Indeterminate Interpretation and Transportation Experiences in Text Comprehension

Studies in hermeneutics and on reading and art theories have indicated that the indeterminacy of readers' interpretations and texts enhances their immersion and aesthetic experiences. This study classifies the types of indeterminacy and investigates the relationship between indeterminacy and readers' transportation states. The framework of quantum cognition using quantum (non-commutative) probability theory is employed to model the indeterminacy related to emergent interpretations, and test the relationship between an order effect that indicates this type of indeterminacy and the transportation states of readers. With a sample size of 3,027 participants, the study uses a Japanese short story as its material. Results reveal that the number of paragraphs with significant order effects in the high-transportation group is larger than that in the low-transportation group, suggesting a relationship between indeterminacy and transportation state. This result also contributes to a discussion on two types in cognitions of a sense of reality: the reading and virtual reality types.