Improve storytelling by evoking suspense, curiosity, or surprise
The Structural-Affect Theory suggests that the way a story is constructed affects the emotions of its audience.
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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
Improve storytelling by evoking suspense, curiosity, or surprise
The Structural-Affect Theory suggests that the way a story is constructed affects the emotions of its audience.
Why it matters
Storytelling is a fantastic skill for artists, influencing various facets of their work, such as:
Composing songs.
Strategising release plans.
Creating engaging video content for social media.
Since music and fandom revolve around emotion, understanding how to evoke specific feelings through storytelling can make an artist’s work more immersive and enjoyable for fans.
How it works
Brewer and Lichtenstein introduced the structural-affect theory in 1982. They propose that stories are primarily meant to entertain rather than to (morally) persuade or educate, emphasising the importance of emotional engagement in storytelling.
Their Structural-Affect Theory suggests that the way a story is constructed affects the emotions of its audience:
Surprise is evoked by unexpected events.
Curiosity is evoked by presenting the outcome before preceding events.
Suspense is evoked by delaying the story’s outcome, though later research indicates that suspense can also be felt even when the audience knows the ending (Hoeken & van Vliet, 2000).
I find this theory insightful for music and fandom:
Since music is primarily to entertain, it should evoke emotions to enhance the fan experience.
These emotions should also be elicited through music marketing and artist branding via storytelling techniques.
In music, social media content, and campaign narratives, artists can strategically evoke surprise, curiosity, and suspense by manipulating the sequence of events in their storytelling.
Yes, but..
While scientific theories like Brewer and Lichtenstein’s Structural-Affect Theory might seem straightforward, it is helpful to understand the origins of such tested and proven methods of compelling storytelling.
Take action now
Artists can create their next short-form social media video with the Structural-Affect Theory in mind.
Your thoughts
Further reading
Brewer, W. F., & Lichtenstein, E. H. (1982). Stories are to entertain: A structural-affect theory of stories. Journal of Pragmatics, 6(5–6), 473–486. (pdf)
Hoeken, H., & Van Vliet, M. (2000). Suspense, curiosity, and surprise: How discourse structure influences the affective and cognitive processing of a story. Poetics, 27(4), 277–286. (full-text)
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