Fictionalconcept

Fictionalconcept is a term used in literary theory and cognitive narratology to denote the cognitive status and epistemic commitments readers assign to elements that exist only within a fictional world. It captures how people engage with characters, events, and settings as if they possessed real properties while recognizing they are fictional.

Origin and etymology reflect its function as a formal label rather than a natural category. The term combines "fiction" with "concept" to describe a mental model that integrates storyworld rules with ordinary knowledge, enabling consistent interpretation and discussion of what could be true within the narrative frame.

The concept is commonly used to analyze metafiction, worldbuilding ecosystems, and reader response. It interacts with authorial intent, narrative perspective, and plausibility cues, highlighting how a text negotiates between immersion and critical distance.

Applications include theoretical analysis of character believability, the design of virtual worlds, and the study of how audiences update their beliefs when confronted with inconsistent details.

Critiques warn that emphasizing a cognitive status for fictional elements risks reifying fiction as belief or ignoring social and cultural practices surrounding reading.

Related topics include fictionality, worldbuilding, narratology, and reader-response theory.