occipital-temporal region (where the brain stores the look and meaning of words)
• The frontal region (where speech is produced)

4. How reading takes place

To understand the alphabet, people must know how to speak, so the sounds of letters can be related. Learning to speak has become a natural part of the brain, and children can learn it on their own. “But evolution has never shaped the brain to read. No brain structures have been developed through evolution to make sense of letters and written words.” (Brain.Facts.org, 2017, 2:45). Reading is a recent invention, which is why people have not yet evolved to naturally read. The brain recycles circuits that recognize faces and uses them to recognize letters. This portion of the brain is found in the temporal lobe.

5. How does reading impact the brain’s neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt due to experiences. This is the brain rewiring its neurons to reorganize neural connections throughout life. Although neuroplasticity happens most during childhood, it happens all throughout your lifetime. Reading can impact the brain’s neuroplasticity by strengthening certain areas of the brain that are used when reading, and increasing grey and white matter volume. Reading also improves communication between the left and right brain hemispheres and strengthens neural connections.

6. How is reading linked to stress reduction or mental health?

Reading reduces stress levels, which can potentially help to calm your nervous system. It also enhances memory and focus, which improves overall cognitive function. It helps with creativity and problem-solving, builds emotional strength and resilience, improves sleep quality, and even improves communication and confidence.

Bibliotherapy

7. What is bibliotherapy\, and how does it relate to the brain’s emotional system?

In a nutshell, bibliotherapy is the practice of using books and literature as therapy. It can be used to help anyone, but it is most commonly used on patients with anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. Bibliotherapists typically choose fiction for their patients, but literature of any genre can be used.  Bibliotherapy relates to the brain’s emotional system by enhancing empathy and social skills, reducing stress, reducing depression and anxiety, and helping individuals understand their own personal emotions, feelings, and growth. 

8. Has bibliotherapy been studied in youth or students before?

Yes, bibliotherapy has been studied in many youth and students before.

What were the outcomes?

In an experiment conducted on 53 Turkish 10th graders, with 33 students in a story-reading group and 20 students in a control group for comparison, the results showed that reading stories led to improvements in students’ mindfulness, optimism, happiness, and other positive emotions. This caused a reduction in depression, anxiety, pessimism, and other negative emotions. This was over a 5-week period, and results were in small to large effect sizes. Overall, bibliotherapy has been a lot more effective in depressive adolescents.

9. What are the benefits of bibliotherapy compared to traditional therapy?

Bibliotherapy offers numerous benefits:

Social Awareness

Bibliotherapy helps grow empathy and understanding of others, especially through fiction.  Theory of Mind → the human ability to understand others’ emotions and mental states

Cognitive Function

It can also enhance academic performance for most students. Contrary to popular belief that reading can only improve your performance in subjects like English, research suggests that reading can improve your grades in subjects such as math and science, too. This means that reading can improve your thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Wisdom/Emotional Support

Wisdom and emotional comfort can also be provided through reading, due to the character’s development and storyline. In a way, readers are usually able to see themselves in the characters, which could offer relief. Bibliotherapy is known to effectively reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents. 

Health Advantages

Interestingly, reading offers significant health advantages. Researchers found that elderly people who read lived two more years on average, mostly due to mental stimulation. This means that more emotionally stimulating literature could be the reason for longer survival.

Cost/Other Demands

Overall, bibliotherapy typically costs less than psychotherapy (traditional therapy), provides greater privacy, has lower staffing demands, and is easier to use. This can make it a better option in low and middle-income countries. 

10. How do professionals choose books for bibliotherapy?

Professionals typically focus on these three fundamentals when choosing books for bibliotherapy:

1. Safety: The reader needs to feel safe exploring the emotions and themes in the book. The writing should be authentic and trustworthy.
2. Connection: Bibliotherapists usually choose books in which the protagonist is going through something similar to what the patient is experiencing. This can provide opportunities for the reader to understand and empathize with the character, and can also increase their feeling of belonging.
3. Action: After reading the book, the patient should feel encouraged and prepared to overcome their traumas. The bibliotherapist will choose books that they feel will make the patient encouraged and prepared.

