Electroencephalographic Functional Connectivity, Heartrate Synchrony, and Eye Movements Reveal Distinct Components within Narrative Engagement and Immersion

Storytelling is a fundamental and universal human behavior, representing a vehicle for cultural information exchange throughout human history. In the present day, consumption of narrative audiovisual media is one of the most common recreational activities worldwide. Despite the importance and ubiquity of storytelling, relatively little is known about the neurocognitive mechanisms by which narrative media capture and sustain our attention. In this study, 40 participants watched 10 short clips from television shows of various genres while electroencephalography, eye tracking, heart rate, and self-report data were recorded. Self-reported immersion and three of the four components of narrative engagement that we examined—attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence—were associated with interindividual synchrony in heart rate and gaze behavior, but were associated with relatively distinct patterns of neural activity (electroencephalography power amplitude and functional connectivity). Narrative understanding, on the other hand, was not associated with heart rate or gaze synchrony. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed directionally opposing relationships between overall alpha-band connectivity and narrative presence on the one hand (positive), and narrative understanding (negative) on the other. These results suggest narrative understanding may be associated with a different set of neurocognitive processes to the other dimensions of narrative engagement. These findings point toward a bifurcated model of narrative engagement and raise interesting theoretical questions about the role of narrative comprehension in this process.