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Fact or Fiction: An Investigation of Empathy Differences in Response to Emotional Melodramatic Entertainment

Author

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  • Jennifer J. Argo
  • Rui (Juliet) Zhu
  • Darren W. Dahl

Abstract

Three studies investigate the influence of empathy and the level of fictionality of short stories on consumers' evaluations of emotional melodramatic entertainment. We find that high empathizers' evaluations are more favorable when the story is low in fictionality (i.e., real) versus high. In contrast, low empathizers' evaluations do not differ, regardless of the level of fictionality, except when these individuals (i.e., males) are provided with an excuse to become involved in the story; in this case a story that is high (i.e., make-believe) as opposed to low in fictionality is evaluated more favorably. Finally, transportation (i.e., absorption into a narrative) with the story is found to both moderate and mediate the effects. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer J. Argo & Rui (Juliet) Zhu & Darren W. Dahl, 2008. "Fact or Fiction: An Investigation of Empathy Differences in Response to Emotional Melodramatic Entertainment," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(5), pages 614-623, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:34:y:2008:i:5:p:614-623
    DOI: 10.1086/521907
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Grinstein, Amir & Hagtvedt, Henrik & Kronrod, Ann, 2019. "Aesthetically (dis)pleasing visuals: A dual pathway to empathy and prosocial behavior," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 83-99.
    2. Soumya Mukhopadhyay & V Kumar & Amalesh Sharma & Tuck Siong Chung, 2022. "Impact of review narrativity on sales in a competitive environment," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(6), pages 2538-2556, June.
    3. Westberg, Kate & Stavros, Constantino & Farrelly, Francis & Smith, Aaron C.T., 2020. "Fan empathy as a response to athlete transgressions," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 719-735.
    4. Charles W. Meadows III, 2023. "Entertainment or Engagement? An Examination of Transportation and Gender in Virtual Reality," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    5. P Matthijs Bal & Martijn Veltkamp, 2013. "How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, January.
    6. van Laer, Tom & Feiereisen, Stephanie & Visconti, Luca M., 2019. "Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 135-146.
    7. Michela Addis & Gabriele Troilo, 2016. "Humanizing a Superhero: An Empirical Test in the Comic Books Industry," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(11), pages 189-200, November.
    8. Wohlfeil, Markus & Whelan, Susan, 2012. "“Saved!” by Jena Malone: An introspective study of a consumer's fan relationship with a film actress," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 511-519.

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