Article published in:
Scientific Study of Literature
Vol. 9:2 (2019) ► pp. 163–194

Virtual reality as a tool for promoting reading via enhanced narrative absorption and empathy

| University of Milan-Bicocca | Sogang University
| Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
| Tilburg University
Reading fiction is beneficial for various social skills, although reading has become less and less popular with younger generations. This study investigated whether reading a chapter of a fictional story in virtual reality (VR) can make the reading experience more appealing and increase intention to read the story further. A between-subject experiment (N = 83) was conducted to compare the effect of a printed book and a VR reading environment on narrative absorption, empathy with fictional characters, and intention to read. The results show that VR enhances intention to read, via a serial mediation of transportation into the story world and affective empathy. These findings indicate that VR can be effectively exploited for promoting reading.
Keywords: reading, virtual reality, narrative absorption, empathy, transportation, fiction
Published online: 30 June 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ssol.19013.pia
References

[ p. 187 ]References

Allington, D.
(2011) ‘It actually painted a picture of the village and the sea and the bottom of the sea’: Reading groups, cultural legitimacy, and description in narrative (with particular reference to John Steinbeck’s The Pearl). Language and Literature, 20(4), 317–332. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Annisette, L. E., & Lafreniere, K. D.
(2017) Social media, texting, and personality: A test of the shallowing hypothesis. Personality and Individual Differences, 115, 154–158. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Archer, D., & Finger, K.
(2018, March 15). Walking in another’s virtual shoes: Do 360-degree video news stories generate empathy in viewers? Columbia Journalism Review. https://​www​.cjr​.org​/tow​_center​_reports​/virtual​-reality​-news​-empathy​.php/
Bailenson, J. N.
(2018) Experience on Demand. What Virtual Reality is, How it works, and What it can do. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Baker, L., & Scher, D.
(2002) Beginning Readers’ Motivation for Reading in Relation to Parental Beliefs and Home Reading Experiences. Reading Psychology, 23(4), 239–269. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bálint, K., Kuijpers, M., & Doicaru, M.
(2017) The effect of suspense structure on felt suspense and narrative absorption in literature and film. In F. Hakemulder, M. M. Kuijpers, E. S. Tan, K. Bálint, & M. M. Doicaru (Eds.), Narrative Absorption (pp. 177–197). John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Baños, R. M., Botella, C., Alcañiz, M., Liaño, V., Guerrero, B., & Rey, B.
(2004) Immersion and Emotion: Their Impact on the Sense of Presence. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(6), 734–741. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Batson, C. D.
(2009) These things called empathy: Eight related but distinct phenomena. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 3–15). MIT Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bell, A., Ensslin, A., Ciccoricco, D., Rustad, H., & Laccetti, J. M.
(2010) A [S]creed for Digital Fiction. Electronic Book Review. http://​electronicbookreview​.com​/essay​/a​-screed​-for​-digital​-fiction/
Bell, A., Ensslin, A., van der Bom, I., & Smith, J.
(2018) Immersion in Digital Fiction: A Cognitive, Empirical Approach. International Journal of Literary Linguistics, 7(1), 1–22. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Burke, M.
(2011) Literary Reading, Cognition and Emotion: An Exploration of the Oceanic Mind. Routledge.Google Scholar
Burke, M., & Bon, E. V.
(2018) The Locations and Means of Literary Reading (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Burke, M., Kuzmičová, A., Mangen, A., & Schilhab, T.
(2016) Empathy at the confluence of neuroscience and empirical literary studies. Scientific Study of Literature, 6(1), 6–41. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Busselle, R., & Bilandzic, H.
(2009) Measuring narrative engagement. Media Psychology, 12(4), 321–347. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
[ p. 188 ]
(2017) Beyond metaphors and traditions. Exploring the conceptual boundaries of narrative engagement. In F. Hakemulder, M. M. Kuijpers, E. S. Tan, K. Bálint, & M. M. Doicaru (Eds.), Narrative Absorption (pp. 11–27). John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Caracciolo, M.
(2014) The Experientiality of Narrative: An Enactivist Approach. de Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, L.
(1865) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Macmillan.Google Scholar
(1947) De avonturen van Alice (A. Kossmann, Trans.). Ad Donker.Google Scholar
Cheng, K.-H.
(2017) Reading an augmented reality book: An exploration of learners’ cognitive load, motivation, and attitudes. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 33(4), 53–69. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chin Ee, L., & Baoqi, S.
(2018) Report on the Reading Habits of Singapore Teenagers 2017. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.Google Scholar
Cho, B.-H., Ku, J., Jang, D. P., Kim, S., Lee, Y. H., Kim, I. Y., Lee, J. H., & Kim, S. I.
