Investigating the role of spontaneous theory of mind on the processing of dramatic irony in filmed narratives

Research output: PhD ThesisPhD-Thesis – Research and graduation external

Abstract

This thesis explores how film viewers use Spontaneous Theory of Mind (SToM) to interpret characters' mental states, particularly during scenes of dramatic irony (DI), a common cinematic technique where viewers are aware of crucial information unknown to other characters (termed ‘victims’ of DI). For the first time, this research triangulates the online cognitive demands of SToM during naturalistic scene perception. It explores systematically the interplay between attention, working memory (WM), mental state inference and narrative comprehension across four studies. The first establishes a DI Film Corpus, using free-recall tasks to assess viewers' long-term event models, comparing an Installation group with extra context against a Control group reflecting False Beliefs (FB) or True Belief (TB) scenarios, respectively. The second study uses self-paced viewing and eye-tracking to explore how viewers process cues to construct initial event models in DI. The third study evaluates the cognitive load on WM in managing these models during DI scenes. The final study employs an existing fMRI dataset to investigate the temporality of neural correlates of SToM, and how individual differences in WM influence viewer cross-individual synchrony during DI. Results demonstrate that DI scenes significantly increase cognitive load, enhancing the demands on attention and memory essential for effective scene comprehension. DI needs not only the formation of complex mental models but also their continuous adaptation as the narrative unfolds. By integrating the Scene Perception and Event Comprehension Theory (SPECT) with social cognition theories, this research bridges structured experimental ToM stimuli and the dynamic complexity of real-world scenes. This thesis highlights cinema as a potent tool for real-time analysis of complex social interactions and mental state attributions, providing valuable insights for media studies, social neuroscience, and clinical psychology. These insights deepen sociocognitive aspects in narrative engagement understanding and potentially guiding the development of ToM deficit evaluation and intervention tools.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationPhD
Award date31 Dec 2024
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2025

Funding

PhD Thesis supported by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) PhD studentship awarded to CC. ESRC Grant Reference: ES/P000592/1.

FundersFunder number
UK Economic and Social Research CouncilES/P000592/1

    Keywords

    • theory of mind
    • Spontaneous mentalising
    • dramatic irony
    • film cognition
    • neurocinema
    • narrative structure
    • cognitive engagement

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