Fiction, Worldview, and Identity
INTRODUCTION
A free Saturday and a cup of tea are all some people ask for in life. But a lot of the same people who like tea and Saturdays are also the kind of people who like fiction. When I used to have free time, reading was my activity of choice. When I have free time again, I’m sure it will be a favorite once more. But for now, I’m content to study and write about fiction so that one day people may read the words I write.
My love for fiction began when I was a child and spread its roots into the ground of my teen years. But the road getting there was difficult for me. While both my brothers were reading the Chronicles of Narnia and Star Wars books, I was struggling to make sense of my schoolwork. Learning to read was a constant struggle up until fourth grade. This was the grade my mom decided to take me to the eye doctor to have my eyes checked. They did the usual tests. I read all the letters off the board on the wall, but then they did another test. They put some futuristic-looking goggles on my head and placed a one-page story in front of me on the table. They simply asked me to read the story and then explain what it was about. I did my best, but I had the same trouble I did every other time I read. I couldn’t comprehend the story. Mom and I waited a few minutes until the doctor pulled up the chart tracking my eye movement. The doctor showed how many times I restarted a line or skipped a line entirely. She also explained that eyes are supposed to go through cycles of focusing and relaxing while reading, but my eyes were never getting to the relaxing stage. After that appointment, my mom signed me up for several months of eye therapy full of fun eye-bending tricks. In the end, I had more ability to read than ever before, and I promptly picked up the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. That book was still slightly beyond my abilities, so I contented myself with the Flat Stanley series which was a fantastic step up from not reading at all. I was finally allowed to experience a world that my brothers had known for a long time, and I loved it.There were some formative years of my life where I couldn’t go out and make my own adventures for medical reasons. Books became great experiences for me in that chapter of my life. Yet, now as a theologian and student at Bible college, I realize there are more theological implications of fiction to examine if I intend to write within this genre. I plan to write fiction for children and young teens in the future. Some study is warranted if I want my writing to have real significance.Fiction is particularly amazing because it allows people to experience things they would never get to otherwise. This is true of many forms of entertainment. But what effect does fiction have on readers? and more specifically, what kind of power does fiction hold over young readers between the ages of eight and fourteen? Some might assume that fiction's impact is generally benign, but I propose that the fiction that a child reads between late childhood and early teen years impacts that child’s sense of identity and has the power to shift his or her worldview.That might seem like quite an extravagant claim, but when posed to those who have read fiction in their formative years, they tend to stop, look up towards the ceiling, and think for a minute. Slowly, they will nod their heads in agreement and affirm the power fiction plays in worldview and identity. But that feeling of agreement is not enough. What is the cause behind fiction’s power, and what does it mean for theologically trained authors who want to write for children and young teens?The first step in our journey to determining the impact of fiction is verifying its ability to change our beliefs. Though many people acknowledge that fiction can shape their beliefs, no one seems to change their behavior based on this knowledge. As a writer and an older sister to a twelve-year-old, I want to be sure to help guide young readers towards experiences that will be growing, beneficial, and training for healthy adulthood. The next step in this journey is learning the positive and negative effects of fiction’s power. If fiction can impact identity and worldview, is that impact for good or for bad? Finally, once we understand the power of fiction, what do we do with that information? Now that we know our route, let’s be on our way.
CAN FICTION IMPACT BELIEFS?
Relatively normal adults generally understand the difference between fiction and reality. Those who read fiction about Martians, mindreading, or magic understand that these elements of the story are fictional. Few people finish reading a book, place it on the coffee table, and then start waving their hands in expectation of the book to float in midair because they read about it in a story. I’ve never seen this happen, but I hesitate to say “no one” in case this was you at any point.
Children have a higher inclination to try something like this, especially if they think they are alone. But even children seem to know deep down that fiction is simply not the way the world works. I know, because my siblings and I tried these types of “scientific” tests of reality when my parents were not around. I once taped together printer paper in a circle around me and sat in the middle at the top of the stairs waiting for it to fly because I had made a “spaceship.” But through that experience, I understood reality better.The ability of our brains to discern fiction from reality is what is known as a “dual-process theory” in psychology. “In recent years, researchers across many different areas of psychology have converged on the idea that the human information-processing system operates in multiple modes, each invoked by particular circumstances and with distinct consequences for the representation and use of information.” (Prentice 532). Essentially, we can distinguish fiction from reality, yet still enjoy fiction for what it is.This is also where the concept of “suspension of disbelief” comes from. Youtuber, Ryan George, does an excellent job illustrating what it would be like if we questioned everything in fictional stories in his video, “The First Guy to Ever Write Fiction.” This video also shows how little we think about suspension of disbelief because it’s almost automatic in a modern context where people are familiar with vast amounts of entertainment. 
It would fatigue our brains and drain the fun out of reading to constantly analyze every detail of fiction against reality. Imagine opening a book and reading the first paragraph. Then you stop to think about the realism of that paragraph. Can magic carpets fly? Is time-travel possible? You set the book down and think through or research all the potential conflicts with reality until you are sure what is truth and what’s a lie.Though the exact way people mentally process fiction is debated, most are agreed that people do not process it systematically. “…there is no reason to think that readers have the motivation and capacity necessary to engage in systematic processing of fictional information.” (533). This lack of systematic processing is the exact way that people’s views and beliefs are affected by fiction. “…[Readers] believe that authors do adhere to a reasonable standard of truth whenever they can (i.e., except in cases where their plots require fabrication)—a belief that is sustained by their experiences with fiction. In fact, readers invest authors with a moderate degree of credibility” (532). Because people are not systematically processing fiction, they might read incorrect facts about such things as the boiling point of water or the distance of Earth from the moon. Without a previous knowledge of this information, they will likely assume the author did his or her research and take those elements of the story as fact.Our brains accept information from fiction a lot like product placement in films. A beloved superhero takes a sip from a cola, or a millionaire drives a luxury vehicle. We don’t always immediately take notice, but that message is there, and we may accept it without realizing we did. As I said earlier, it’s not the big or obvious elements of fictional stories that will change belief. It’s the worldbuilding, assumptions, and information given in passing that escapes our scrutiny.Looking back, this was a situation that happened to me when I was eighteen. This was the year I bought my first car. I had been saving all my life and had enough for a decent used car. After finding a good 2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited, my parents drove me to the dealership to haggle on the price. However, I had recently read the book Erak’s Ransom by John Flanagan. It is part of the Ranger’s Apprentice series, and one of the main elements was a hostage negotiation by the lead female character (Flanagan). With hostage negotiation tactics fresh on my mind, I went into the office of the car dealership prepared to free the hostage Chrysler with my savings. Never once did I question the validity of these tactics… nor did I question the car dealership being the appropriate place to use these tactics. I simply accepted that they were real negotiation tactics because I was under the assumption, like so many are, that authors do their research on nonessential elements of their stories.This is a really funny and embarrassing anecdote. I was eighteen at the time, and, though I got the car I wanted for a good price, I should have known better than to go in with that mindset. It's actually kind of embarrassing to admit. Yet, according to my research, I shouldn’t be too embarrassed because many other adults who read fiction, regularly do the same. Here’s my bigger concern. If this is the way fiction changes the worldviews and beliefs of adults, how much more susceptible are children and young teens?Fiction is sneaky, though not always intentionally. It is simply because people are not processing the information systematically. Our guards are down and so are the drawbridges to our minds. We are much more likely to unwittingly internalize fictional information and then externalize that same information without even realizing it as I did at eighteen.
THE FICTION EXPERIENCE
Though we may retain information better through fiction, is that the only power fiction holds? It is not. The other power it holds is the way people can have experiences through fiction. If done correctly, our brains can interpret fictional information as real experiences. This does not mean that our brains believe we have actually lived the experience, but our brains respond in the same way as though we had.People have done experiments where a person’s brain is scanned while reading certain phrases or sentences of action. “The scans revealed activity in the motor cortex, which coordinates the body’s movements. What’s more, this activity was concentrated in one part of the motor cortex when the movement described was arm-related and in another part when the movement concerned the leg” (Paul par. 5). Although there is no physical evidence of the activities a reader participates in through fiction, there is mental evidence.This is why fiction seems so real. I hesitate to say that it is reality, because it certainly is not. We are never bruised by the fictional football that hits the character or sliced to ribbons by the evil pirate. But it appears that well-written fiction is a realistic simulation of reality in most ways. “The brain, it seems, does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life; in each case, the same neurological regions are stimulated” (Paul par. 6). This is why people can form deep emotional attachments to their favorite characters, deeply empathize with the emotional and physical pain of characters, and even feel sad when a story they love ends. Sometimes it’s like saying goodbye to a friend.
Fiction may act like an escape sometimes, but it is also a training ground. Especially for children and young teens, fiction is a generally safe way to experience the unknown. Even adults find that they are drawn to the adventure fiction provides. We can get a sense of what the world outside our own may be like. We can know what it’s like to live someone else’s life.
FICTION’S POSITIVE IMPACT
I think we’ve settled that fiction has the power to impact our beliefs, and there are some positive outcomes from this power. One way that this information can be used to the benefit of children is for education. “Educational–Entertainment, or Edutainment uses fiction to educate people” (Freestone 505). This is a helpful way to introduce information because people who learn information through fiction are proven to retain that information better. Based on tests done by Washington University, “In all experiments, subjects correctly answered more questions when the answers had been read in the stories” (Marsh 534). Others agree that this learning can be nearly subliminal or at least unnoticed at times. “Edutainment literature states that product placements within programmes and stories are often under-examined by the audience resulting in the information being overlooked as it is absorbed” (Freestone 505).One interesting connection is made by Margaret Freestone and John Mitchell O’Toole in their article “The Impact of Childhood Reading on the Development of Environmental Values.” In their article they share anecdotal stories of people who work in environmental fields. From their interviews with approximately thirty people, they concluded that fiction had impacted the participants’ views of the environment. “The results of this study indicate that the participants’ pro-environmental attitudes were influenced by a variety of sources that appear to have been reinforced at an early age by anthropomorphic stories which encouraged them to empathise with other creatures” (513). This use of fiction’s ability to create empathy within readers is an important tool within fiction.It makes sense that fiction has a massive potential to increase empathy. Most know some variation of the saying, “If you want to understand someone, try walking a mile in their shoes.” Fiction allows people to do almost exactly that. “Books can take their readers into the interior lives of characters in ways that television and video can't. They can not only show what is happening to characters but also powerfully convey how what is happening feels” (Cart par. 12).Fiction is being used to many admirable purposes for children and young teens. In addition to instilling a love for the environment in children, authors are trying to combat bullying with stories about children who are bullied. By showing a realistic picture of the harms of bullying, it allows kids to learn a level of empathy they may not be able to gain from any other sources of media (Cart par. 1).
THE DANGER OF FICTION
At this point, it should come as no shock that fiction can have horrendous capabilities as well. With the way fiction is proven to impact readers, I can already hear you squirming where you’re seated, but this isn’t new information. It is something people have known for a long time but rarely acknowledge. The existence of scandalous fiction genres is one indication that people know they can participate in life-like experiences from fiction. Though I strongly disagree with explicit content in fiction for children and young teens, that is not the main danger I think we should address. The two I would like to address are overly graphic violence and misinformation.I propose that fiction has the potential to cause mental trauma. As mentioned earlier, a well-written piece of fiction causes the same mental areas of the brain to respond as the actual actions themselves. Creative and sensory descriptions of items can act the same way. This means that graphic depictions of violence and abuse have the potential to leave the same or similar mental trauma as an actual experience of trauma. This is only true for a description that is graphic. Just saying the word “stab” is very different from describing “the cool steel of the blade and a searing jolt of pain.” Even now as you read those, you can tell that they cause very different mental pictures and reactions. The first is a word you move by quickly, but the second is an experience that forces you to linger in the sensations and feeling of such an experience.As an adult attending Moody Bible Institute, I had to sit through a final where students read the fictional piece they had written. One student had graphically and with gratuitous detail written about an assassin torturing and murdering a fictional senator, his wife, and their baby. I thought I was going to throw up when he was done. These graphically written images are still burned into my mind. Thankfully, he wasn’t writing for children or teens, but the point still stands. If written graphically, I believe violence and abuse can cause mental trauma especially for children and young teens.On the other hand, one of the most concealed dangers of fiction is misinformation. We live in such a touchy age where people shout fake news like newspaper kids used to shout “Extra! Extra!” And yet, people don’t expect to be misinformed by a genre that openly claims to be false. Experts have even run experiments on the introduction of misinformation into fiction, and the tendency of people to use that information in general knowledge situations. Unfortunately, those tests didn’t prove to be very encouraging. “After reading misinformation, they answered fewer questions correctly and produced more target misinformation answers. Subjects were very aware that many of their answers had appeared in the stories. However, story reading also increased belief of prior knowledge” (Marsh 534). Even simply reading information in an openly fictional story can give people the idea that they already knew the information that they may have just learned.Yet there are certainly different levels of acceptance for misinformation. Some fictional stories about Yale and Princeton were given to students of Yale and Princeton. Those who went to the same institution as the story they were given, were less likely to accept misinformation in the story. However, those who read the story for the opposite school were more likely to accept the information as accurate although they had no way to substantiate it. “…Students were less likely to process systematically, and therefore more likely to believe, weak and unsupported assertions when they were embedded in an unfamiliar fictional context” (Prentice 539). The further the information presented in fiction is from your previous knowledge, the more difficult it will be for your brain to flag that information as incorrect.Another test was done where people read a fictional story with obvious misinformation. One character within the story asserted that mental illness is contagious. Most adults can tell you from life-experience and general knowledge that mental illness is not contagious, but when compared with those who did not read that story, it took the participants who read the misinformation a little over half a second longer to answer a question asking if mental illness was contagious. This may seem like a test showing that people are not affected by fiction, but the opposite is actually true. “Thus it appeared that the counterfactual context-free assertions retained some substance in memory. Although they did not replace what was already present, they were incorporated as competitive alternatives” (537). Even though the participants were strong enough to know that the information was false, it provided the hint of a doubt. Moreover, all this was from a single read. We don’t really know how many times someone would have to read misinformation to incorporate it into their knowledge.From these studies, it seems the way to inoculate a person against false information is to already have a suitable knowledge of the subject. This is fine for most adults, because they have had years of life experience to compare stories to, but what about for children and young teens? The lack of life experience is far more likely to lead to them unknowingly believing information from fiction that they have no way of knowing is false.What about fiction that doesn’t seem anything like real life? Some stories happen on spaceships or schools full of magic. What about those stories? That’s the problem. There is no fiction that doesn’t mimic some aspect of life. While the characters might move objects with their minds or learn a magical skill unknown in our world, they are also still learning to navigate relationships. They are understanding the balance of power and responsibility. They will make decisions that impact the lives of other characters for better or for worse. Every story has the potential to teach the reader something.
PERSONAL STORIES
Through the course of my study on belief, worldview, and identity, I talked with people to see if they remembered reading much fiction as children. A few of them did, and I got some anecdotal stories they were happy for me to share. Their names have been changed regardless to protect their privacy.Christy grew up homeschooled, and reading was a huge part of that curriculum. Their goal as kids was to read twenty-five books every year! Reading twenty-five books is a pretty lofty goal for a kid, but they could pick whatever books they wanted. This led Christy to pick a lot of short fictional books, but not just any books. She picked short romance books that were both “Christian” romance and normal romance books.I asked if she saw any effects of that reading on her life now, and she quickly affirmed that these romance books had made a huge impact on her life and her perception of the world. Christy sees now that these books filled an emotional void inside of her but in such an unhealthy way. She recognizes them as an emotionally manipulative and exploitative force in her life. She even graciously shared that romance fiction had changed her view of men and her expectation of romantic relationships. A steady intake of these books made her feel like there was pressure on most every guy and girl interaction to potentially become a romantic relationship. She can barely read romantic fiction at all anymore because of the damaging impact she can see in herself.
As I listened to her story, it was difficult to hear that fiction had hurt her emotional and relational health so much. But from the research I had already done, I also wasn’t surprised that this would be the outcome of reading that much romance fiction. Christy noted one more important thing. She didn’t have many healthy relationships with guys growing up that she could have combat the worldview she was being shown through fiction. I think this lack of healthy relationships in that area of her life also plays into the way that prior knowledge of a subject can help us reject misinformation from fiction. However, Christy’s lack of experience and knowledge in this area left her open to fiction filling the gap.I got a chance to talk with another friend named Sam. She also grew up homeschooled for most of her childhood. Reading played a large role in her education and entertainment. She talked of both the positive and negative effects of fiction on her life growing up. Sam read a lot of fiction and historical fiction.On the negative side, Sam realizes that fiction played a role in her hyper-individualistic mentality. All of the stories of the “chosen one” or the protagonist being the only one who is right in any given situation, effectively communicated that she was better on her own than with her community. From her other life-experiences and theological training, she sees now how unbiblical her view of individualism was that she gained through fiction. This very direct impact on Sam’s identity was never directly communicated through fiction. Rather, it was gained through the implicit assumption that all people need to do is pull themselves up by their bootstraps to be healthy, functioning adults.On the other hand, Sam was also educated through many historical fiction books. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who knows their cities, countries, and world history as well as she does. While I should note that she already has a very high capacity to remember facts and information, this ability was greatly heightened by historical fiction. She can still remember the intimate details of random parts of history because of the characters she had those experiences with through fiction.In every one of my other informal interviews, those who had read fiction confirmed other portions of my research into the effects of fiction on worldview, belief, and identity. They talked of increased imaginative capacity and an ability to empathize with others or understand grief from a much younger age than they otherwise would have been able to.
THEOLOGY
What does this mean for children and teen readers? Children are very impressionable. “The predominant age of influence for creation of values is childhood” (Freestone 506). Because of my research into fiction, I find myself agreeing with some parents who lean towards a stricter media diet for their children. Children and young teens need to be reading books, but they also need content that will build them up rather than confuse them or have the potential to cause trauma. While this may seem simple enough if children stick to genres meant for them or simply get suggestions from school libraries, it’s actually becoming more difficult. Authors continue pushing the amount of objectionable content in fiction for younger and younger readers, and schools are endorsing these books, despite parental objections (Manning par. 11).In some ways it seems that parents may not be able to protect their children from all poor choices in fiction, but there is a better way to inoculate children and teens from being swayed by fiction promoting ungodly identities: a firm identity in Christ. Up until this point, most of this information can lead to common-sense applications of good parenting, but a list of “don’t” is rarely the best way to guide someone. Even the ten commandments contain at least two commands that called Israel to something good rather than forbidding something evil. As for this aspect of my conclusions, I would point your attention to Colossians 2.6-10.Colossians 2.6-10 (ESV) “6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”In Col 2.6-7, Paul is commanding the Colossians to walk in Christ, be rooted in Christ, built up in Christ, and established in the faith. These are all familiar terms that immediately make me think of a person’s connection to a local church. These are all elements of the believer’s life in Christ that are encouraged by brothers and sisters in faith, no matter the believer’s age. If we jump to the other end of the passage and look at Col 2.9-10, we see the power Christ holds. Christ is fully human and fully God. But the verse continues that believers have been filled in Christ! This is a risen Lord and Savior believers can fully place their confidence in.It is between these two encouraging and confidence-inspiring sections that Paul commands the believers not to be taken captive by four things: philosophy, empty deceit, human tradition, and the elemental spirits of the world. Believers need to be careful in a world trying to shape their identities. However, I think the structure of the passage reveals something key to us. Paul begins by talking about Christ, warns against the believer being taken captive, and ends by talking about Christ. Now I don’t mean to be trite, but the passage makes a Christ sandwich which reveals something powerful. It is not in a believer’s own power that he or she avoids capture by these elements of the world, it is through Christ. Earlier I noted that prior knowledge on a topic can help readers flag false information they read in fiction. A robust foundation in Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life is the best “prior knowledge” a person can hold.In addition to this foundation, children can be taught to think critically about the concepts and ideas they are learning from fiction. “Through discussion of such choices, students may also better understand how they are being constructed as adolescents in the texts and how such constructions compare with their own attempts to form their identities” (Bean 639). While there should be some parental censorship of certain elements of fiction, we don’t have to pad children from everything in the world. Allowing them to read material that disagrees with or disregards truth and then teaching them to think critically about the messages they are receiving from those pieces of fiction is also a valuable tool they can use for the rest of their lives.
CONCLUSION
The identities of children and teens are built upon their beliefs and worldviews. They are inseparable. Fiction has a unique power to influence both of these in adults, teens, and children alike. Fiction creates real experiences for people, and like it or not, people expect fiction to be furnished with a certain amount of truth at its core. The experience created and the worldviews promoted should reflect truth, ideally in all fiction, but especially in fiction for children and teens. My hope is that Christian authors will write fiction that is flooded with truth that trickles through the pages.Those who are parents, guardians, and caregivers hold responsibility for training up children in the way they should go. They should recommend fiction that broadens the worlds of children and teens without causing potential trauma. Teachers should hand children books filled with adventure, danger, and turmoil that will build them up. They should also give them challenging books to train them on how to think critically.However, those of us who are Christian writers and authors are called to something more in our communication. If you write for children or teens, I want to invite you into a higher calling for the fiction we choose to write. I charge you acknowledge evil as evil, show realistic consequences of sin, promote sacrificial love, exemplify the blessing of healthy community, and portray a world where the protagonist is not his own god. I charge you to do more than simply check the boxes of the line before. Ultimately, I charge you to write theology into your stories.I recognize this is not an easy calling to fulfill. These elements of fiction have been done poorly and in ways that make the Church cringe. I understand the desire to distance yourself from poorly done Christian fiction, but that is more an issue of technique than an issue of something valuable to contribute. You don’t have to write “Christian fiction” but you should write fiction as the Christ-follower you are, recognizing that you hold truth that should be shared with the world, sometimes in small ways and other times in gigantic and obvious ways. Keep working on your technical skill. Keep digging into your theology. Keep investing in your local group of believers. If we do not tire of these, they will lead us into good and theologically rich fiction we can be proud to give children and teens for their growth, encouragement, and the deepening of their faith.In the interest of practicing what I preach, I am working on a Children’s book that highlights the life of Jesus and the importance of his Jewish heritage. Ideally this book would be placed in the genre of biblical fiction. Parts of this first and extremely rough draft are certainly cringe-worthy. It can be heavy-handed and a little jumpy, but that’s all part of the process of making good fiction. Not all Christian fiction will look like this book for young children, and rightfully so. But for the sake of encouragement to potentially start a creative work of your own, I hope you enjoy a first look at my storyboarding and rough draft of my book entitled Jesus is Jewish.Jesus is Jewish Rough Draft
Works Cited
Bean, Thomas W., and Karen Moni. “Developing Students’ Critical Literacy: Exploring Identity Construction in Young Adult Fiction.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 46, no. 8, 2003, p. 638-648.Cart, Michael. "Books on Violence and Bullying Can Help Teens Develop Empathy." Book Banning, edited by Thomas Riggs, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Originally published as "A Literature of Risk: Teens Dealing with Violence and Other Risky Behaviors Can Get Help from Young Adult Fiction," American Libraries, 15 Apr. 2010.Flanagan, John. Erak’s Ransom. Puffin Books, 2011.Freestone, Margaret, and John Mitchell O’Toole. “The Impact of Childhood Reading on the Development of Environmental Values.” Environmental Education Research, vol. 22, no. 4, May 2016, pp. 504–517.Manning, Erin. "Parents Must Protect Children from Offensive Material in Books." Book Banning, edited by Thomas Riggs, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010489222/OVIC?u=mbi11357 &sid=OVIC&xid=30d96b79. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020. Originally published as "It's Not Censorship, It's Parenting!" MercatorNet, 17 Nov. 2009.Marsh, Elizabeth J., et al. “Learning Facts from Fiction.” Journal of Memory & Language, vol.49, no. 4, Nov. 2003, p. 519-536.Paul, Annie Murphy. “Your Brain on Fiction.” The New York Times, 2012, p. 6.Prentice, Deborah A., and Richard J. Gerrig. “Exploring the Boundary between Fiction and Reality.” Dual-Process Theories in Social Psychology., edited by Shelly Chaiken and Yaacov Trope, The Guilford Press, 1999, pp. 529–546.