Abstract
Abstract. Morally ambiguous characters are often perceived to challenge Zillmann’s affective disposition theory of drama. At the heart of this challenge is the question: “To what extent can liking be independent of character morality?” The current study examines this question with a 2 (Disposition: Positive vs. Negative) × 3 (Character Type: Hero, Antihero, Villain) between-subjects factorial experiment that induces variance in liking and morality. We assess the influence of these orthogonal manipulations on measured liking and morality. Main effects of both manipulations on the measured variables emerged, with a significant correlation between measures. Regression analyses further confirm that liking is associated with perceived morality and vice versa. Because variance in morality was induced by the liking manipulation and variance in liking was induced by the morality manipulation, the assumptions of disposition theory regarding morality and liking seem accurate. Future research directions are provided that may help reconcile and integrate the seeming challenge of morally ambiguous characters with affective disposition theory.
References
(2016). Morality predicts enjoyment but not appreciation of morally ambiguous characters. Media Psychology, 20, 349–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2016.1182030
(2011). Disposition development in drama: The role of moral, immoral, and ambiguously moral characters. International Journal of Arts and Technology, 4, 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJART.2011.037768
(2015). Perceptions of moral violations and personality traits among heroes and villains. Mass Communication and Society, 18, 186–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2014.923462
(2017). Sensing heroes and villains: Character-schema and the disposition formation process. Communication Research, 45, 479–501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650217699934
(2007). When morality opposes justice: Conservatives have moral intuitions that liberals may not recognize. Social Justice Research, 20, 98–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-007-0034-z
(2015). Exploring the role of identification and moral disengagement in the enjoyment of an antihero television series. Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research, 40, 485–495. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2015-0022
(2016). Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media. Poetics, 60, 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2016.10.003
(2012). When good characters do bad things: Examining the effect of moral ambiguity on enjoyment. Journal of Communication, 62, 117–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01618.x
(2011). The role of moral disengagement in the enjoyment of real and fictional characters. International Journal of Arts and Technology, 4, 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJART.2011.037772
(2013). What makes characters’ bad behaviors acceptable? The effects of character motivation and outcome on perceptions, character liking, and moral disengagement. Mass Communication and Society, 16(2), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2012.690926
(1983). In defense of external invalidity. American Psychologist, 38(4), 379–387.
(2003).
Disposition-based theories of enjoyment . In J. BryantJ. CantorD. Roskos-EwoldsenEds., Communication and emotion: Essays in honor of Dolf Zillmann (pp. 61–84). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.(2004). Expanding disposition theory: Reconsidering character liking, moral evaluations, and enjoyment. Communication Theory, 14, 348–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00319.x
(2016). Beyond heroes and villains: Examining explanatory mechanisms underlying moral disengagement. Mass Communication and Society, 19(3), 230–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2015.1096944
(2012). Exploring how we enjoy antihero narratives. Journal of Communication, 62, 1028–1046. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01682.x
(2000).
Basal morality in drama appreciation . In I. BondebjergEd., Moving images, culture and the mind (pp. 53–63). Luton, UK: University of Luton Press.(2013).
Moral monitoring and emotionality in responding to fiction, sports, and the news . In R. TamboriniEd., Media and the moral mind (pp. 132–151). New York, NY: Routledge.(1975). Viewer’s moral sanction of retribution in the appreciation of dramatic presentations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 11, 572–582. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(75)90008-6
(1976).
A disposition theory of humor and mirth . In T. ChapmanH. FootEds., Humor and laughter: Theory, research, and application (pp. 93–115). London, UK: Wiley.