Independent Variable

• Genres
• Book excerpts

Dependent Variable

• The mood of the participants

Controlled Variable

• Participants
• Length of the excerpt
• How participants rate their mood (same scale for everyone)

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Materials

• Survey platform (Google Forms)
• Sample group of participants (grades 5-12)
• Book excerpts from different genres
• Computer/laptop for data analysis
• Spreadsheet software (Google Sheets)

Procedure

1. Gathered participants (ages 10-17)
2. Generated short stories (1-2 pages) using AI from different genres, including: fantasy, romance, mystery, horror, dystopian fiction, coming-of-age, adventure/thriller
3. Participants read the excerpts
4. Participants filled out a Google Form to collect data on: mood before reading, mood after reading, what could have impacted results before and after, personality type (extrovert, introvert, ambivert)
5. Collected all responses and organized the data in a spreadsheet (Google Sheets)
6. Analyzed the data by comparing: Mood changes before and after each genre, patterns between personality type, age, and genre effectiveness, and any other significant trends in emotional impact
7. Summarized findings using charts, graphs, and wrote a conclusion based on observed patterns and data

Observations

We present our observations from the following short stories:

Fantasy

• Most participants felt calm or happy before and after reading this excerpt, and some felt inspired. The way that they were feeling changed slightly for most, except the individuals who were feeling a negative emotion before. Those individuals were feeling angry or sad, and felt happy afterwards — a stronger positive emotion after when compared to calm (a weaker positive emotion).       • The participants who felt inspired were ambiverted and aged 12 and 13. Both connected the short story to the message behind the story. The 12 year old noted how the story reminded them that the past is what makes your present, and the 13 year old stated that“I feel like when stories are shared in the real world, they have a sense of magic to it. In my opinion, this specific story described it perfectly, which was inspiring!”      • We noticed that our extroverted participants had a minimal change in emotion when compared to ambiverted participants.      • The major observation that we made is from this short story was that if a participant was feeling a strong negative emotion before, their emotion after was a strong positive emotion. If a participant was feeling a weak negative/neutral emotion before, they felt a weak positive/neutral emotion after. E.g. a participant was feeling annoyed/angry beforehand, and felt happy afterwards. Other participants were feeling normal/calm before and felt calm after. This observation also occurred with the mystery genre.      • Participants rated their emotions on a scale from 1-10, 1 being negative and 10 being positive. The ratings with a more drastic change between before and after were from a young participant and a participant who was feeling annoyed before. The rest of the participants barely had a change in rating before and after, the differences being only 1 or no points higher.     • Overall, this genre worked well for bibliotherapy; it managed to calm the participants and made them happier or inspired. The reason this story was able to calm the participants is likely because it provided security through a happy ending.

Romance

• All but three participants felt happy after reading this excerpt. Two out of three participants had answered differently as they related this story to something in their lives. One of them was stressed over exams and studying, and felt calm after reading because “Studying is stressful and taking a few minutes to read a short and cute story calms things down.” The other participant felt inspired after reading this specific excerpt. They said, “I've been looking for romantic things to do for me and my girlfriend's 2-month anniversary, and this has inspired me to plan something.” The last of the three was our youngest participant, ten years old. They stated how “The ending was awkward” and how the story made them feel silly; their rating was a point lower.      • Participants 12 and under generally had greater mood improvements than participants 13 and older. Except for the 10 year old, who felt awkward.      • Overall, this genre works well for most students, as it has a sweet and mood-uplifting quality. Students with the greatest mood improvements were in the same age group as the protagonists, and the storyline was more similar to what these students could experience —potentially exciting them further. The impact was softened as participants got older. It was awkward for participants who hadn’t hit puberty yet, as they might not have understood how to deal with it.      • Had the story been replaced with a novel, the results would have likely been stronger.

