Affective Disposition Theory and Why We Root for Characters

Affective Disposition Theory (ADT) explains how emotional dispositions affect individuals’ reactions to media narratives. It posits that enjoyment increases when liked characters succeed or disliked characters fail. The theory traces its roots to Dolf Zillmann in the 1970s and highlights the unconscious biases influencing empathy and moral judgments in both media and real-life interactions.

Published: