Brain Practice Theory

The brain is constantly responding to stimuli in our environments and rarely has to make life or death decisions on a daily basis(at least for the most part I hope). So how could it possibly prepare for potential dangers when they spontaneously come up? A recent study done in the University of Toronto, by psychologist Keith Oatley, argues that different scenarios created in stories may help us protect ourselves, if a dangerous event should occur in real life.

Fiction gives us a sense of problems that we face in reality. The sole purpose of fiction is to provide us a realistic experience without risks or death. We get to feel what it would be like to experience intense scenes, like facing a sociopath, with the main character as sort of a " dummy " to test it out. Oatley’s studies even show that the more fiction we consume, the higher we score on tests of empathy and social ability. In summary, fictional universes prepare us with information and somewhat " experience " for the real thing.

Given this research, the next time anyone asks why you always have your head in the clouds or a nose in a book, tell them you're just preparing yourself for a future " life-on-a-thin-line " situation. Being off into another world actually benefits you more than you think.

Source; "Mystery Story: Why Do We Love Fiction? - World Science Festival." World Science Festival. 18 May 2012. Web. 4 May 2015.

Media; "Brain Art (Good Galleries)." Brain Art (Good Galleries). Web. 4 May 2015.

Different Approaches

During my research on my previous post, I was reading through different studies about my driving question based on scientific theories, yet I feel as though my posts would be more valid if I used a different approach. So, I've compiled a list of questions to ask my fellow literature-obsessed classmates to gather more insight on this phenomena.The first person I've chosen is America Renteria.

What's the fictional peice that interests you the most?

 Most likely the marvel universe.

Since when have you been interested in this peice? 

 I've been interested ever since my childhood because of my older brother's interest and me wanting to learn what he liked because I looked up to (and still look up to him) very much.

How much do you spend a day thinking about this fiction or reference it?

 I spend maybe thirty or more percent of my day thinking and referencing about the Marvel Universe. and I'm usually at any given time of the day wearing something depicting or inspired by a marvel character or story.

Do you often wish you were a part of this universe instead of the one you're in right now?

That's a tough question. The universe I'm in now, I know I have a reason to be in, but I think we all sometimes wish that we could just be part of a different world that we find more enjoyable. So, yes I do sometimes find myself daydreaming about being a marvel superhero but i really wish to be in there "often".

Do you consider any character favorable? Why? 

I consider Captain America (Steve Rogers) favorable because of his background and who he is now remained constant personality-wise even after he got all these superhuman abilities, and that takes some serious character. Also I like Iron Man because of the way he puts on this front of a super confident millionaire who has everything he wants at his fingertips. But behind closed doors, he loves a woman who is special to him just like any other man might. And he severe anxiety issues which a lot of people can relate to at times. Even though he seems like the man who wouldn't make the sacrifice play, he is and has made it multiple times.

Has any of the characters in this movie died, if so, did you feel grief? If not, would you feel grief if your favorable character died? 

I know captain america does die and I know before that, his best friend bucky died. when bucky died, Steve was just devastated. And me having so much respect and feeling so attached to Steve, I realize it left me with a little grief too. And because I'm basically on a ticking clock waiting to see cap die in a movie, I feel sad thinking about him having to pass on the shield.

Do you feel excited seeing others " fangirling " (over excited) over the same thing you love? 

Oh heck yes. I feel like I can relate to this person with my distress and sometimes this is a huge factor in who I choose as friends. My friends need to be able to at least not get annoyed by my fangirling and if they can follow along and we can converse about it, even better.

Finally, if this universe actually was real and you actually were  close to these characters, would you find another fictional universe to love despite living in the world you've dreamed about living in? 

This is a really intriguing question because it certainly does make beg the question, "Am I just finding imperfections in my world and wanting to fill them with a perfect world?" I think maybe I would. That's what we to as humans, isn't it? We are afraid of demons, we create an almighty god to fend off the demons. We're scared of the dark, we create artificial lights to fill it. and etc. So yes, I think I would find something more I want while living in that universe.

Empathy Theory

So far I've come across various theories regarding attachment to fictional characters and one popular theory is known as the " Empathy-Sympathy Relationship ". Empathy is key component in experiencing emotion in a different perspective. We tend to perform this to reconstruct what the distressed individual is feeling due to certain events. This plays into real and raw emotion that we feel for characters in a virtual setting.

We have the ability to now connect with these characters completely. Just as we do in real life, we figure out the character's dilemma by previous information and fill in missing details about the problem that was unforeseen. In fact, since we often know more private thoughts and outside information about this character, the realism intensifies since we have the overall power to change the character's fate. We become attached and feel as some sort of guardian, thus creating a sympathetic response since we think this character now affects our daily life.

What if the viewer has never in their life experienced what the character is going through? Well, I've certainly never had to worry about my brother dying in my arms like Dean did to Sam from the T.V series, " Supernatural ", but I know that I'm going to be surrounded by tissues for the next couple of episodes at the sight of Dean mourning. (Sorry for the spoiler, but if you watch the series, you already know how the concept death is toyed around.) As long as the emotional perspectives and story lines are there, we can feel realistically.

Source; Nuwer, Rachel. "The Psychology of Character Bonding: Why We Feel a Real Connection to Actors." The Credits. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

Why Do People Create and Get Attached to Fictional Universes?

Love; an intense feeling of deep affection.

Reality; the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

Love and Reality are considered to be the two main components to keeping us human beings grounded. Since, given the definition of both concepts, love can only be achieved by reality. It is deemed to only exist within it. Yet, there seems to be a slight exception of this pairing to this logic. Given the opportunity of Genius Hour at my school, I have decided to research further into this intriguing topic that I am also guilty of.

Emotion towards a supposed non-existent character in a non-existent world.

Ever since I could remember, I was fascinated by any kind of well written fictional book or movie I could get a hold of. Growing up, I realized that I wasn't the only one. There are millions upon millions of literature for people to indulge themselves into and seemingly travel to another world. I often found myself feeling drastically towards these characters I admired and this lead me to where I'm typing right now; in a room surrounded by all types of literature that I could pick up anytime and everything would feel so vivid and intense, leaving me wondering just a simple question.

Why?

Why do we tear up at the thought of a character on a show we watch passing away? Why are we so transfixed on creating these universes for ourselves when we have a gigantic one we are perfectly in the center of? How does this impact our lives, our actions, our morals and our ideas? Why is it that some people can simply watch their show in the evening and carry on about their day, while others feel as if their life is dependent on watching the next episode?

Who knows?

Maybe I'll find an answer to this wondrous question over the next few weeks.