Is There a Fictional Character That You Identify With?
Psychologists say that people subconsciously become their favorite fictional characters when reading a book.
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I am not a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist. I just enjoy reading the various articles and books that discuss the human psyche. Why the image of Mary Poppins? I once watched a movie where the fictional character in the film said that she “strongly identified with Mary Poppins”. For the purposes of this article, my mind went blank when trying to think of fictional character that I could connect with so I borrowed the line from the movie.
Psychologists say that people subconsciously become their favorite fictional characters when reading a book.
Anyway! Research indicates that you might identify with the character so much that you begin to change your behavior.
Experts have dubbed this subconscious phenomenon “experience-taking”.
In my non-expert opinion, I say: Glad it’s not named “losing yourself” or “becoming yourself” because after you experience this phenomenon you usually go back to being yourself. Right?
I mean … if it were me, I would go back to being myself. I would think that if you can’t switch the world of make-believe, OFF and ON, that might be indication that you have some serious psychological problems. This is just my thinking. I think everybody likes to indulge in the world of fiction or fantasy. But we do realize that fantasy or fiction is not real and we have to put our two feet back down on solid ground after we finish “flying” like Mary Poppins. Right?
How many times have you been listening to an interview of a well-known person and the interviewer asks the question: “What books have you read that influenced you the most in your life?”
If it happened to be a fictional work that impressed them, then nine times of out of ten, there was probably a character that they really could relate to and see themselves in that person, or see themselves wanting to be like that person.
This “experience-taking” phenomenon also happens when you watch movies or TV shows. Well, maybe it doesn’t happen to you. But it happens when I watch movies and television. I don’t read a lot of books but I do watch a lot of movies and TV shows; especially Korean dramas. 😊
● Did we really need an expert to tell us that?
Actually, I think the better and more fun question would be:
● Who do you identify with?
- a real person (an unknown ordinary individual OR a celebrity or famous person, alive or dead),
- a fictional character, or
- a group of people?
You could spend hours exploring this aspect of your personality to find the answer to the question that everybody asks.
Who am I?
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References and Additional Reading:
Grabmeier, Jeff. “‘Losing Yourself’ In A Fictional Character Can Affect Your Real Life.” Research News. Ohio State University Research and Innovation Communications, 7 May 2012. Web. 16 June 2017. (archived copy)
Whitbourne, Susan Krauss. “How Reading Can Change You in a Major Way.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 06 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 June 2017.
Hsu, Christine. “Psychologists Discover How People Subconsciously Become Their Favorite Fictional Characters.” Medical Daily, 14 May 2012.
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Related or Similar Content on Medium:
The Psyche: The Quest Of Meaning & Development Of The Psyche