People who read a lot of fiction are known to have stronger social skills than nonfiction readers or nonreaders. A new study suggests that reading fictional works, especially stories that take readers inside people’s lives and minds, may enhance social skills by exercising a part of the brain involved in empathy and imagination.

The study, published online in Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, found that reading fictional excerpts about individuals and groups of people heightened activity in a brain system known...