Empathy for adolescents' role model selection and learning of DVD content

Male and female high school and college students viewed a DVD about a love story. Youth who more readily empathized with media characters were more likely to perceive same-sex characters as role models and were better able to understand the story content. The findings suggest that fantasy empathy, in which viewers become deeply involved in narratives, may hold a key regarding the influence of media characters and media presentations. That is, certain viewers may be particularly influenced by fictional media portrayals and learn and understand the content at a deeper level. In addition, the kinds of role models presented in these portrayals may provide a guide to similar problems that these viewers may encounter in real life. The findings have implications for the kinds of films and DVDs that producers make for audiences of different ages and experiential backgrounds. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.