Engagement with Narrative Characters: The Role of Social-Cognitive Abilities and Linguistic Viewpoint

Autor/inn/en	Eekhof, Lynn S.; van Krieken, Kobie; Sanders, José; Willems, Roel M.
Titel	Engagement with Narrative Characters: The Role of Social-Cognitive Abilities and Linguistic Viewpoint
Quelle	In: Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 60 (2023) 6, S.411-439 (29 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Eekhof, Lynn S.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0163-853X
DOI	10.1080/0163853X.2023.2206773
Schlagwörter	Social Cognition; Cognitive Ability; Emotional Response; Reading Processes; Fiction; Narration; Reader Text Relationship; Empathy + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Soziale Kognition; Denkfähigkeit; Emotionales Verhalten; Leseprozess; Fiktion; Empathie
Abstract	This article explores the role of text and reader characteristics in character engagement experiences. In an online study, participants completed several self-report and behavioral measures of social-cognitive abilities and read two literary narratives in which the presence of linguistic viewpoint markers was varied using a highly controlled manipulation strategy. Afterward, participants reported on their character engagement experiences. A principal component analysis on participants' responses revealed the multidimensional nature of character engagement, which included both self- and other-oriented emotional responses (e.g., empathy, personal distress) as well as more cognitive responses (e.g., identification, perspective taking). Furthermore, character engagement was found to rely on a wide range of social-cognitive abilities but not on the presence of viewpoint markers. Finally, and most importantly, we did not find convincing evidence for an interplay between social-cognitive abilities and the presence of viewpoint markers. These findings suggest that readers rely on their social-cognitive abilities to engage with the inner worlds of fictional others, more so than on the lexical cues of those inner worlds provided by the text. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01