@mastersthesis{bal2025literary,
  author = {Bal, Onur},
  title = {Literary Work Readership and Its Relationship with Mentalisation and Empathy},
  school = {Yeditepe University},
  year = {2025},
  type = {Master's thesis},
  url = {https://onurbal.com/en/academics/thesis/}
}

3.1. Participants

In order to determine the required sample size for this thesis, a priori power analysis was conducted using the open-source G*Power application (version 3.1.9.6) (Faul et al., 2007). An effect size of .15, alpha value of .05, a confidence interval of .95, and variable count of 10 were used as the inputs used for calculation. The effect size of .15 was decided on in light of Dodell-Feder and Tamir’s (2018) meta-analysis regarding readership and social cognition, which determined the relationship between the two variables to have an effect size between .15 and .16. The target sample size was calculated as 172. The total number of participants who completed the study was 284. Participants were excluded from analysis based on age and highest education level. The criteria for inclusion were:

1. must be between 18 and 30 (inclusive at both ends)

2. must either:

   1. hold at least a Bachelor’s degree, or

   2. hold at least a high school diploma and currently be enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree programme

After the inclusion criteria were applied, the final sample consisted of 258 participants. As all participants completed the survey in full, there are no missing data. Accordingly, all tables, figures, and analyses in this thesis are based on a sample size of 258.

*Table 1* Distribution of demographic variables

Variable	n	%
Sex
Male	50	19.4
Sex
Male	50	19.4
Female	208	80.6
Age
19	13	5.0
20	50	19.4
21	60	23.3
22	59	22.9
23	24	9.3
24	18	7.0
25	6	2.3
26	8	3.1
27	7	2.7
28	9	3.5
29	1	0.4
30	3	1.2
Marital status
Single	147	57.0
Partnered	104	40.3
Married	7	2.7
Monthly spending (TL)
0–15,000	102	39.5
15,001–30,000	88	34.1
30,001–45,000	35	13.6
45,001–60,000	15	5.8
60,001–75,000	4	1.6
75,001–90,000	9	3.5
Over 90,000	5	1.9
Highest education
High school degree	177	68.6
Associate degree	4	1.6
Bachelor’s degree	67	26.0
Master’s degree	9	3.5
PhD	1	0.4

Note. TL = Turkish lira.