Mystery

• Most of the participants were bored and didn’t have a change in emotion. The youngest participants had a huge jump in emotion; they stated that they were feeling angry (3) because of their homework, but reading the story made them feel normal (8). Other participants were already at an emotion rating of 7 or 8, so their rating was one or no spots up afterwards. Some participants noted it as a nice story that made them smile, while other participants found the story to not be impactful or meaningful, as it was “just some story about a missing bell that got found with a music teacher out of all the possible options.” Participants either felt neutral/slightly negative, a couple felt happy after reading this story.     • Overall, this genre was not good for most participants. This contradicts how people generally feel about mystery stories, so the short story was likely at fault for the negative reactions. Participants noted how it felt childish and boring, but had the story been more intriguing or a longer story with more buildup, the results would have likely been better for all participants.

Horror

• The participants felt either nervous, normal, or happy/interested after reading this excerpt. One of the oldest participants (age 16) said that they felt interested and smiled after reading this excerpt; there must have been a wow or fascinating factor about the story idea that stuck with this participant.       • An extroverted participant from this age group said that they felt normal to start with (6) and nervous afterwards (6). When asked, "What could have impacted your mood after?” the participant responded, “I think the creepiness of the book. Like, the scariest part is when no one believes the main character, you know?” Ambiverted participants were more disturbed by the paranormal themes, whereas extroverted participants were more concerned by the emphasis on loneliness and abandonment.       • Overall, this genre was only good for bibliotherapy when the reader enjoyed horror or unnatural stories; otherwise, it did not improve the participants’ moods.

Coming of Age

• Participants 12 under either felt inspired or normal after reading the story. Participants 13 and older generally felt sad or annoyed after reading the story, as they felt bad for the protagonist. Participants in high school who related to the story had two different reactions, negative: the story reminded them of personal experiences that made them sadder, positive: they chose to learn from the story and move on. Participants who could not relate said that it didn’t affect them all that much; they went back to doing what they were before and kind of forgot about the story.      • An extroverted individuals noted that they felt annoyed or angry at the story, which are more confident emotions than what the ambiverted individuals felt.     • Overall, depending on the takeaway, participants who could relate to the story felt sad or better afterwards, whereas participants who couldn’t relate felt inspired by the message. Coming-of-age stories have to do with growth and navigation of relationships. This means that the stories can often be quite sad. Bibliotherapists should focus on pushing participants who can relate so that they see the message and move on. This genre can be used positively when trying to inspire readers to push through situations or to open opportunities for a reader to reflect on past situations. The longer/stronger the story, the stronger the impact.

Dystopian Fiction

• This short story made participants aged 12 and under feel negative emotions. They focused on how the protagonists disappeared, expressing feelings of confusion and nervousness. Younger readers are more likely to have disproportionate fears, as demonstrated when children have nightmares about monsters, for example, whereas adults don’t. The fear displayed through the story is fictional.     • This story made the participants 13 and older feel inspired/curious/intrigued, all emotions that feel similar. As participants got older, their emotions became more positive. The story did make one participant feel annoyed, but this is because the participant does not like dystopian stories at all. The majority of people do enjoy dystopian stories.       • The results that this genre got from extroverted participants were inspired and annoyed; straightforward emotions. It made the majority of older ambiverted participants feel curious/intrigued; more ‘careful’ approaches.

• The dystopian fiction story was inspiring to one of the participants because the protagonist doesn’t give up, even with all the oppression around her.
• The story made a participant feel curious after reading; the participant was wondering what could have happened to the protagonist.
• The story made another participant feel intrigued, because this participant generally likes stories of this nature. Although it didn’t have a significant impact on the participant, they felt slightly happier.

• Overall, this genre provided an opportunity for reflection. Negative reflection for younger readers, positive reflection for older readers. A bibliotherapist should not use this genre with younger readers as it can scare them.

Adventure/Thriller

• This story did not affect the participants; they felt the same before and after reading this excerpt. Most said that it was not exciting—boring. An older participant said, “Didn't find it that exciting, was bored while reading it, not my thing.” A 13-year-old participant said that it gave them “Mini heart-attacks every couple of sentences,” but still rated their mood after reading as the same as before reading.      • A trend that we have noticed with this project is that younger participants feel more engaged and interested in stories that older participants don’t as much. Our younger participants generally found it exciting.            • If the story had more description and suspense, the participants would probably have been more interested and would have felt happier/intrigued after reading the excerpt.      • A participant noted how they were feeling stressed out. But reading this story distracted them and made them feel better. This demonstrated that reading is an effective method to feel better and relaxed, unless the story has negative themes. Even boring stories can help.     • Overall, this genre entertained the younger participants, but the older participants felt bored. The story may have been at fault for this, and not the genre.

