The purpose of this research was to develop a measure that systematically assesses the various components of film and TV fan identity and to test its connection to well-being. Across 2 studies, the multidimensional Fan Identity Scale was developed and validated. The resulting 9-item survey yielded 3 factors that encompassed both personal and social dimensions of fan identity. In Study 2, the relationship between these dimensions and 3 facets of well-being was also explored. Results indicated that overall fan identity predicted overall well-being. In addition, social fan identity predicted relational well-being and marginally predicted physical well-being. Avenues for future research involving the Fan Identity Scale are discussed. Public Policy Relevance StatementThe Fan Identity Scale developed in the present research is used to classify fans of stories (like film and TV fans) by their enthusiasm, social behavior, and meaningful interactions with the story. The questionnaire was used to assess the way psychologically healthy fans incorporate popular media into their lives. Fan identity was related to overall well-being, and social fan identity was related to relational well-being.
Fan fiction has received minimal attention from psychological researchers. To begin to fill that gap, we analyzed fan fiction about the TV show Mad Men to investigate how fans use fan fiction to make meaning from the source text. A sample of fan fiction stories was coded for the presence of eudaimonic and hedonic story components, the emotions expressed in the stories, the perspectives adopted by the fan writers, and plots that function as wish fulfillment. Findings indicated that fan fiction writers' motivations were more eudaimonic than hedonic, the stories often contained mixed or negative emotional content, the writers frequently took the perspective of a female character in their stories, and in some cases the stories enabled characters to achieve positive resolutions denied them by the source text. Taken together, the results point to the many ways in which fans engage with and make sense of a popular TV show. Future psychological research on fan fiction of additional popular culture texts would be valuable for understanding the ways fans grapple with various elements of those texts.
This essay provides an overview of research and theory on narrative and its important, functional role in human experience, including the ways people use media to interrogate their own beliefs and feelings, and derive social meaning. Thought-provoking film, television, and books can help us make meaning of our lives and grow in ways that are important for our successful social functioning. Research reviewed here demonstrates that exposure to fiction can increase empathy and social skills and reduce prejudice. Our connection to characters and stories has been studied in various ways as extensions of the self into another, while at the same time bringing the other into the self. Bringing together disparate perspectives, we propose that connecting to story worlds involves a process of "dual empathy"-simultaneously engaging in intense personal processing while also "feeling through" characters, both of which produce benefits. Because the value of entertainment narratives may not always be well understood, we explain how those experiences can be personal, social, and can serve important adaptive functions.
Black Panther (2018) offers scholars a unique opportunity to measure the potential positive influence of the film on American youth, particularly youth of color. Past research demonstrated that, for African Americans, greater ethnic identity is associated with greater wellbeing and empowerment, findings we replicated here. We also studied the influence of the film on wellbeing and empowerment, considering the roles of ethnicity and character identification. Results showed a main effect of film on empowerment but not wellbeing in the entire sample, with no main effect or interaction with ethnicity. Further analysis by individual ethnic group revealed increased wellbeing for Asian American and Black/African American youth, and increased empowerment for Black/African American youth after film viewing. Identification with the character T'Challa/Black Panther was high across the sample and interacted positively with film on empowerment for Black/African American participants. This study demonstrates the potential for film to enhance and empower youth, particularly Black/African American youth, and raises intriguing questions about how the experience differs by ethnicity.
Fans of complex television dramas often watch because of eudaimonic motivations – the desire to make meaning from media, to explore their own emotions and to learn about the human experience through the exploration of novel experiences that audio-visual fiction affords. This study analyses the psychology of how fans of Mad Men (2007) construct social realities via online discussions of some of the major relationships and storylines on the show. Our primary goal was to understand how fans create reality from fantasy and our focus was on social relationships and individual character analyses. Using a social science approach, we performed both a computer-automated and an expert-driven thematic analysis on 209 fan comments harvested from social media. The automated analysis revealed common emotional expressions, such as associating hate with the character Betty Draper. The expert analysis revealed that many of fans’ social media conversations centred on evaluating Don and Betty Draper as parents, spouses and people, either condemning or defending them in each of these roles. Fans were evenly split between Betty supporters and detractors. Betty was most likely to be defended as a person and condemned as a mother. In contrast, three fourths of fans condemned Don. This condemnation was mostly directed towards him as a person and spouse, not as a father. We situate these findings in an interdisciplinary literature and explain the psychology behind why and how fans use fiction both to empathize with others and to explore their own realities. We explain from a positive psychology perspective that our analysis of fans’ social media commentary exemplifies how television fandom for complex dramas can be healthy and psychologically beneficial.
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