'In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge comes our way': The impact of depression, anxiety, and agency on identifying with fictional characters

This experimental research investigated if depression and/or anxiety impacts the strength of identification with a fictional character, and if having greater agency over a character’s choices altered identification with it. Past research in these areas is extremely limited. A hypertext fiction story-game were used as an experimental stimulus, slightly modified to offer different amounts of agency for different participant groups. Over 100 participants took part, and ANOVA analysis was carried out. The novel results found good evidence that severe grades of both depression and anxiety reduce the level of the reader’s identification with a character and that higher agency increases identification. This has practical application as a potential future mental health diagnostic tool based on an everyday task and has the potential to inform literary creation and computer game design rhetoric