In the presence of the will to follow through with the activity of a serious nature in the area of literary criticism, nothing prevents the application of the perception of the stereotypical "bookworm" that stays at home and implies that the studies of literature lead to antisocial behavior and that the reality of the matter involves consideration of the opinion of other readers.
It is believed that mere reading of the literary works would not necessarily lead to advancements in creativity. However, it would definitely lead to development in our skill for harnessing our phantasy. This is necessary in the case of creativity. Once we expand our vocabulary and work upon smoothening our style, our skill in creatively writing would be developed.
Based on a research conducted by some Toronto University scientists, it was discovered that more creative thinkers and less impulsive decision-makers tend to be frequent readers, and less rigid thinkers tend to be readers of fictional works such as short stories. Such individuals exhibit low needs concerning cognitive closure and support related to the uncomfortable experiences of uncertainty and disordered situations. An individual who is reading, in this case, the reader, identifies with the thoughts and ideas of different characters in the story, and thus the whole process of reading leads to the reader automatically developing a set of new thinking styles from his/her preferred set of thinking styles.
Studies also found that need for cognitive closure is linked with using fewer information in decision-making, and simple ideas and concepts in understanding the world. There is a significant effect in regard with creativity. For example, in a research, a high need for cognitive closure was found to produce less creative objects and figures when judged impartially by a judge.
Having made that connection, the researchers are able to harness literary fiction as a means to manipulate the desire for cognitive closure. The researchers recognize that fiction has a simulative quality to it that, as with the computer simulation, occurs with a human mind instead, and has a sympathetic or identifying quality about it for a simulation or taking on the identity for fictional persons. Further, it doesn't have to have a conclusion or a decision for the reader to the point that, in actuality, it's necessary for there to be some level of ambiguity for the reader, for example, with respect to "what happened in the last chapter?" or, as it turns out, what happened by the end? Again, it's not specific to fiction but true for any book that's written on any given topic, for example, “histories or the fossil record for the existence within the Earth itself.”
However, it may be established that the process of literary reading makes people more self-observing and has a positive impact on creative thinking.