What is it about?
A popular belief exists according to which the only function of narrative fiction (cinema, literature, …) is to entertain, without producing any other effect than the mere and fleeting pleasure during the viewing/reading. This research shows that there is also a second, extremely important function. The study explores two questions: what is in audiovisual fiction stories to provoke in us an aesthetic experience of entertainment and what affective and cognitive phenomena occur during this consumption. The empirical results have shown that those stories that activate the dual function use three deautomatizing mechanisms that induce in the viewer not only the experience of entertainment but also open his or her mind. Deautomatization produces in the viewer a phenomenon of narrative tension that leads him to try to resolve the imbalance caused by the story. During exposure to the story, the viewer activates a mental process of assimilation of the content and accommodation to the intrigue posed by the story. This process facilitates the encounter between the world of the text and the world of the reader. This leads not only to the experience of entertainment but also to connecting the story to the thoughts and life experiences of the viewer. As a result of this mental activation, the spectator can open his mind to new ideas and elaborate new purposes of action in his own life. In this way, fiction possesses a second function by encouraging greater complexity of thought and action.
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Why is it important?
This research presents a theory with empirical support according to which fictional audiovisual stories (such as cinema) not only entertain but, through de-automatization, can provoke a dialogue between the fictional world perceived in the story and the viewer's life that leads him to reflect on his own reality, his own being in the world and even to arouse new purposes of personal change. The study unveils the mechanisms of deautomatization that certain stories use are susceptible to induce this inward look, towards oneself. This introspective activity not only seeks to understand the story, but also to understand and make sense of some aspect of one's own existence provoked by the fictional content. In conclusion, while the emphasis so far has been on the entertainment function of narrative fiction, this study broadens our interest to a second function, of thought, which opens new perspectives in the study of storytelling. Fiction and reality interact to give rise to new realities.
Perspectives
Taking into consideration the dual function of narrative fiction helps us to understand why dictatorships and ideological fanaticisms of all times and places burned books, including fiction books, since these cultural manifestations contribute to move consciences. The present research has shown that deautomatization is a way to induce this interaction between story/consciousness and opens new perspectives of inquiry that allow us to understand how we acquire knowledge from fiction, how we construct new cognitions applied to our lives and, thirdly, it gives rise to new studies that investigate how the mechanisms of deautomatization work in new forms and genres of fiction.
Jesús Bermejo-Berros
Universidad de Valladolid
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Influence of deautomatization on the narrative tension and the enjoyment experience of audiovisual stories., Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts, April 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/aca0000759.
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