Teenagers Tell Better Stories After Improvisational Theater Courses

Improvisational theater (improv) is a booming theatrical practice, applying in many fields (teaching, medicine or entrepreneurship). Its effects on cognitive and behavioral processes are beginning to be demonstrated, despite scientific publications that are still rare, particularly about language. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Frontiers in psychology Vol. 12; p. 638932
Main Authors:	Blonde, Manon, Mortelier, Frédérique, Bourdin, Béatrice, Hainselin, Mathieu
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland Frontiers Media 16-03-2021 Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects:	Cognitive Sciences Education Human health and pathology Humanities and Social Sciences improv language learning Life Sciences Neurons and Cognition Psychiatrics and mental health Psychology Psychology and behavior skills story skills language learning education improv story
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Summary:	Improvisational theater (improv) is a booming theatrical practice, applying in many fields (teaching, medicine or entrepreneurship). Its effects on cognitive and behavioral processes are beginning to be demonstrated, despite scientific publications that are still rare, particularly about language. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of improv on adolescent narrative skills. Twenty-seven middle school students were recruited and divided into two groups: an IMPRO group ( = 13), composed of novice and intermediate improvisers, and a CONTROL group ( = 14), composed of middle school students doing theater. The evaluation took place in two experimental times spaces 3 months apart (11 sessions). It consisted in the creation of a written narrative resulting from previously observed images. We used quantitative criteria to carry out the analysis of this story (coherence, cohesion, lexicon, and syntax), according to the methodologies of PELEA and EVALEO. We showed an effect of the improv on coherence, which suggests that the practice of improv introduces teenagers to improve the narrative skills and the planification of a story, unlike written theater.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 PMCID: PMC8008055 This article was submitted to Educational Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology Reviewed by: James Mourey, DePaul University, United States; Samuel Tanner, Penn State Altoona, United States Edited by: Pietro Spataro, Mercatorum University, Italy
ISSN:	1664-1078 1664-1078
DOI:	10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638932