The Representation of Fictional Information

TLDR

Much of the information we encounter daily is presented in clearly fictional contexts such as novels, television, and movies. The study investigates how information learned from fictional worlds becomes part of real‑world knowledge. The authors introduced fictional facts via short stories. The experiments showed that fictional information influences belief judgments while remaining compartmentalized, indicating readers form hybrid representations of such information.

Abstract

Much of the information we encounter every day appears in settings that are clearly marked as fictional (e.g., novels, television, movies). Our studies explore the extent to which information acquired through these fictional worlds is incorporated into real-world knowledge. We used short stories to introduce fictional facts. The first experiment demonstrated that fictional information penetrates into judgments about beliefs, suggesting incorporation. The second experiment demonstrated, nonetheless, that representations of fictional information retain features of compartmentalization. We suggest, accordingly, that readers create hybrid representations of fictional information.