(2002) The effect of virtual reality cognitive training for attention enhancement. Cyberpsychology & Behavior: The Impact of the Internet, Multimedia and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Society, 5(2), 129–137. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cho, B.-H., Lee, J. M., Ku, J., Jang, D. P., Kim, J. S., Kim, I. Y., Lee, J. H., & Kim, S. I.
(2002) Attention Enhancement System using virtual reality and EEG biofeedback. Proceedings IEEE Virtual Reality 2002, 156–163. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Clark, C., & Teravainen, A.
(2017) Children’s and Young People’s Reading in 2016. Findings from our Annual Literacy Survey 2016. National Literacy Trust.Google Scholar
Clinton, V.
(2019) Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 42(2), 288–325. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J.
(2001) Defining Identification: A Theoretical Look at the Identification of Audiences With Media Characters. Mass Communication and Society, 4(3), 245–264. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cox, K. E., & Guthrie, J. T.
(2001) Motivational and Cognitive Contributions to Students’ Amount of Reading. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 26(1), 116–131. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J. J., & Bailenson, J. N.
(2016) How Immersive Is Enough? A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Immersive Technology on User Presence. Media Psychology, 19(2), 272–309. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dal Cin, S., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T.
(2004) Narrative persuasion and overcoming resistance. In E. S. Knowles & J. A. Linn (Eds.), Resistance and Persuasion (pp. 175–191). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Delgado, P., Vargas, C., Ackerman, R., & Salmerón, L.
(2018) Don’t throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension. Educational Research Review, 25, 23–38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Diemer, J., Alpers, G. W., Peperkorn, H. M., Shiban, Y., & Mühlberger, A.
(2015) The impact of perception and presence on emotional reactions: A review of research in virtual reality. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(26). CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dodell-Feder, D., & Tamir, D. I.
(2018) Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition: A meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(11), 1713–1727. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Feierabend, S., Rathgeb, T., & Reutter, T.
(2018) JIM-Studie 2018. Jugend, Information, Medien. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest.Google Scholar
[ p. 189 ]
Fialho, O., Zyngier, S., & Miall, D.
(2011) Interpretation and experience: Two pedagogical interventions observed. English in Education, 45(3), 236–253. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fong, K., Mullin, J. B., & Mar, R. A.
(2013) What You Read Matters: The Role of Fiction Genre in Predicting Interpersonal Sensitivity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(4), 370–376. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gorini, A., Capideville, C. S., De Leo, G., Mantovani, F., & Riva, G.
(2011) The Role of Immersion and Narrative in Mediated Presence: The Virtual Hospital Experience. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(3), 99–105. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C.
(2000) The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701–721. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Green, M. C., Brock, T. C., & Kaufman, G. F.
(2004) Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds. Communication Theory, 14(4), 311–327. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Green, M. C., Kass, S., Carrey, J., Herzig, B., Feeney, R., & Sabini, J.
(2008) Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film. Media Psychology, 11(4), 512–539. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hartmann, T., Wirth, W., Schramm, H., Klimmt, C., Vorderer, P., Gysbers, A., Böcking, S., Ravaja, N., Laarni, J., Saari, T., Gouveia, F., & Maria Sacau, A.
(2016) The Spatial Presence Experience Scale (SPES): A Short Self-Report Measure for Diverse Media Settings. Journal of Media Psychology, 28(1), 1–15. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, A. F.
(2018) Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (Second edition). The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hayles, N. K.
(2008) Electronic literature: New Horizons for the Literary. University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Herrera, F., Bailenson, J., Weisz, E., Ogle, E., & Zaki, J.
(2018) Building long-term empathy: A large-scale comparison of traditional and virtual reality perspective-taking. PLoS ONE, 13(10), e0204494. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, H.
(2006) Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, B. K., & Rosenbaum, J. E.
(2015) Spoiler Alert: Consequences of Narrative Spoilers for Dimensions of Enjoyment, Appreciation, and Transportation. Communication Research, 42(8), 1068–1088. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D. R.
(2012) Transportation into a story increases empathy, prosocial behavior, and perceptual bias toward fearful expressions. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(2), 150–155. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Johnsson-Smaragdi, U., & Jönsson, A.
(2006) Book Reading in Leisure Time: Long-Term changes in young peoples’ book reading habits. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(5), 519–540. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kidd, D., & Castano, E.
(2013) Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind. Science, 342(6156), 377–380. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019) Reading Literary Fiction and Theory of Mind: Three Preregistered Replications and Extensions of Kidd and Castano (2013). Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10(4), 522–531. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
[ p. 190 ]
Krakowiak, K. M., & Oliver, M. B.
(2012) When Good Characters Do Bad Things: Examining the Effect of Moral Ambiguity on Enjoyment. Journal of Communication, 62(1), 117–135. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kress, G. R.