OVERALL

The graph below shows the overall results (across all personalities and ages). From this graph, we can conclude that the genre romance had the best results, followed by fantasy and horror. Romance showed a 20.24% increase in mood, fantasy showed a 16.93% increase in mood, and horror showed a 10.67% increase. The data in the table below were obtained by computing the averages of all numerical responses. Then, the percent change was calculated by subtracting the after number from the before number, dividing the result by the after number, and multiplying the result by 100.

AMBIVERTS

The graph below depicts the results for the ambivert personality. In our participants with the ambivert personality, we noticed that romance and fantasy had the best results, with 24.59% and 20.5% increases in mood, respectively. Horror was next, with a 16.36% increase. The data in the table below were obtained by computing the averages of all numerical responses given by ambiverted participants. Then, the percent change was calculated by subtracting the after number from the before number, dividing the result by the after number, and multiplying the result by 100.

EXTROVERTS

The graph below depicts the results for the extrovert personality type. Romance resulted in the best changes, with an 8.7% increase. Dystopian fiction and adventure both resulted in a 6.7% increase. Fantasy resulted in a 4.35% increase. Everything else lowered the participants’ mood ratings. The data in the table below were obtained by computing the averages of all numerical responses given by extroverted participants. Then, the percent change was calculated by subtracting the after number from the before number, dividing the result by the after number, and multiplying the result by 100.

ANALYSIS: AMBIVERTS VS EXTROVERTS

Although we didn’t have any introverted participants, we can still compare our ambiverted and extroverted participants, as they had interesting results. Extroverted participants had more direct emotions toward the stories, whereas the ambiverted participants were more careful with their approaches. For example, an extroverted participant noted that they felt inspired by the dystopian fiction story, but an ambiverted participant noted that they felt intrigued and curious. Intrigued and curious are both emotions that increase thinking and carefulness.  Romance stayed one of the top genres throughout both personalities, which could have been because of three reasons:

1. The storyline and plot were inspirational/motivational
   1. One of the participants had noted that this genre motivated them to plan something for their 2-month anniversary with their girlfriend.
2. Romance felt relatable
   1. This study was conducted with teenagers, and it is a well-known fact that teenagers are highly likely to experience crushes. This short story could have felt relatable to some of the participants who read it, leading them to feel more happiness or another positive feeling.
3. Romance had a sweet and happy aspect, and the happy ending provided participants with security.
   1. Security gives people hope and happiness, and makes a story more memorable

MIDDLE SCHOOL

The graph below shows the results for middle school participants (grades 5-8). Romance once again topped the charts, with a 21.43% increase in mood. Next was fantasy with a 16.46% increase.

The data in the table below were obtained by computing the averages of all numerical responses given by participants in middle school. Then, the percent change was calculated by subtracting the after number from the before number, dividing the result by the after number, and multiplying the result by 100.

HIGH SCHOOL

This graph shows the results for high school students (grades 9-12). Horror resulted in a drastic change in mood, with a 40% increase. Coming-of-age was next, with a 20% increase. Next was fantasy, with an 18.18% increase. The data in the table below were obtained by computing the averages of all numerical responses given by participants in high school. Then, the percent change was calculated by subtracting the after number from the before number, dividing the result by the after number, and multiplying the result by 100.

