Sensing Heroes and Villains: Character-Schema and the Disposition Formation Process

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteiligte: Grizzard, Matthew, Huang, Jialing, Fitzgerald, Kaitlin, Ahn, Changhyun, Chu, Haoran
In: Communication Research, 45, 2018, 4, S. 479-501
veröffentlicht:
SAGE Publications
Medientyp: Artikel, E-Artikel

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weitere Informationen
Umfang: 479-501
ISSN: 0093-6502
1552-3810
DOI: 10.1177/0093650217699934
veröffentlicht in: Communication Research
Sprache: Englisch
Schlagwörter:
Kollektion: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Inhaltsangabe

<jats:p> Character morality is an integral variable within disposition theories. Zillmann proposed that moral judgments of characters result from a viewer monitoring and approving/disapproving of a character’s behaviors. Raney proposed a schema-based theoretical expansion of this model, wherein moral judgments of characters and disposition formation—facilitated by the activation of character-schema (e.g., hero/villain)—might occur prior to the observation of behavior. Three experimental studies were conducted to test Raney’s hypotheses and to integrate them into Zillmann’s original models. Study 1 indicates that visual cues associated with heroes and villains evoke character-consistent moral judgments absent character behaviors. Study 2 demonstrates that character-schema activation is magnified by the presence of an opposing character. Finally, Study 3 demonstrates that schema-based moral judgments can bias approbation of behaviors and subsequent moral judgments of characters. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed. </jats:p>