(2003) Literacy in the New Media Age. Routledge.Google Scholar
Kuijpers, M. M., Hakemulder, F., Bálint, K., Doicaru, M. M., & Tan, E. S.
(2017) Towards a new understanding of absorbing reading experiences. In F. Hakemulder, M. M. Kuijpers, E. S. Tan, K. Bálint, & M. M. Doicaru (Eds.), Narrative Absorption (pp. 29–48). John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kuijpers, M. M., Hakemulder, F., Tan, E. S., & Doicaru, M. M.
(2014) Exploring absorbing reading experiences: Developing and validating a self-report scale to measure story world absorption. Scientific Study of Literature, 4(1), 89–122. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kuzmičová, A.
(2014) Literary Narrative and Mental Imagery: A View from Embodied Cognition. Style, 48(3), 275–293. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016) Does it Matter Where You Read? Situating Narrative in Physical Environment. Communication Theory, 26(3), 290–308. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kuzmičová, A., Mangen, A., Støle, H., & Begnum, A. C.
(2017) Literature and readers’ empathy: A qualitative text manipulation study. Language and Literature, 26(2), 137–152. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lessiter, J., Freeman, J., Keogh, E., & Davidoff, J.
(2001) A Cross-Media Presence Questionnaire: The ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10(3), 282–297. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lissa, C. J. van, Caracciolo, M., Duuren, T. van, & Leuveren, B. van
(2016) Difficult Empathy. The Effect of Narrative Perspective on Readers’ Engagement with a First-Person Narrator. Diegesis, 5(1), 43–63.Google Scholar
Lombard, M., Biocca, F., Freeman, J., Ijsselsteijn, W., & Schaevitz, R. J.
(Eds.) (2015) Immersed in Media: Telepresence Theory, Measurement & Technology. Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lombard, M., & Ditton, T.
(1997) At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3(2). CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lombard, M., Ditton, T. B., & Weinstein, L.
(2009) Measuring Presence: The Temple Presence Inventory. https://​pdfs​.semanticscholar​.org​/308b​/16bec9f17784fed039ddf4f86a856b36a768​.pdf
Mangen, A., & Kuiken, D.
(2014) Lost in an iPad: Narrative engagement on paper and tablet. Scientific Study of Literature, 4(2), 150–177. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mangen, A., Olivier, G., & Velay, J.-L.
(2019) Comparing Comprehension of a Long Text Read in Print Book and on Kindle: Where in the Text and When in the Story? Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mar, R. A., & Oatley, K.
(2008) The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(3), 173–192. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mar, R. A., Oatley, K., Djikic, M., & Mullin, J.
(2011) Emotion and narrative fiction: Interactive influences before, during, and after reading. Cognition & Emotion, 25(5), 818–833. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mar, R. A., Oatley, K., & Peterson, J. B.
(2009) Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy: Ruling out individual differences and examining outcomes. Communications, 34, 407–428. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Marcos, D., Ngo, K., & Goberna, D.
(2017) A-Frame (Version 0.8.0) [Computer software]. htttp://​www​.aframe​.io
[ p. 191 ]
(2018) Supermedium. htttp://​www​.supermedium​.com
Martignano, A. J., Herrera, F., Castano, E., & Konrath, S.
(2019) Virtual Reality Can Increase Empathy: A preregistered Meta-Analysis. 31st Annual Convention for the Association for Psychological Science, Washington DC.
Mazzocco, P. J., Green, M. C., Sasota, J. A., & Jones, N. W.
(2010) This Story Is Not for Everyone: Transportability and Narrative Persuasion. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 361–368. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mumper, M. L., & Gerrig, R. J.
(2017) Leisure reading and social cognition: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(1), 109–120. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Neumann, D., & Moffitt, R.
(2018) Affective and Attentional States When Running in a Virtual Reality Environment. Sports, 6(3), 71. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, M. B., Dillard, J. P., Bae, K., & Tamul, D. J.
(2012) The effect of narrative news format on empathy for stigmatized groups. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 89(2), 205–224. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Peters, S., & van Strien, S.
(2018) Boekenbranche meting 44. 1e themameting van 2018 naar het kopen, lezen en lenen van boeken onder jongeren tussen 12 en 25 jaar. GfK.Google Scholar
Pianzola, Federico, Weller, Jessica, & Bálint, Katalin
(2019) Experimental data for “Virtual Reality as a Tool for Promoting Reading via Enhanced Narrative Absorption and Empathy” [Data set]. Zenodo. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Potthoff, R. F.
(1964) On the Johnson-Neyman technique and some extensions thereof. Psychometrika, 29(3), 241–256. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Radianti, J., Majchrzak, T. A., Fromm, J., & Wohlgenannt, I.
