Examining Readers' Emotional Responses to Stories: An Appraisal Theory Perspective

Emotional responses are a central feature of readers' narrative experiences. Situations in which readers adopt characters' goals and experience similar emotional reactions to story events are often the focus of research on readers' experiences of stories. However, readers may understand (or appraise) story events in a way that differs from the main character, and may consequently feel different emotions. In the current work, we leverage an appraisal theory perspective to clarify conditions under which readers experience emotions that mirror characters' emotional responses to story events, as well as conditions under which readers experience distinct emotions. Study 1 examined readers' experience of anger toward different story characters. Study 2 examined readers' experience of sadness or fear for one story character. Results suggest that readers appraise the event from both a character's perspective as well as their individual view, which generally translates into the experience of emotions that correspond with both the character's appraisals and their own.