Readers as problem-solvers in the experience of suspense
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4329936 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard J Gerrig (0000-0003-4924-2273, Yale University), Allan B I Bernardo (0000-0003-3938-266X, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 459-472 |
| Publication date | 1994-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Poetics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-422X • E-ISSN: 1872-7514 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/0304-422x(94)90021-3 |
| OpenAlex | W1991675220 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 9 |
We suggest that readers' reports of suspense are moderated by their perceptions of the range of solutions available to a textual dilemma. We provide seven experiments to test this relationship between problem solving and suspense. In each experiment subjects read texts that placed James Bond (or some other fictional hero) in a situation of grave danger. The texts differed with respect to the apparent range of escapes available to the hero. Subjects gave ratings of the likelihood that the hero would escape and of their feelings of suspense. Although ratings of likelihood were little affected, ratings of suspense were heightened when readers believed that the number of paths to a solution had been restricted
Art · Dilemma · Epistemology · Feeling · HERO · Literature · Perception · Test (biology · Artificial Intelligence in Games · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
What Is Narrative Suspense? Evidence from Production Studies
Expectations about future learning influence moment-to-moment feelings of suspense
Blurring focalization
Hero or villain? The role of audience beliefs about suspense for their suspense experience
Storytelling systems
The paradox of suspense
Sociali persona ludens
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,23 |
| Citation span | 1996 - 2025 (30) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |