Experiencing Narratives: Default and Vivid Modes of Visualization

Abstract

This article deals with the phenomenology of reading narrative fictions, in particular with the production of mental imagery in the process of reading. Because readers differ in their capacities to visualize, this article proposes a distinction between default visualization and vivid images, a difference experienced by readers regardless of whether they are prone to more or less visual imagining. It argues that the default mode of visualization is unlike actual perception. It is indistinct, transient, and lacking in saturation and memorability, since it relies on cultural schemata and prototypes for efficient processing of the text. These indeterminacies do not, however, disturb readers or cause dissonance. Rather, they are advantageous, as they allow the constant accommodation of new incoming facts. In contrast to what is assumed by traditional reader response theories, gaps left in default visualization do not for the most part need filling in. At certain stages in the reading process, however, narrative texts do trigger a kind of vivid imagery that is akin to actual perception. Based on recent neuroscientific experiments, this article suggests that these highlighted and especially vivid images occur when fictional acts of seeing force readers to shift from action-oriented visualization to object visualization. Some pertinent examples of these close-up, focalized descriptions of perception are discussed, which encourage substituting the automatic default mode with a more conscious and focused object visualization.

Emotional valence and vividness of imagery predict aesthetic appeal in music.

“…The authors suggested that this increased emotional response may be due to visual imagery evoked by the narrative. Consistent with this interpretation is the finding that vividness of visual imagery is a key component in the aesthetic appeal of narrative fiction and poetry Brosch, 2017;Burke, 2015;Long, Winograd, & Bridge, 1989). From a theoretical standpoint, visual imagery is suggested to be one of the many mechanisms through which music evokes strong emotional responses (Juslin, Harmat, & Eerola, 2014;Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008), which also presumably influence a listener's aesthetic judgment of music.…”

Saccadic Eye-Movements Suppress Visual Mental Imagery and Partly Reduce Emotional Response During Music Listening

“…This involves the construction of a visual mental image without the influence of a physical external stimulus. Conjuring mental imagery is thought to make an important contribution to the aesthetic appeal of artistic mediums; for example, in poetry (Belfi et al, 2017) and while reading (Brosch 2017(Brosch , 2018. Individuals also vary in the extent to which they are inclined to form mental images (Sunday et al, 2017).…”

Individual ratings of vividness predict aesthetic appeal in poetry.

“…In this way, imagery may be an especially potent contributor to the aesthetic appeal of a written work, given that meaning is accessed through symbolic language and requires interpretation by the reader. In addition to ongoing and relatively spontaneous experiences of visualization, which may help readers make sense of literature, imagery that individuals find particularly vivid may also be evoked by reading (Brosch, 2017).…”