Does anyone know of a scale to measure the extent to which individuals are willing to suspend disbelief (i.e. accept information uncritically), and/or the extent to which they are interested in activities that call for a suspension of disbelief (e.g. watching magic shows, enjoying science fiction or fantasy books or movies)?
I am aware of the Fantasy Proneness scale (Wilson & Barber, 1981) and Tellegen's Absorption scale (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), but these are not exactly what I'm after (although I am sure they would be correlates).
I'd appreciate hearing about any measures along these lines. Thanks in advance!
-Max Gwynn,
Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON Canada
It could come from two opposite goups, for different reasons: (1). Less educated group, satisfied type-A personality, living in his or her own culture, accepting the disblieve- varieties (you mentioned above) as a part of defult- entertainments. (2). Highly educated and multiculturally experienced, facing the impact of globalized supper- culture of current era, to use these disblieve- varieties as an escape- goat, to forget the pressures and pains, to relax for a short periods.
Maxwell,
Hello, I believe that the terms you are looking for is suspension of beliefs systems. When watching a magic show, a science fiction movie or reading a romance novel one must suspend their belief system and let go of all strings that are binding and just be in the moment. This includes relaxing and letting go of all pressures and stress that comes with culture traditions and beliefs. Just be in that moment for the excitement and relax, do not think about what you have to do or must do, just be in the moment. I hope this helps.
Stella Pitts
I/O Psychology Ph.D program
Thanks Stella. I hadn't considered the construct from that perspective. I'll do some research into possible ways to assess "being in the moment".
Thank you Dr. Sanchez-Bernardos. We are currently using the CEQ as a potential correlate to Willingness to Suspend Disbelief scale. Your factor analysis of the CEQ is very interesting. We will have to see if our scale correlates strongly with any or all of your three factors.
Dear Maxwell,
as I am searching for a willingness to suspend disbeliefs scale too I am curious whether your search was successful?
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology
- Social Psychology