Abstract: Fictional stories represent the social world as they depict interactions between characters. Thus, reading narrative fiction has been theorised to improve social cognition (Nussbaum, 1996). We tested this claim in a series of 4 experiments assessing social cognition using a battery of self-report, explicit and implicit indicators (e.g., word fragment completion, Frith-Happé animations, Reading the Mind in the Eyes, Implicit Association Test, Affect Misattribution Procedure, and pupillometry). Experiment 1 tested the association between lifetime exposure to print fiction and social cognitive abilities in a correlational design. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 implemented a randomised design and assessed social cognition (before and) after a reading assignment. Experiment 2 contrasted short narrative fiction with narrative non-fiction and expository non-fiction excerpts. Experiment 3 compared a short story told from 3rd person perspective and internal focalisation vs. a narrative told from 1st person perspective and internal focalisation vs. a narrative told from 3rd person perspective and external focalisation. Experiment 4 examined the effects of reading an entire (narrative fiction vs. narrative non-fiction vs. expository non-fiction) book; pre- and follow-up assessments were included in addition to post tests. Across all experiments and measures, results do not support the view that reading narrative fiction enhances our ability to understand the social world.