Finding Truth in Fiction

Karen E. Dill-Shackleford is a social psychologist who studies human relationships with fictional characters from film, television, and books. Her research explores the psychological processes that occur when we engage with fictional worlds and what we take away from those encounters. She has particular interests in the depiction of race and gender in popular culture fiction and in how meditation can help individuals cope with social issues. She is the author of How Fantasy Becomes Reality, co-author of Mad Men Unzipped, and editor of the Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology. Cynthia Vinney is a freelance writer and independent researcher who studies how audiences understand, engage with, and respond to popular media. She has published and presented on the ways audiences make meaning from narrative fiction, how stories help fans cope with personal struggles, and the impact of media use on identity development during adolescence. She is co-author of the book Mad Men Unzipped.