The Relationship Between Viewing Environment, Narrative Environment, and Involvement With Narratives: The Case of Temperature

Three studies explored the mutual effects of the physical environment of watching a narrative text and involvement with that text, using temperature. In Study 1, the temperatures in the room and the film were manipulated. As expected, a match between the temperatures enhanced the enjoyment of the film through the mediation of the perceived match and either transportation into the narrative, identification with the narrative's protagonist, or engagement with the narrative. In Studies 2 and 3, the temperature in the film and transportation or identification were manipulated. As hypothesized, the temperature depicted in the movie indirectly affected the viewer's feelings of warmth or coldness, especially when the viewer was transported into the narrative or identified with its protagonist. Moreover, this effect led to the viewers' desire to consume certain food products. I discuss these findings using theories of transportation and identification.