ABSTRACT
In literary and cinematic fiction, the most important form of simulation concerns particular causal sequences, which is to say, narratives. Two primary components of simulation are persons and situations Literary simulation differs from personal fantasy in being directed at a readership. There are two key features of simulation, as opposed to inference. First, simulation is quasi-perceptual, such that there is overlap in neural activation between perceiving and imagining. Second, simulation has a motivational or emotional quality parallel to that of perception. One simulates narratives through an integration of particularizing elements with structure-defining processes. The structure-defining processes prominently include narrative genre for the broad trajectory of the story line, as well as scripts for more local developments. One of the most important structure-defining processes is the use of models, including metaphors. Models may involve affective, behavioral, perceptual, or conceptual processes and may operate at the level of instances or structures.
