True Story!

Fiction Transcends Readers’

Preference for Truth:

Jon Leavitt, MFA, PhD CandidateDr. Nicholas Christenfeld

Fact vs. Fiction

A Million Little Pieces(/Lies?)Three Cups of (Dishones-)Tea

Fact or Fiction: Why do we care?

People care immensely whether stories are true or false…

…even when the stories have no apparent relationship to their lives.

Is fact better than fiction?

Truth clearly has marketing value “Based on a true story”

Might people process true stories differently? Narratives mentally represented at various levels (Graesser, Olde, Kloetke, 2002)

True narratives = gossip about the world? Baumeister, Zhang, Vohs (2009)

Is fiction better than fact?

Fiction “twice as true” as fact Oatley, 1999

Fiction as an “abstraction & simulation of social experience” Mar & Oatley, 2008 Aesthetic enjoyment related to fluency

Chenier & Winkielman, 2009 Non-diagnostic information dilutes

(Nisbett et al., 1981) Causal cohesion aids comprehension

(Trabasso et al., 1984)

Synopses (Exp. 1) 8 story synopses (written by experimenters) Plausible as fact or fiction Lacking resolutions

Subjects read all 8 First 4 alternate between fact or fiction

Last 4 presented neither as fact nor fiction

Synopses (Exp. 1) Subjects rated:

Would you like to read the long version? (1-10)

Ranking of 7 questions for long version.

“What is the point of the story/article?”

“How often does this sort of thing happen (in real life)?”

For indeterminate versions, does this seem true or invented?

Truth Preference (Exp. 1)

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"True" "Fictional"

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“Truthiness” Preference (Exp. 1)

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Synopses results Preferred when “true” Preferred when they seem fictional

Rated more important in fiction: “What is the point?” (p=.029)

Rated more important in non-fiction: “How common is this (in real life)?” (p=.008)

Web Anecdotes (Exp. 2) FML (fmylife.com)

Today, I got fired from a great babysitting job because the little girl said I was boring. FML

Today, I drove into my school. Literally drove into my school. FML

Today, it was my wedding. Everyone showed up, except my fiancé. FMLI agree, your life sucks (3810) - you deserved it (186)

Web Anecdotes (Exp. 2) TFLN (textsfromlastnight.com)

you're putting all your eggs in a very hungover basket

That's what you get when you play shuffleboard drunk.

Subjects read either FML or TFLN

Web Anecdotes (Exp. 2) By nature of indeterminate veracity Supposedly true, but actually questionable

Cover story: “Urban Myths” researches some posts and lists their truth value.

Subjects read 3 batches (in random order): 1 “Fiction”, 1 “Non-Fiction”, 1 indeterminate

Web Anecdotes (Exp. 2) Rated in batches (not individually) 7-8 FML’s, 9-12 TFLN’s

Ratings: How much do you like them? How common are such events (in real life)?

Indeterminate ones: Seem true or invented?

Subjects actually enjoy reading these “I really liked this experiment!”

Truth Preference (Exp. 2)

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How Common? (Exp. 2)

FML TFLNp<.001

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“Truthiness” Preference (Exp. 2)

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“Truthiness”: FML vs. TFLN

Today, I got fired from a great babysitting job because the little girl said I was boring. FML

Today, I drove into my school. Literally drove into my school. FML

you're putting all your eggs in a very hungover basket

That's what you get when you play shuffleboard drunk.

FML’s

TFLN’s

FML/TFLN Distinction FML’s - and not TFLN’s - preferred when they “seem fictional”

FML’s were rated more concrete, 5.23 - 3.38 (on 1-7 scale), p<.001.

TFLN’s can be true or fictional;

not clear whether they can seem true or fictional.

Web Anecdotes Results Preferred when “true” Events rated more common when “true”

More concrete web anecdotes were preferred when they “seem fictional”

Experiment 3: Narratives Subjects read:

Narrative non-fiction & realistic fiction (4-8 pp.)

Stand-alone sections: Stories, chapters, etc.

Either relationship stories… (2 actually fictional, 2 actually non-fiction)

…or Vietnam stories(2 actually fictional, 2 actually non-fiction)

Experiment 3: Narratives Subjects read 3 narratives (in 1 genre) 1 fiction, 1 non-fiction, 1 unspecified

Ratings: How much did you like it? How common are such events (in real life)?

Indeterminate only: Seems true or fictional?

Truth Preference (Exp. 3)

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Narratives Results “True” stories are preferred. Events rated more common when “true.”

Narratives were preferred when they “seemed fictional.” Interpret ratings between narratives cautiously.

Complex stimuli may seem “more fictional” for either positive or negative reasons.

Conclusions We tend to prefer a story if it is true. We may use true stories to update our notions about reality.

We also enjoy the surprising and aesthetically crafted elements of fiction. No evidence for receptive benefit of fiction (at least, outweighed by preference for truth)

A great story is often one that seems false, but is true.

Further investigations How does the information we care about differ between fact & fiction?

Mild fame or acquaintance in life = familiar character in fiction?

Do fact & fiction both provide “social information?”

Purpose, intention, relationships, survival.

Is the difference between fact and fiction analogous to claims of authenticity?

“A new Leonardo” is found?

Thank you

IGELUCSD Psychology DepartmentMy innumerable research

assistantsLiars, fabricators, & fabulists everywhere

Insert image here of a fisherman holding his hands wide to indicate the size of the fish he caught.

Ranking questions (synopses) ___ What is the point of the story/article? ___ What happened to the central

individual/character? ___ How did the problem get resolved? ___ How did the central individual/character

feel about what happened? ___ How did other people/characters feel about

these events? ___ How often does this sort of thing happen

(in real life)? ___ What caused the problem to exist in the

first place?

Old 1st slide. (long version)Stories & Narratives

People like true stories and fictional stories Movies based on true stories: The Social Network, The Pianist, Goodfellas, Schindler’s List, A Beautiful Mind

Movies based on fiction: Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption, Pretty Woman

True stories represent real life, while realistic fiction presents a facsimile of real life.