An experimental test of the role of character depth in affective disposition processes

This paper presents a series of two experimental studies that test the influence of character depth on narrative reception processes specified by affective disposition theory (ADT). Consistent with prior media psychology research, character depth is conceptualized as "the extent to which a character's exposition evokes a detailed and multi-faceted mental conception of a character's psyche, behavior, and experience" (Frazer et al., 2026, p. 4). In the pilot study (N = 217), we propose and verify a novel experimental manipulation of character depth independent from character morality. In the pre-registered experimental main study (N = 471), we manipulate character depth alongside character moral behavior across a five-act narrative, investigating effects on ADT's three subprocesses: disposition formation, anticipatory responses, and outcome evaluation. We both (1) conceptually replicate recent empirical work testing ADT's three subprocesses and (2) present evidence that character depth plays an important role in narrative reception processes. We find that individuating a character in text can influence perceived character depth in a manner that ripples throughout narrative reception. Perceiving a character to have greater depth results in more positive dispositions, and these initial positive dispositions continue to influence disposition updating as the narrative unfolds, as well as evaluations of the story ending.