What the study found
The study found that adding conflictual, or adversarial, dialogue to stories did not significantly change how participants rated the stories or their response to them. The authors say the results do not support the hypothesis that isolated adversarial dialogue improves stories.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest this work helps address the limited experimental research on conflict in stories. They conclude that the findings are compatible with alternative theories of conflict in stories.
What the researchers tested
The researchers ran a pilot study and two similar repeated-measures experiments, in which they manipulated stories to create different levels of conflictual dialogue. In the first study, 47 participants rated stories using the Perceived Quality Index; in the second, 194 participants used the Audience Response Scale, along with questions on boredom and story quality.
What worked and what didn't
The conflict manipulation was successful, meaning the stories differed as intended in their level of adversarial dialogue. However, it produced no significant differences in the outcome measures in either experiment.
What to keep in mind
The study focused on one type of conflict: isolated adversarial dialogue. The abstract notes that the results do not support the study hypothesis, and it does not describe other limitations beyond this scope.
Key points
- The study tested whether adversarial dialogue improves story quality and audience response.
- A pilot study and two repeated-measures experiments were conducted.
- Participants were 47 in the first study and 194 in the second.
- The conflict manipulation worked as intended.
- No significant differences were found in story quality or audience-response measures.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Conflictual dialogue did not improve story ratings
- Authors:
- John W. Berks, Matt N. Williams
- Institutions:
- Massey University, University of Auckland
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-27
- OpenAlex record:
- View
Get the weekly research newsletter
Stay current with peer-reviewed research without reading academic papers — one filtered digest, every Friday.