To explore imagery and emotional involvement in reading, a study examined readers' imagery and emotional responses through the use of ratings for each paragraph in a story. Subjects, 40 undergraduate volunteers recruited from education classes, read a 2100-word excerpt from the novel Buffalo Chief by Jean and Paul Annixter. Students read a brief practice story to become familiar with the computer's presentation of the text, followed by the experimental passage. For both passages, the text was presented so that although an entire page of text was present on the screen (so that the reader could get information regerding word and paragraph lengths), only one line was readable at a time. The reader controlled 'rich line of text was legible. After reading the experimental passage, subjects reported any images or emotional reactions they experienced while reading the story. Finally, students rated their imagery and emotional responses. For the rating task, the story was again presented on the computer, one paragraph at a time. Beneath each paragraph, rating scales appeared on which readers rated their imagery and emotional responses to the paragraph on five-point Likert-type scales of imagery and affect. Findings, directly compared to those of previous research investigating imagery and emotional response, suggested that imagery and affect ratings are more reliable and replicable than some reading researchers have suspected. Findings demonstrated readers experience both imagery and emotional reactions that are interrelated and can be reliably studied. One figure is included. (MM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *******x************t****************************************ft********* PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Ac 4,-a TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ()thee of Educaoonat Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES L;FORMATION CENTER IER/C/ 0 Tom dOeument has been /ep/odueed as recent from the person or o/genqa bon oncpeabog4 V Me)°, moo.nave,ewoduct,on Quality mace to,mp/ove ), Pomts of v,ew 0/ meet do not necessamy /eo/eseet omehai OERI oosbon o/ poacy Imagery and Emotional Response in Reading Ernest T. Goetz Mark Sadoski Michael L. Stowe Thomas G. Fetsco Susan G. Kemp Texas A&M University Contact: Ernest T. Goetz Department of Educational Psychology Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 (409) 845-1874 Running Head: Imagery and Emotional Response Note: A version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the National Reading Conference, December, 1987.