Fans of fictional texts engage with the texts of which they are fans in ways that are powerful and complex. What motivates fans to attend to their preferred texts, however, is as yet unclear. In a survey of U.S. adults, participants answered questions about their fan behaviors, the degree to which they identify as fans, and the motives that drive their attention to their preferred texts. Results indicate that fans are motivated by both hedonic and eudaimonic motives, and that stronger motives are associated with stronger fan identification. In addition, both types of motive are associated with engaging in fan behaviors characterized by involvement with the text. Eudaimonic motives are also associated with more fan community engagement, but hedonic motives are only associated with that involvement in concert with fan identification. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

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