RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Jansen, Carel A1 de Graaf, Anneke A1 Hustinx, Lettica A1 Ooms, Joëlle A1 Schreinemakers, Merel A1 Zwiers, LisaYR 2019 T1 Beïnvloedt een meer of minder sympathieke protagonist de transportatie van de lezer? JF Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing, VO 41 IS 3 SP 515 OP 546 DO https://doi.org/10.5117/TVT2019.3.005.JANS PB Amsterdam University Press, SN 2352-1236, AB Abstract Does a more or less sympathetic protagonist influence transportation of the reader? Two new replication studies Three previous studies into presenting a protagonist in a story as more or less sympathetic have not provided a clear picture of the effects that the portrayal of the protagonist may have on transportation, and via transportation on story-consistent beliefs. Results from a first study (N = 83) by De Graaf and Hustinx (2015) suggest that the way the protagonist is portrayed – as sympathetic, unsympathetic or neutral – influences the extent to which readers are transported into a story. No significant effects on beliefs of the readers were found, however. In a direct replication study (N = 79) and in a conceptual replication study (N = 81), Jansen, Nederhoff, and Ooms (2017) found results that supported the hypotheses from the original study to a limited extent. In view of the relatively small numbers of participants in these three studies and the resulting limited power of the statistical tests two new, larger-scaled replication studies were conducted. A direct replication study was performed (N = 238) with the same versions of the story as used in the original study, and also a conceptual replication study (N = 248) with three versions of a new story. Again, the hypotheses from the original study were supported to a limited extent. A meta-analysis of all five studies revealed a large indirect positive effect of story version on transportation via empathy, when comparing the versions with a sympathetic protagonist with the versions with an unsympathetic protagonist. When comparing the neutral story versions with the versions with an unsympathetic protagonist, the meta-analytic indirect effect was medium sized. Other than what the Affective Disposition Theory (Raney, 2004; Zillmann, 1994; 2006) claims, the story versions with a neutral protagonist did not lead to an absence of emotional responses. Furthermore, the outcomes add to the Transportation-Imagery Model (Green & Brock, 2002; Van Laer, De Ruyter, Visconti, & Wetzels, 2014). While this model does not include concrete suggestions of story characteristics that lead to transportation, our studies show that a protagonist who is portrayed as sympathetic may contribute to the level of transportation that readers experience, be it indirectly through empathy., UL https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/TVT2019.3.005.JANS