I've been confronted with this question a couple of times even before I read the articles linked above and I always answered the same. Always felt like it's such an "obvious" answer since reading fiction puts you in the perspective of another person/character, so it's good empathy exercise. My personal experience confirms this as well, that when I want to shift my perspective to that of another, reading fiction helps.
(Emphasis on "personal" as, in this use case, YMMV.)
On this note... the books I've found most interesting over the last couple years are ones that expand my mind to a viewpoint or a perspective of another people group that is different than my own.
Two very different books but, Between the World and Me, and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia both made me think in ways I cant quite describe.
Two very different books but, Between the World and Me, and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia both made me think in ways I cant quite describe.