Sympathy for fictional characters: an examination of the factors involved from a social psychology and cognitive film theory perspective

Abstract

Sympathy is the main affective bond that the viewer establishes with the fictional characters, being a necessary prerequisite for the elicitation of other emotions. Given its importance, the objective of this article is to detail the different factors involved in its constitution, in an attempt to delve into its understanding. To do it, we turn to different works framed in the field of social psychology and cognitive film theory, we describe some textual resources that audiovisual narratives use to exploit each particular factor, and we reflect on the effects that each of them has on sympathy and the other factors involved.

Keywords

• Identification
• sympathy
• cognitive film theory
• fictional characters
• narrative emotions.