ANALYSIS: MIDDLE SCHOOL VS HIGH SCHOOL

These two graphs provide us with interesting information. Romance and fantasy resulted in the best reactions in middle school students, followed by horror. High schoolers enjoyed horror and coming-of-age the most. High-school students noted that they liked horror because it was interesting. One high-schooler stated “Since I'm in Highschool, I highly relate to this story because it emphasizes on how fast our lives have changed even in a couple of years” in response to the coming-of age story, From these two graphs we can conclude that middle school students have better increases in mood from genres built on creativity and imagination, whereas high school students enjoy things that may be relatable or appear to be more realistic.  Another thing we noticed is that younger students had more improvements in their mood (for example, a sixth grader’s mood jumped from a 3 to an 8!). This suggests that the older participants did not find the stories as intriguing as the younger participants. This is because older people need more stimulation, and simple things can tend to bore them. An example of this can be how adults enjoy reading the news, while children often do not. Romance stayed popular in both groups, most likely due to the reasons discussed previously. Coming-of-age, interestingly, resulted in the most negative reactions in younger students while resulting in positive reactions in high schoolers. Typically, when professionals choose books for bibliotherapy, they choose books that will connect with the reader and inspire them, resulting in a happier mood. However, this genre appears to have done the opposite for younger students. Wondering why, we looked at the comments that our participants left, and here’s a few comments that stood out: From a high schooler: “The story reminds me a lot of an experience I had when going from grade 8 to 9, too, so I definitely had a more personal connection to it, so I felt a little sadder afterward because I thought about my friend who also moved away.” From a high schooler: “I mainly connect to this story because it reminded me of my childhood days and how unserious and fun those days were, whereas to now, everything in high school is seen to be serious, and we are expected to come up with a future plan and stick accordingly to become successful.” From a middle-schooler: “I was kind of annoyed at the story, to be honest.” From a middle-schooler: “Nothing changed.” This made us wonder why there were so many contrasting opinions. After pondering this for a while, we realized that all of the comments the high-schoolers wrote talked about how it was relatable in one way or another. However, middle-schoolers didn’t have that sense of connection to the story, which is most likely the main reason for lowered mood ratings. This suggests that coming-of-age is a good genre for bibliotherapy if the patients have gone through a similar experience. This is because it provides a sense of relief to the patient. For someone who hasn’t experienced anything similar to it, it will most likely result in a feeling of pity or annoyance.

Conclusion

The objective of this study was to find the best genres for bibliotherapy in different categories based on personality types and age groups. Because it can be relatable, we hypothesized that ‘coming-of-age’ genre would result in the most positive reactions from our participants. However, our results show that it was one of the worst genres for some categories, while ‘romance and fantasy’ were the best genres across all of the groups. We believe that this was because of the security found through the happy endings. Here we present our conclusions:

• Generally, the younger participants had greater mood improvements than the older participants from the stories across all genres. This should be taken into account when mental health professionals are working with patients.
• When mental health professionals want their younger patients to feel positive emotions, they should choose genres built on imagination and creativity, such as ‘fantasy’. It was noticed that choosing positive stories where the protagonist is the same age/personality as the reader will increase the reader's positive reaction.
• It is important to remember that genres that are centred around a big problem (negative) could go two ways for readers 12 and under. Either they underestimate how the protagonist is feeling (coming of age); they don’t understand the message or reason for reading. Or they overestimate the story's effect and scare themselves (dystopian fiction). So these genres are best avoided for younger patients. On the other hand, patients 13 and older will understand the message better and have reasonable reactions to the stories, so a bibiotherapist can predict their reactions more easily. Although many younger readers can feel strong emotions from the themes in dystopian and coming-of-age literature, readers in high school (who can relate) needed to reach a point where they understood the message of coming-of-age for a positive takeaway. This suggests that the coming-of-age genre can be used positively to inspire readers to push through difficult situations or to open opportunities for reflection on past situations. This proves our hypothesis to be partially correct; it did not have the best reactions overall, but it did when aiming for reflection.
• Personality-wise, depending on the reaction that a bibliotherapist is hoping for, they should keep in mind that extroverted participants will have stronger feelings than ambiverted participants, who will have more cautious approaches.
• If a patient is feeling a strong negative emotion before reading, they will feel a strong positive emotion after. If a patient is feeling a weak negative/neutral emotion before, they will feel a weak positive/neutral emotion after.

Application

Throughout this study, we tested the effectiveness of bibliotherapy on different personality types and age ranges. In the past few decades, the rate of mental health issues in youth has significantly increased, and there are more therapy patients than ever. Using our results, mental health professionals can determine the best type of books for their patients, ultimately leading to a healthier lifestyle.

