Abstract This article draws on concepts from cognitive psychology to explore the significance of the narrative climax, focusing on the final climax of the series The Americans as a case study. Two aspects of the aesthetic experience are considered: the special intensity that climaxes elicit, and the diversity of the cognitive content they generate, which can include both aesthetic and non-aesthetic properties. The climax is experienced in a state of absorption triggered by a set of strategies of temporal prolongation related to the main suspenseful moments and plotlines, to character engagement, and to the multiplot structure, involving the content of the narrative itself (narrative absorption) and the aesthetic qualities that define it (artifact absorption). The source of this absorption during the climax lies in the interplay between emotion and cognition in a temporal process that may last for a whole series. To demonstrate this idea, this study identifies key narrative comprehension processes, drawing on the explanatory potential of mental model theory to clarify the importance of memory and interrelated inferential processes. The aim of this research is to contribute to explanations of the role of the climax in serialized television and other artistic works.

中文翻译：

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当代电视剧叙事高潮的美学

摘要 本文借鉴认知心理学的概念，探讨叙事高潮的意义，重点以《美国人》系列的最后高潮为案例研究。审美体验的两个方面被考虑：高潮引发的特殊强度，以及它们产生的认知内容的多样性，其中可以包括审美和非审美属性。高潮是在一种全神贯注的状态下体验的，这是由一组与主要悬疑时刻和情节线、角色参与和多情节结构相关的时间延长策略引发的，涉及叙事本身的内容（叙事吸收）和定义它的美学品质（人工制品吸收）。高潮期间这种专注的根源在于情绪和认知在一个可能持续整个系列的时间过程中的相互作用。为了证明这一想法，本研究确定了关键的叙事理解过程，利用心理模型理论的解释潜力来阐明记忆和相互关联的推理过程的重要性。这项研究的目的是有助于解释高潮在连载电视和其他艺术作品中的作用。