Purpose, personhood, and processing : analysing sources of imagination in story response

Abstract

Sadoski, Goetz, and Kangiser (1988) note that 'debates in literary criticism and reading theory focus on the relative importance of the fixed language of a text and the reader's disposition as factors influencing commonality and variation in reader response' (p.320). In this research, Sadoski et al.'s study on imagination in story response is replicated with undergraduate students at the University of Malta in order to explore and compare findings from the Maltese sample and the American sample. Using three short stories and a free response questionnaire, convergence and divergences are found. In finding whether reader response is determined by the imagery used, the structure of the text and the affect elicited, a relationship is found between personal idiosyncrasies, emotions and textual elements. This relationship is also compared to literary and psychological theories. Affect appears to be the forerunner in responses to stories, whereas in the original study by Sadoski et al. the read texts appeared to lead and constrain readers' responses.