For Storytelling, Character is Key with Dr. Matt Grizzard @OpinionScience

Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Matt Grizzard is a communication scholar who studies how people relate to characters in entertainment media as a sign of how much they enjoy one story versus another. A guiding framework behind this work is "affective disposition theory." What is that? Well, listen to the episode! We talk about this theory, how it helps us understand people's reactions to what happens to characters in media, and what it means for the importance of entertainment in our everyday experience.

For more, head to this episode's webpage: opinionsciencepodcast.com/episode/characters-welcome-with-matt-grizzard

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Opinion Science is a psychology podcast exploring the science of our opinions, where they come from and how they change. Each week I talk to social scientists and professional communicators about how the work they do reveals key insights about public opinion and persuasion.

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Website: opinionsciencepodcast.com
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