A quantitative study of non-linearity in storytelling
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4330818 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrew Piper (0000-0002-0973-4209), Olivier Toubia (0000-0001-7493-9641, Columbia University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 98 |
| Pages | 101793 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| 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/j.poetic.2023.101793 |
| OpenAlex | W4378471425 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 27 |
In this paper, we present a study of non-linearity in storytelling in a collection of 2,348 books published since 2001 that are divided among 10 different categories. We employ word embeddings to capture the semantic non-linearity of a book, along with three associated measures called speed, volume, and distance. We find that narrative non-linearity is strongly associated with the communication of non-instrumental (imaginary) information, but only very weakly negatively associated with a book's success. When we decompose non-linearity, we observe that reader preferences for books favor greater narrative distance with lower speed, i.e. books that take readers further but do so more parsimoniously are more successful. Our work aims to contribute to a growing body of studies that use computational methods to better understand human narrative behavior
Art · Linearity · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Physics · Sociology · Storytelling · The Imaginary · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Media Influence and Health · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy · Psychology
Computational thematics
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A quantitative analysis of semantic characteristics and success of personal narratives on social media
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Towards a unified science of cultural evolution
The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity
Accelerating dynamics of collective attention
The Incremental Validity of Narrative Identity in Predicting Well-Being
The emotional arcs of stories are dominated by six basic shapes
Divergence and the Complexity of Difference in Text and Culture
Foreword to the Special Issue “A Shared Task for the Digital Humanities
The psychology of curiosity
Goodreads reviews to assess the wider impacts of books
Strategic narratives in climate change
Cultural Attraction in Film Evolution
Suspense and Surprise
The Life Cycles of Genres
Inducing narrative tension in the viewer through suspense, surprise, and curiosity
Suspense, curiosity, and surprise
Telling in Time (I)
Novel Devotions
Stories are to entertain
The Narrative Construction of Reality
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |