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

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.

The Influence of Mental Imagery Instructions and Personality Characteristics on Reading Experiences

“…As mentioned above, people engage in mental imagery 1 when reading stories, and mental imagery is an important driver of absorption: it has been found that visualizing the story world will strengthen people's experience of absorption in a story (Green & Brock, 2002;Kuijpers et al, 2014;Kuiken & Douglas, 2017). 2 Absorption has been defined by Kuijpers and colleagues (2014) as "the subjective experience of being absorbed in the story world of a narrative text" (p. 90, emphasis in the original).…”

“…Together these 4 dimensions can result in an experience of complete absorption in a narrative or story world. 3 Another connection between absorption and mental imagery, is that they have both been found to be associated with another important aspect of people's reading experiences: the enjoyment (or appreciation) of stories (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2009;Green, 2004;Green, Brock & Kaufman, 2004;Kuijpers et al, 2014;Kuiken & Douglas, 2017;Mol & Jolles, 2014;Weibel et al, 2011). As there does not seem to be strong consensus with regard to the definition of appreciation (especially between different disciplines, e.g., communication research and literature studies), in the current experiment we have considered both the overall enjoyment of narratives and other facets of aesthetic experiences that we believe could play a role in our enjoyment and appreciation of stories (e.g., whether a reader is emotionally moved by a story, or finds it amusing).…”

“…Although the exact nature of mental imagery during reading is still debated, in this paper we do not want to focus on the content of mental imagery during reading, but instead on the act of mental imagery itself. 3 Note however, that Kuiken and Douglas (Kuiken & Douglas, 2017) proposed that absorption is even more multidimensional, suggesting multiple types of absorption, with multiple different outcomes. 4 Some participants still found these questions "out of the blue".…”

Building and Justifying Interpretations of Texts: A Key Practice in the English Language Arts

“…Second, a well‐written literary text may induce a sense of recognition , so that readers suddenly recognize some aspect of themselves or of their world in the world evoked by the text (Kuiken, Miall et al, 2004; Kuiken, Phillips et al, 2004). And third, a well‐written literary text may enchant the readers, transporting them into an imagined world so fully that they are, for the moment, living vicariously within that world rather than in their own (Gerrig & Rapp, 2004; Kuiken & Douglas, 2017).…”

Dimensions of Students’ Engagement and Self-Insight in Upper Secondary Education

“…They measure the feeling for and with characters and the sensation that the reader has left the actual world and entered the diegesis. From the ASQ (Kuiken & Douglas, 2017), Expressive Enactment (mini-scales: 1. Peri-personal Space, 2.…”