The role of processing foregrounding in empathic reactions in literary reading
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11273244 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Giulia Scapin (0000-0002-6163-714X, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, corresponding author), Cristina Loi (0000-0002-3694-5837, Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Utrecht University), Frank Hakemulder (0000-0003-3923-8668, Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Utrecht University), Katalin Bálint (0000-0002-6254-7883, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Elly A Konijn (0000-0002-6134-8700, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 4-5 |
| Pages | 273-293 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-28 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Discourse Processes (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-853X • E-ISSN: 1532-6950 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0163853x.2023.2198813 |
| OpenAlex | W4367627165 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 40 |
A considerable body of research has examined the age-old assertion that reading literature enhances empathy, however, mixed results have been found. The present study attempts to clarify such disparities, investigating the role of foregrounding in possible differences in readers’ processing of literary texts and its connection with readers’ empathic reactions. We asked participants (N = 78) to mark parts of the text they considered as “foregrounding” (i.e., deviating from “normal” discourse), and we analyzed how they processed these stylistic aspects. Participants’ open responses to one of two selected texts were categorized as either Shallow, Failed, Partial, or Full Processing of Foregrounding. Full processing was associated with higher Comprehensive State Empathy Scale scores than Failed Processing. Stylistic analysis of word combinations that participants marked as “striking” suggests that, rather than stylistic devices per se, readers’ depth of processing may enhance state empathy
Assertion · Cognitive psychology · Empathy · Foregrounding · Linguistics · Reading (process · Computer Science · Humor Studies and Applications · Media Influence and Health · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology
Content analysis
The Moral Laboratory
Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind
Effects of Literature on Empathy and Self-Reflection
Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition
Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy
The empirical study of careers in literature and the arts
Reading Fictional Narratives to Improve Social and Moral Cognition
Personal relevance and state empathy with a character facilitates self-disclosure in film viewers
Figuring out what they feel
What is literature for? The role of transformative reading
Individual Differences in Sensitivity to Style During Literary Reading
Locating Self-Modifying Feelings Within Literary Reading
What is literariness? Three components of literary reading
Evaluating whether stories can promote social cognition
Exposure to Print and Orthographic Processing
Narrative Discourse, an Essay in Method
Foregrounding, defamiliarization, and affect
Contingencies of Value
Changing beliefs and behavior through experience-taking
Ethnic boundaries in national literary histories
Classification of authors by literary prestige
Literary processing and interpretation
Some parameters of literary and news comprehension
Coding In-depth Semistructured Interviews
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |