Perceptions of War Poetry: Experiential Context and Emotional Engagement in Veterans and Civilians​

University

Shawnee State University

Major

Psychology

Student Type

Undergraduate Student

Presentation Types

Oral Presentation (Live)

Keywords:

Empathy, Perspective-taking, War poetry, Veteran vs. civilian experiences

Abstract

Empathic concern, the capacity to feel compassion for others, is closely linked to perspective-taking and supports engagement with narrative material. This study examined how experiential context influences responses to war-related poetry among veterans and civilians. A total of 131 adults (60 veterans, 71 civilians) read an original poem depicting the psychological aftermath of war and completed measures of empathic concern, emotional valence and arousal, and narrative engagement. Independent-samples t-tests showed that civilians reported greater empathic concern, t(127) = 2.03, p = .045, d = 0.36, and emotional shift, t(126) = 2.31, p = .023, d = 0.41, than veterans. No significant group differences were found for speaker identification. Thematic analyses indicated civilians more often expressed emotional empathy, whereas veterans referenced personal experience or realism, χ²(5, N = 50) = 28.26, p < .001. Findings suggest lived experience shapes emotional engagement with war narratives.

Human and Animal Subjects

yes

IRB or IACUC Approval

yes

Faculty Mentor Name

Brian Richards

Faculty Mentor Title

Professor, Research Advisor

Faculty Mentor Department

Social Sciences

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Perceptions of War Poetry: Experiential Context and Emotional Engagement in Veterans and Civilians​

Empathic concern, the capacity to feel compassion for others, is closely linked to perspective-taking and supports engagement with narrative material. This study examined how experiential context influences responses to war-related poetry among veterans and civilians. A total of 131 adults (60 veterans, 71 civilians) read an original poem depicting the psychological aftermath of war and completed measures of empathic concern, emotional valence and arousal, and narrative engagement. Independent-samples t-tests showed that civilians reported greater empathic concern, t(127) = 2.03, p = .045, d = 0.36, and emotional shift, t(126) = 2.31, p = .023, d = 0.41, than veterans. No significant group differences were found for speaker identification. Thematic analyses indicated civilians more often expressed emotional empathy, whereas veterans referenced personal experience or realism, χ²(5, N = 50) = 28.26, p < .001. Findings suggest lived experience shapes emotional engagement with war narratives.