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Different routes to liking: how readers arrive at narrative evaluations
Marloes Mak1, Myrthe Faber2,3, Roel M Willems4,2,5
1Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Erasmusplein 1, 6525 HT, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. H.Mak@let.ru.nl.
Readers appreciate stories for various reasons like interest or beauty, but the importance of these factors varies individually. These personal differences in story appreciation are not linked to expertise and highlight the need for personalized literary analysis.
Area of Science:
- Literary studies
- Psychology
- Aesthetics
Background:
- Readers often share similar overall enjoyment of stories.
- Individual reasons for story appreciation can differ significantly.
- Understanding these variations is crucial for literary analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors contributing to story liking.
- To investigate individual differences in how these factors influence appreciation.
- To explore the relationship between appreciation components and overall liking.
Main Methods:
- Empirical experiments were conducted to quantify reader responses.
- Statistical analysis examined the relationships between appreciation components (interest, amusement, suspense, beauty, sadness) and overall liking.
- Individual differences in these relationships were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Readers appreciate stories based on factors like interest, amusement, suspense, and beauty.
- The weight given to each factor in overall liking varies significantly among individuals.
- Individual differences in appreciation patterns were not correlated with expertise.
- Interactions were observed, e.g., strong link between interest and liking correlated with a weak link between sadness and liking.
Conclusions:
- Literary appreciation is subjective, with individuals weighting factors differently.
- Quantifiable individual differences exist in story evaluation.
- Future aesthetic theories should account for reader variability, avoiding an 'idealized reader' model.
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