How Moral Expectancy Violations Influence Audiences’ Affective Dispositions Toward Characters

Affective disposition theory (ADT) explains that the moral judgments of character behavior inform dispositions toward characters. These dispositions bias moral judgments of characters’ subsequent behaviors and establish behavioral expectations. We used expectancy violations theory to help specify people’s dispositions toward characters. In study 1, we modified the footbridge dilemma to develop experimental stimuli and predictions. Studies 2 and 3 observed the disposition formation process longitudinally and validated our stimulus: a custom-built visual novel. Study 4 tested our predictions. Studies 2 through 4 used pre-registered hypotheses, sampling, and data analyses. Results demonstrated that the current disposition (positive vs. negative) changes how a novel (im)moral behavior affects that disposition. Schema-violating behaviors provoked larger mean differences in participants’ dispositions toward protagonists compared to antagonists. Specifically, people were hyper-scrutinous of moral paragons and entrenched despised characters in moral skepticism. Additionally, we observed differences in dispositions toward characters who did not act when they could (inaction).

News as Entertainment Format

The informative value of news has often been the focus of mass communication research, but individuals do tune into the news for entertainment purposes. In addition, news organizations frequently add entertainment elements into news stories to increase audience interest. Considering both of these factors, theorizing about the entertainment processes (e.g., appreciation, enjoyment, and suspense) that occur during news consumption is necessary to understand audience behavior. This chapter investigates factors that influence entertainment processes during news consumption. Two entertainment theories in particular (affective disposition theory and the affective news extended model) are reviewed to understand how affective responses influence enjoyment of news. It organizes existing research on affective responses and entertainment processes into two categories focusing on news event characteristics (i.e., elements that journalists cannot change) and message design principles that journalists create or edit. Areas for future research are provided.

The Gordian Knot of Disposition Theory

Morally ambiguous characters are often perceived to challenge Zillmann’s affective disposition theory of drama. At the heart of this challenge is the question: “To what extent can liking be independent of character morality?” The current study examines this question with a 2 (Disposition: Positive vs. Negative) × 3 (Character Type: Hero, Antihero, Villain) between-subjects factorial experiment that induces variance in liking and morality. We assess the influence of these orthogonal manipulations on measured liking and morality. Main effects of both manipulations on the measured variables emerged, with a significant correlation between measures. Regression analyses further confirm that liking is associated with perceived morality and vice versa. Because variance in morality was induced by the liking manipulation and variance in liking was induced by the morality manipulation, the assumptions of disposition theory regarding morality and liking seem accurate. Future research directions are provided that may help reconcile and integrate the seeming challenge of morally ambiguous characters with affective disposition theory.

Interdependence of Narrative Characters: Implications for Media Theories

Affective disposition theory suggests that viewers of narratives develop dispositions toward characters through various cues, including appearance and behavior. Despite its predictive utility, the theory has yet to account for an essential component of narratives: character interdependence. Extant models treat disposition formation toward individual characters as an independent process. In the current paper, we posit that affective dispositions formed toward one character (e.g., a protagonist) are interdependent with affective dispositions formed toward others (e.g., an antagonist). We present two experimental studies that provide evidence of character interdependence. We show that dispositions toward a single character account for unique variance in dispositions toward another, and that the same character can be perceived as highly moral or immoral, depending on a comparison character. In the discussion section, we integrate our character interdependence model with extant theories to generate novel predictions for affective disposition theory and other areas of research relevant to communication.

Beïnvloedt een meer of minder sympathieke protagonist de transportatie van de lezer? : Twee nieuwe replicatiestudies

Does a more or less sympathetic protagonist influence transportation of the reader? Two new replication studiesThree previous studies into presenting a protagonist in a story as more or less sympathetic have not provided a clear picture of the effects that the portrayal of the protagonist may have on transportation, and via transportation on story-consistent beliefs. Results from a first study (N = 83) by De Graaf and Hustinx (2015) suggest that the way the protagonist is portrayed ‐ as sympathetic, unsympathetic or neutral ‐ influences the extent to which readers are transported into a story. No significant effects on beliefs of the readers were found, however. In a direct replication study (N = 79) and in a conceptual replication study (N = 81), Jansen, Nederhoff, and Ooms (2017) found results that supported the hypotheses from the original study to a limited extent. In view of the relatively small numbers of participants in these three studies and the resulting limited power of the statistical tests two new, larger-scaled replication studies were conducted. A direct replication study was performed (N = 238) with the same versions of the story as used in the original study, and also a conceptual replication study (N = 248) with three versions of a new story. Again, the hypotheses from the original study were supported to a limited extent. A meta-analysis of all five studies revealed a large indirect positive effect of story version on transportation via empathy, when comparing the versions with a sympathetic protagonist with the versions with an unsympathetic protagonist. When comparing the neutral story versions with the versions with an unsympathetic protagonist, the meta-analytic indirect effect was medium sized. Other than what the Affective Disposition Theory (Raney, 2004; Zillmann, 1994; 2006) claims, the story versions with a neutral protagonist did not lead to an absence of emotional responses. Furthermore, the outcomes add to the Transportation-Imagery Model (Green & Brock, 2002; Van Laer, De Ruyter, Visconti, & Wetzels, 2014). While this model does not include concrete suggestions of story characteristics that lead to transportation, our studies show that a protagonist who is portrayed as sympathetic may contribute to the level of transportation that readers experience, be it indirectly through empathy.

Detecting the Boundaries of Disposition Bias on Moral Judgments of Media Characters’ Behaviors using Social Judgment Theory

eople continuously morally judge the behaviors of media characters. This informs people’s dispositions toward characters. Their dispositions bias their subsequent moral judgments of behavior. Affective disposition theory (ADT) contends that limits to disposition bias exist, but empirical evidence is absent. Three experiments tested the utility of using the ordered alternatives procedure (OAP) from social judgment theory to observe character disposition bias boundaries. Studies 1 and 2 explored and refined methods for detecting the bounds of disposition biases on moral judgments. Study 3 observed the boundaries using preregistered hypotheses, analyses, and sampling. Findings reveal the pragmatic nature of disposition bias, indicating a dependency on the magnitude of moral violation. This outcome interacted with role (average person vs. hero-based roles), schema (pure heroes vs. morally ambiguous characters), and exemplification (prototypes vs. exemplars). Findings corroborate ADT, Raney’s extension of ADT, and Sanders’ character impression formation model, and demonstrate the OAP’s utility for broader communication research.

Exploring the role of identification and moral disengagement in the enjoyment of an antihero television series

Affective disposition theory explains well the process of enjoying hero narratives but not the appeal of narratives featuring antiheroes. Recent antihero studies suggest that character identification and moral disengagement might be important factors in the enjoyment of such fare. The current study builds on this work. A sample of 101 self-identified fans and nonfans of the television series