No Introverted Participants: We weren’t able to determine if the results of bibliotherapy with different genres could really be affected by a wide variety of personality types, because we only got a chance to experiment with ambiverted and extroverted personalities Unequal Number of Participants From Various Groups: Due to trouble gathering more participants, and some participants who signed up not participating, we didn’t have equal participants from the different groups (personality types and age groups). This could have impacted the results because, although there was still an average for all the results, in a smaller group, one person’s individual ratings could have had a much greater effect on the results. Only Testing With 8 Genres: There is a whole plethora of book genres available, but due to time constraints and the willingness of participants to read them all, we chose the 8 most popular and distinct genres. If we had those factors more available to us, we would have been able to determine the best of the best genres to use for bibliotherapy. Non-Compliance With Instructions: Participants were instructed to read the short stories on separate days to make sure that the previous stories could not have affected the results. It is possible that some participants didn’t fully comply, which might have affected their mood ratings. Environmental Factors: The environment in which the participants read the stories in could have affected their mood and emotions before, throughout, and after reading the stories.

If we were to conduct this study/experiment again in the future, the main things we would change are:

• A larger number of participants with a wider variety of personality types and ages
• Testing with more book genres to better analyze if there are patterns in which genres work the best
• Keep the participants in a controlled environment
• Testing the personality types of participants ourselves (eliminates the possibility of participants lying/inaccurately guessing)

References Arslan, G., Yıldırım, M., Zangeneh, M., & Ak, İ. (2022). Benefits of Positive Psychology-Based Story Reading on Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being. Child indicators research, 15(3), 781–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09891-4 Bistami\, N. A. (n.d.). Cerebral cortex | definition\, function & location - lesson | study.com. Study.com.  https://study.com/learn/lesson/cerebral-cortex-function-structure.html  Dehaene, S. (2009, November 12). Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention. New York; Viking Press. Dehaene, S. (2016, November 1). The Brain Prize Presents: Stanislas Dehaene. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlYZBi_07vk&t=3s  Eid, D. (2024, January 17). Forebrain, midbrain & Hindbrain: Functions & Diagrams. Simply Psychology.  https://www.simplypsychology.org/forebrain-midbrain hindbrain.html#:\~:text=The%20foebrain%20also%20features%20important,the%20amygdala%2C%20and%20the%20hypothalamus. Health, U. (2010, February 11). How the Brain Works Part 1. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ao8mvMeFE&t=302s  Lindberg, S. (2025, September 2). How Does Bibliotherapy Work?. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-bibliotherapy-4687157  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2025).  Brain basics: Know your brain. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-know-your-brain  Seawright, G. (2009). Childrens’ Responses to Storybook Reading. Logan; Utah State University.  Sedita, J. (2024, June 25). How the brain learns to read. Keys to Literacy. https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/how-the-brain-learns-to-read/  Vorwick, L. J. (2025). Myelin. MedlinePlus.  https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002261.htm#:\~:text=Myelin%20is%20an%20insulating%20layer,damaged%2C%20these%20impulses%20slow%20down  Wagstaff, J. V. (2020, May). Benefits of the Habit of Reading. Provo; Brigham Young University.  Waters, E. (2017, July 24). The left brain vs. right brain myth. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMSbDwpIyF4  Yuan, S., Zhou, X., Zhang, Y., Zhang, H., Pu, J., Yang, L., Liu, L., Jiang, X., & Xie, P. (2018, January 24). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of bibliotherapy for depression and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5788928/#:\~:text=Depression%20and%20anxiety%20are%20the,disorders%20in%20child en%20and%20adolescents

First and foremost, we're so grateful to our parents for supporting us throughout the entire process. Along with that, we would like to thank Ms. Lai for providing us with the opportunity to create a project we’re proud of and for offering her valuable insight. We are also extremely thankful for our participants who took the time to read the excerpts and help us with our study-this project wouldn't have been possible without you guys! Lastly, we would like to thank our amazing judges, Xiaomeng Wang, Mayukh Debnath, Adriana Klassen, and Teagan Trang, who listened to our presentation, asked us questions, and gave us valuable feedback for the future!