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Chapter 11. Forms of absorption that facilitate the aesthetic and explanatory effects of literary reading

  • Don Kuiken and Shawn Douglas
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Narrative Absorption
This chapter is in the book Narrative Absorption

Abstract

Rather than articulating a univocal conception of absorption, we provide a theoretical rationale for the Absorption-like States Questionnaire (ASQ), an instrument that incorporates alternative conceptions of absorption based upon contrasts between forms of (1) attention (sustained concentration and attentional reorienting); (2) embodied space (peri-personal and extra-personal space); (3) self-other relations (pre-enactive empathy and cognitive perspective-taking); and (4) verisimilitude (generalizing realism and self-implicating givenness). Structural equation modeling indicated that, in conjunction with open reflection, a type of absorption called expressive enactment distinctively predicted aesthetic outcomes. In contrast, also in conjunction with open reflection, a type of absorption called integrative comprehension distinctively predicted explanatory outcomes.

Abstract

Rather than articulating a univocal conception of absorption, we provide a theoretical rationale for the Absorption-like States Questionnaire (ASQ), an instrument that incorporates alternative conceptions of absorption based upon contrasts between forms of (1) attention (sustained concentration and attentional reorienting); (2) embodied space (peri-personal and extra-personal space); (3) self-other relations (pre-enactive empathy and cognitive perspective-taking); and (4) verisimilitude (generalizing realism and self-implicating givenness). Structural equation modeling indicated that, in conjunction with open reflection, a type of absorption called expressive enactment distinctively predicted aesthetic outcomes. In contrast, also in conjunction with open reflection, a type of absorption called integrative comprehension distinctively predicted explanatory outcomes.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Narrative absorption 1
  5. Part I. Conceptualization of narrative absorption
  6. Chapter 1. Beyond metaphors and traditions 11
  7. Chapter 2. Towards a new understanding of absorbing reading experiences 29
  8. Chapter 3. Narrative persuasion 49
  9. Chapter 4. Immersion into narrative and poetic worlds 69
  10. Chapter 5. Into film 97
  11. Chapter 6. “Spellbound in darkness” 119
  12. Chapter 7. Antecedents of identification 133
  13. Part II. Empirical studies on narrative absorption
  14. Chapter 8. Identifying with in-game characters 157
  15. Chapter 9. The effect of suspense structure on felt suspense and narrative absorption in literature and film 177
  16. Chapter 10. Elaboration, emotion, and transportation 199
  17. Chapter 11. Forms of absorption that facilitate the aesthetic and explanatory effects of literary reading 217
  18. Part III. Outcomes of narrative absorption
  19. Chapter 12. Absorption and meaningfulness 253
  20. Chapter 13. The role of absorption processes in narrative health communication 271
  21. Chapter 14. Absorption in narrative fiction and its possible impact on social abilities 293
  22. Index 315
https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.27.12kui

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Narrative absorption 1
  5. Part I. Conceptualization of narrative absorption
  6. Chapter 1. Beyond metaphors and traditions 11
  7. Chapter 2. Towards a new understanding of absorbing reading experiences 29
  8. Chapter 3. Narrative persuasion 49
  9. Chapter 4. Immersion into narrative and poetic worlds 69
  10. Chapter 5. Into film 97
  11. Chapter 6. “Spellbound in darkness” 119
  12. Chapter 7. Antecedents of identification 133
  13. Part II. Empirical studies on narrative absorption
  14. Chapter 8. Identifying with in-game characters 157
  15. Chapter 9. The effect of suspense structure on felt suspense and narrative absorption in literature and film 177
  16. Chapter 10. Elaboration, emotion, and transportation 199
  17. Chapter 11. Forms of absorption that facilitate the aesthetic and explanatory effects of literary reading 217
  18. Part III. Outcomes of narrative absorption
  19. Chapter 12. Absorption and meaningfulness 253
  20. Chapter 13. The role of absorption processes in narrative health communication 271
  21. Chapter 14. Absorption in narrative fiction and its possible impact on social abilities 293
  22. Index 315
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