Evoking and Measuring Identification with Narrative Characters - A Linguistic Cues Framework

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Narrative Theory
• Linguistics

Background:

• Current identification research relies on post-reading surveys, limiting dynamic measurement.
• The specific linguistic elements that trigger reader identification remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an interdisciplinary Linguistic Cues Framework for precise identification measurement.
• To conceptualize identification as a multidimensional experience.
• To link specific linguistic cues to distinct identification dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to define six dimensions of identification: spatiotemporal, perceptual, cognitive, moral, emotional, and embodied.
• Proposing six propositions linking linguistic cues to these dimensions.
• Discussing psychological and neurocognitive methods for empirical testing.

Main Results:

• Identification is a multidimensional process, not a monolithic one.
• Specific linguistic cues are hypothesized to evoke distinct dimensions of identification.
• A framework is established to connect narrative language to reader responses.

Conclusions:

• The Linguistic Cues Framework offers a novel approach to studying narrative identification.
• Future research should empirically test the proposed links between linguistic cues and identification dimensions.
• This framework advances understanding of the antecedents and nature of reader-character identification.