A good book can transport the reader to its narrative world and produce a multitude of emotions. Events in the Stephen King horror novel may give goosebumps and the felt suspense make heart beat louder. Transportation to the story world, i.e. immersion, depends on many factors but among the most important ones are emotions induced by text. Text comprehension has been previously studied from the cognitive perspective but the role of emotions and the psychological processes of immersion are poorly understood. This project examines the emotional and cognitive underpinnings of immersion by utilizing laboratory methodologies such as recordings of eye movements, pupil size, blinks, heart rate, electrodermal activity and electroencephalograms. The aim is to develop a theory that describes the mechanisms and processes of literary immersion. The results and the developed methodologies can be applied to study immersion in different contexts, such as art, film, video games and virtual reality.

2021

2024