Browse Book and Journal Content on Project MUSE
OR

Buy This Article

Emotion and the Force of Fiction

From: Philosophy and Literature
Volume 32, Number 2, October 2008
pp. 258-277 | 10.1353/phl.0.0022

Abstract

Abstract:

Attempts to explain emotional responses to fiction such as Jenefer Robinson's use of research into the psychology of emotions. Robinson argues that triggers for emotion are much the same way whether a stimulant is real or imaginary. This does not explain the influence of our foreknowledge and continuing judgments during emotional episodes. We know beforehand and all along that the people and events we respond to in fiction are not real. Robinson's difficulty comes from her dependence on an input-output model of the emotions. Research on mental processing improves on this by revealing a relationship between at least two types of processes: data-driven processing and hypothesis-driven processing (otherwise known as schema processing). It is this relationship that accounts for the emotional response to fiction.



Access your Project MUSE content using one of the login options below

Athens

Please see your librarian for assistance with Athens authentication.

Shibboleth

Shibboleth authentication is only available to registered institutions.

Project MUSE

Research Areas

Recommend

  • You have access to this content
  • Free sample
  • Open Access
  • Restricted Access