Psychologists have discovered that while reading a book or story, people are prone to subconsciously adopt their behavior, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses to that of fictional characters as if they were their own.

For that matter, I sometimes catch myself adopting the behavior, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses of real people as if they were my own, too.

They found that stories written in the first-person can temporarily transform the way readers view the world, themselves and other social groups.

I don't think they have to be written in the first person for that to happen. At least in my case, I don't think there's any noticeable difference between stories written in the first person and stories written in the third-person subjective, and I think that I've also identified with characters from stories in the third-person subjective and third-person omniscient.