Abstract
In transferring the concept of flow to the context of fiction reading a new approach to understanding the evolvement of reading pleasure is provided. This study presents the Reading Flow Short Scale (RFSS), the first reading-specific flow measurement tool. The RFSS was applied to 229 readers via online survey after 20 min of reading in self-selected novels. In a systematic analysis of psychometric properties, the RFSS’ factorial structure, reliability, and associations with theoretically related constructs were examined. As expected, the RFSS showed a two-factor structure, positive correlations with variables related to reading pleasure and flow, and an inverted U-shaped association with perceived fit between reader skills and text challenge. Comparisons of confirmatory factor analysis model confirmed that RFSS items loaded on different latent variables than items assessing other narrative engagement concepts, namely presence, identification, suspense, and cognitive mastery, and hence distinctly capture flow states in fiction reading. In sum, our findings indicate that the RFSS is a useful instrument for assessing flow states in fiction reading, thereby enriching the portfolio of measurement instruments in reading research.
Highlights
Considering the growing body of empirical evidence on positive effects of fiction reading (Mar et al, 2011; Kidd and Castano, 2013; Vezzali et al, 2015), there is still relatively little consensus regarding the mental mechanisms involved in making reading itself an inherently rewarding experience
The 10 Reading Flow Short Scale (RFSS) items were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using the principal axes factor analysis method and a maximum likelihood estimator based on polychoric correlations coefficients
Given that most of the correlations indicate approximately 50% of shared variance, we turned to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) modeling to test whether flow as measured with the RFSS was still empirically distinguishable from presence, identification, suspense, and cognitive mastery
Summary
Considering the growing body of empirical evidence on positive effects of fiction reading (Mar et al, 2011; Kidd and Castano, 2013; Vezzali et al, 2015), there is still relatively little consensus regarding the mental mechanisms involved in making reading itself an inherently rewarding experience. On the one hand, reading fictional texts can elicit specific pleasure-related states in the reader as a direct reaction to engagement with certain story elements. Amongst the most prominent concepts of pleasure-related narrative engagement are presence (Lee, 2004), suspense (Zillmann, 1996), identification (Cohen, 2001), and cognitive mastery (Oliver and Raney, 2011). While presence states are defined as the sensation of being in the story world, states of heightened reader suspense pertain to the anticipation of emotionally charged story events. A state of identification is characterized by the internalization of story-characters’ feelings and thoughts, and cognitive mastery states arise from the sense of retrieving meaning, truth and purpose from the story. Depending on the narrative the reader engages with, varying degrees and combinations
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