Exploring the Neural Processes behind Narrative Engagement: An EEG Study

Abstract

Past cognitive neuroscience studies using naturalistic stimuli have considered narratives holistically and focused on cognitive processes. In this study, we incorporated the narrative structure--the dramatic arc--as an object of investigation, to examine how engagement levels fluctuate across a narrative-aligned dramatic arc. We explored the possibility of predicting self-reported engagement ratings from neural activity and investigated the idiosyncratic effects of each phase of the dramatic arc on brain responses as well as the relationship between engagement and brain responses. We presented a movie excerpt following the six-phase narrative arc structure to female and male participants while collecting EEG signals. We then asked this group of participants to recall the excerpt, another group to segment the video based on the dramatic arc model, and a third to rate their engagement levels while watching the movie. The results showed that the self-reported engagement ratings followed the pattern of the narrative dramatic arc. Moreover, whilst EEG amplitude could not predict group-averaged engagement ratings, other features comprising dynamic inter-subject correlation, dynamic functional connectivity patterns and graph features were able to achieve this. Furthermore, neural activity in the last two phases of the dramatic arc significantly predicted engagement patterns. This study is the first to explore the cognitive processes behind the dramatic arc and its phases. By demonstrating how neural activity predicts self-reported engagement, which itself aligns with the narrative structure, this study provides insights on the interrelationships between narrative structure, neural responses, and viewer engagement. Significance statementDramatic narratives follow a complex structure termed as the narrative arc. Here, we addressed the complexity of this structure in order to explore brain responses during narrative cognition. We examined the link between the narrative arc and its six phases with self-reported engagement, and whether brain responses elicited by a narrative can predict engagement levels. Our results showed that the group-averaged engagement ratings followed the dramatic arc model. EEG features predicted group-averaged engagement patterns and also engagement levels in the last two phases. This is the first study to characterize the narrative dramatic arc phases at the neural level. It contributes to the fields of cognitive narratology and neuroscience by extending current knowledge on how the brain responds to narratives.