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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «PSICHOLOGIYA»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «PSYCHOLOGY»
ISSN 2304-1226 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Psychology». 2025. Vol 54

Situational-Psychological Aspects of Perception and Interpretation of Literary Texts

Author(s)

V. I. Kabrin, B. O. Emelianenko1

1National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation

Abstract
The study presents findings on the role of the current life situation in the processes of perception and interpretation of Graham Greene's short story @The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen@. It was found that participants in a subjectively more favorable life situation demonstrate a broader perceptual framework and a deeper understanding of the text. Respondents with higher levels of negative experiences were less likely to relate the plot to their personal experiences, perceived the characters more critically, and provided a more superficial interpretation of the text. Experience in reading fiction also contributed to a more nuanced identification of the text's implicit meanings. The results are discussed within the framework of Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory and the effect of emotional congruence. The study contributes to the development of the aesthetic paradigm by integrating a situational approach to studying how current experiences shape communication with art.
About the Authors

Kabrin Valery Ivanovich, Doctor of Sciences (Psychology), Professor, Department of Personality Psychology Tomsk State University 8, Moskovsky Trakt, Tomsk, 634050, Russian Federation e-mail: kabrin@list.ru

Emelianenko Bogdan Olegovich, Postgraduate, Department of Personality Tomsk State University 8, Moskovsky Trakt, Tomsk, 634050, Russian Federation e-mail: bogdan_eme@mail.ru

For citation
Kabrin V.I., Emelianenko B.O. Situational-Psychological Aspects of Perception and Interpretation of Literary Texts. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Psychology, 2025, vol. 54, pp. 22-39. https://doi.org/10.26516/2304-1226.2025.54.22 (in Russian
Keywords
situation, life situation, aesthetic paradigm, communicative psychosemantics, text perception, text interpretation.
UDC
159.9.072
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2304-1226.2025.54.22
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