Abstract

IGARTUA, Juan José. Identification with the characters and incidental persuasion through feature films. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2008, vol.2, n.1, pp.42-53. ISSN 1989-3809.

The identification with the characters is a mechanism that permits the audience experience from inside the narration, as a consequence of an empathetic reaction toward the protagonist. In the present article two empirical studies are included in which the identification with the characters is analyzed in relation with media entertainment, particularly, with reference to reception and impact of features films. In the study 1, we contrasted that the identification with the characters predicted the mood change provoked by viewing a dramatic film stimuli. In a second study, we observed that the identification with the characters was an explicative variable of narrative persuasion, that is, it was responsible of the film impact in attitude and beliefs. The results are consistent with the hypothesis and certificate the theoretical importance and centrality of the identification with the characters construct in the research about the effects of media entertainment and narrative persuasion.

Keywords : Identification with the characters; entertainment theory; narrative persuasion; feature films.

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