Why So Many Fake Memoirs: Experiment to Determine Whether People Enjoy Nonfiction More

33 Pages Posted: 11 May 2016 Last revised: 20 May 2016

Date Written: May 10, 2016

Abstract

This study advances in the literature revolving around the paradox of fiction. Using as context the anecdotal cases of the publication of false memoirs, the intuition that people might have a preference for nonfiction material was examined. Subjects were given handouts with written sample from a hypothetical book. The handouts only differed on the genre of the book (fiction or nonfiction). Results did not reveal any kind of statistically significant preference for nonfiction, as found in previous studies. This suggests that written content, as opposed to audio-visual content, might not be subject to a nonfiction preference. This allows for further speculation on the underlying psychological mechanism that allows for nonfiction preferences.

Keywords: Fiction, Empathy, Preference, Fake Memoirs

Suggested Citation

Schechtman, David and Homem, Lucas, Why So Many Fake Memoirs: Experiment to Determine Whether People Enjoy Nonfiction More (May 10, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2778156 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2778156

Lucas Homem

FGV Direito Rio ( email )

Praia de Botafogo, 190
Rio de Janeiro, 22250-900
Brazil

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
64
Abstract Views
640
Rank
622,763
PlumX Metrics