Real readers reading Wasco’s ‘City’: A storyworld possible selves approach

Abstract

This study empirically investigates reader responses to the one-page graphic narrative ‘City’ within the theoretical framework of storyworld possible selves. These are blended structures resulting from the conceptual integration of two input spaces: the mental representation that readers construct for the narrator or character that perspectivizes a narrative, and the mental representation that readers entertain for themselves, or self-concept. In our study, we use a questionnaire to elicit information about the internal organization of storyworld possible selves blends in 15 real readers, and we discuss the bearing of both collectively shared and idiosyncratic storyworld possible self blends on character construction, emotional response, and narrative construal.

On how Fiction Impacts the Self-Concept: Transformative Reading Experiences and Storyworld Possible Selves

“…If one were to test all its networked components at once and on both levels of text and reader, accounting for the high variability across different readers, they may easily fail to generalize any result beyond the one tested text stimulus. Indeed, the only empirical investigation carried out with an SPS framework so far is a small-scale qualitative study that investigated readers' SPSs within their interpretation of a text-less, one-page graphic narrative (Martínez & Herman, 2020).…”

Negating the Human, Narrating a World Without Us

“…However, others are totally unpredictable and idiosyncratic, depending on individual readers' personal experience and even personality (Holland 1975(Holland , 2009. Storyworld possible selves can thus serve to account for both idiosyncratic and culturally predictable narrative meaning construction (Martinez/Herman, 2020).…”

Literary text and historical discourse: A questionnaire study

“…[4] the fact that the majority of readers do not want to change their first self -interpretation when rea din g a literary work [5]. Reader empathy [6] and features of the work's visual perception [7] are important consideratio n. T h e reader's emotional response to the graphic narrative [8] and psychological projection in relation to emotion and discourse [9]. Moderation of readers and online reading [10] of text and reader factors Critical studies such as, empathic experience in complex communicatio n [11] have shown a number of features of perception and understanding of the text of a literary work.…”