(2020) A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda. Computers & Education, 147, 103778. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Riva, G., Mantovani, F., Capideville, C. S., Preziosa, A., Morganti, F., Villani, D., Gaggioli, A., Botella, C., & Alcañiz, M.
(2007) Affective Interactions Using Virtual Reality: The Link between Presence and Emotions. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(1), 45–56. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Riva, G., Mantovani, F., Waterworth, E. L., & Waterworth, J. A.
(2015) Intention, Action, Self and Other: An Evolutionary Model of Presence. In M. Lombard, F. Biocca, J. Freeman, W. IJsselsteijn, & R. J. Schaevitz (Eds.), Immersed in Media (pp. 73–99). Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Rooney, B., Burke, C., Balint, K., O’Leary, T., Parsons, T., Lee, C. T., & Mantei, C.
(2017) Virtual reality, presence and social cognition: The effect of eye-gaze and narrativity on character engagement. 2017 23rd International Conference on Virtual System & Multimedia (VSMM), 1–6. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, M.-L.
(2015) Narrative as virtual reality 2: Revisiting immersion and interactivity in literature and electronic media (Second edition). Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Schmidt, S., Ehrenbrink, P., Weiss, B., Voigt-Antons, J.-N., Kojic, T., Johnston, A., & Moller, S.
(2018) Impact of Virtual Environments on Motivation and Engagement During Exergames. 2018 Tenth International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience (QoMEX), 1–6. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
[ p. 192 ]
Schutte, N. S., & Stilinović, E. J.
(2017) Facilitating empathy through virtual reality. Motivation and Emotion, 41(6), 708–712. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shen, L.
(2010) On a scale of state empathy during message processing. Western Journal of Communication, 74(5), 504–524. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Skarbez, R., Brooks, Jr., F. P., & Whitton, M. C.
(2017) A Survey of Presence and Related Concepts. ACM Computing Surveys, 50(6), 1–39. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Speer, N. K., Reynolds, J. R., Swallow, K. M., & Zacks, J. M.
(2009) Reading Stories Activates Neural Representations of Visual and Motor Experiences. Psychological Science, 20(8), 989–999. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sukalla, F., Bilandzic, H., Bolls, P. D., & Busselle, R.
(2016) Embodiment of Narrative Engagement: Connecting Self-Reported Narrative Engagement to Psychophysiological Measures. Journal of Media Psychology, 28(4), 175–186. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tal-Or, N., & Cohen, J.
(2010) Understanding audience involvement: Conceptualizing and manipulating identification and transportation. Poetics, 38(4), 402–418. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Touré-Tillery, M., & Fishbach, A.
(2014) How to Measure Motivation: A Guide for the Experimental Social Psychologist. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8(7), 328–341. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
van Loon, A., Bailenson, J., Zaki, J., Bostick, J., & Willer, R.
(2018) Virtual reality perspective-taking increases cognitive empathy for specific others. PLoS ONE, 13(8), e0202442. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D.
(2000) A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Vorderer, P., Wirth, W., Gouveia, F. R., Biocca, F., Saari, T., Jäncke, L., Böcking, S., Schramm, H., Gysbers, A., Hartmann, T., Klimmt, C., Ravaja, N., Sacau, A., Baumgartner, T., & Jäncke, P.
(2004) MEC Spatial Presence Questionnaire (MEC- SPQ): Short Documentation and Instructions for Application (p. 14). Project Presence: MEC (IST-2001-37661). http://​www​.ijk​.hmt​-hannover​.de​/presence
Wales, N.
(2016) The Raven. Space Pen Studios. https://​www​.oculus​.com​/experiences​/go​/974760535972181/
Wei, W., Qi, R., & Zhang, L.
(2019) Effects of virtual reality on theme park visitors’ experience and behaviors: A presence perspective. Tourism Management, 71, 282–293. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wennekers, A., Haan, J. de, & Huysmans, F.
(2016) Media: Tijd in kaart. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.Google Scholar
Whalen, Z. N.
(2008) The videogame text: Typography and textuality [University of Florida]. http://​etd​.fcla​.edu​/UF​/UFE0022526​/whalen​_z​.pdf
Witmer, B. G., & Singer, M. J.
(1998) Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 7(3), 225–240. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Yu, C.-L., & Chou, T.-L.
(2018) A Dual Route Model of Empathy: A Neurobiological Prospective. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 2012 CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Pianzola, Federico & Luca Deriu
2021.  In Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning, 10th International Conference. Workshops [Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1236], ► pp. 281 ff. Crossref logo
Pianzola, Federico, Giuseppe Riva, Karin Kukkonen & Fabrizia Mantovani
2021. Presence, flow, and narrative absorption: an interdisciplinary theoretical exploration with a new spatiotemporal integrated model based on predictive processing. Open Research Europe 1 ► pp. 28 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 april 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.