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What readers bring to the processing of fictional texts

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review volume 4, pages 416–420 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Research on text processing has generally focused on the types of inferences that all readers draw in common. Our research examines aspects of processing that depend on the particular relation of the reader to the text. Students read fictional stories that contained weak and unsupported assertions and that were set either at their own school or at another school. We expected that they would be prompted to process the story information thoroughly enough to reject the assertions only if they were familiar with the story setting. Consistent with this expectation, the results showed that the away-school story, but not the home-school story, had a significant impact on students’ beliefs. These results support the view that readers must actively construct disbelief when processing fictional information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Green Hall, 08544-1010, Princeton, NJ

    Deborah A. Prentice

  2. State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York

    Richard J. Gerrig

  3. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    Daniel S. Bailis

Authors
  1. Deborah A. Prentice
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  2. Richard J. Gerrig
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  3. Daniel S. Bailis
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Correspondence to Deborah A. Prentice.

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Prentice, D.A., Gerrig, R.J. & Bailis, D.S. What readers bring to the processing of fictional texts. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 4, 416–420 (1997). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210803

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210803

Keywords

  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  • Agreement Rating
  • Text Processing
  • Fictional World
  • Elaboration Likelihood Model