FYI.

In an era saturated with media content, this special issue will curate a diverse range of papers that investigate the social psychological processes underlying both beneficial and harmful effects of entertainment narratives.

Guest editors:

Asst. Prof. Kristi Costabile – Iowa State University, USA

Prof. Melanie Green – SUNY, Buffalo, USA

Special issue information:

Deadline for manuscript submission: 15 June, 2026.

Entertainment narratives (i.e., stories found in entertainment media) are pervasive and consumed across an expanding variety of narrative modes such as podcasts, role-play games, and social media. Recent reports indicate that U.S. adults spend more than 12 hours a day consuming entertainment media (Nielsen, 2020). As media consumption has skyrocketed, interpersonal interaction has plummeted (Sigman, 2009), making the study of entertainment narratives particularly timely to developing a full understanding of how social influences affect our emotions, cognition, and behavior.

Research indicates that entertainment narratives are not merely shallow hedonic experiences; rather, entertainment narratives can have meaningful effects on their audiences (e.g., Costabile, Shedlosky-Shoemaker, & Austin, 2020; Oliver & Raney, 2011). For example, narrative exposure has been shown to increase empathy for outgroup members (Igartua & Cachon-Ramon), provide knowledge about situations of which audiences have little experience (Gasser, Dammert, & Murphy, 2022), and shift audience perspectives on social issues (Green & Brock, 2000). Additionally, narratives can meet belongingness needs (Gabriel & Schneider, 2024) and sustained fiction reading can improve social cognition skills (Mar, 2018). Research on entertainment narratives examines both content and processes central to social psychology such as empathy, attitudes, misinformation, memory, emotion regulation, and intergroup behavior (Green & Gabriel, 2025). Given the current unprecedentedly easy access to narrative entertainment media and its expanding modes of consumption (e.g., in transit; during class, at restaurants) and modes of narrative (e.g., social media shorts, actual-play role playing games), this special issue examines emerging perspectives on the role of entertainment media in the social world.

In an era saturated with media content, this special issue will curate a diverse range of papers that investigate the social psychological processes underlying both beneficial and harmful effects of entertainment narratives. We welcome experimental research as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses that advance our understanding of how entertainment media shape individuals and communities. Submissions might address factors such as media content, accuracy, trustworthiness, context, and delivery mode; they could explore traditional formats (e.g., novels, films), emerging platforms (e.g., social media stories, role-playing games), or narrative excerpts; they might examine outcomes related to affect, cognition, or behavior; and they might examine the roles of culture or individual differences, and the broader social or community-level impacts of narrative media.

We encourage researchers who are interested in submitting to the special issue to carefully review the JESP aims and submission requirements, see journal’s author guidelines. In particular, JESP papers typically include more than one study and focus on experimental work. Submissions are expected to make contributions to the field of social psychology, and open science practices (e.g., preregistration) are highly recommended. We will review manuscripts as they are received, with a closing date of the call for manuscripts on June 15, 2026.

Manuscript submission information:

Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://www.editorialmanager.com/jesp/Default.aspx

Please select “VSI: Social Psychological Perspectives” when submitting your manuscript to this special issue and indicate the actual article type in the cover letter.