Characteristics of Portrayal and Conflict and Children's Attraction to Books

Abstract

46 recent books were divided into high- and low-circulation groups of 23 books each on the basis of the number of withdrawals from three elementary school libraries. The heroes and villains were rated on personality dimensions according to the anchored judgment scale of the Identification Figure Test. The findings point to several personality dimensions for conflict between heroes and villains. There is no difference between high- and low-circulation heroes, but high-circulation villains have greater conflicts with heroes than do low-circulation villains. Children prefer reading materials with high conflicts between the heroes and villains.