THE REPRESENTATION OF FICTIONAL INFORMATION

Richard J. Gerrig, Deborah A. Prentice

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

144 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abstract Much of the information we encounter every day appears in settings that are clearly marked ax fictional (e.g., novels, television, movies). Our studies explore the extent to which information acquired through these fictional worlds is incorporated into real‐world knowledge. We used short stories to introduce fictional facts. The first experiment demonstrated that fictional information penetrates into judgments about beliefs, suggesting incorporation. The second experiment demonstrated, nonetheless, that representations of fictional information retain features of compartmentalization. We suggest, accordingly‐, that readers create hybrid representations of fictional information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)336-340
Number of pages5
JournalPsychological Science
Volume2
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1991

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Psychology

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