A recent study showed that if the character is different in some major way from the reader, not surprisingly the reader identified less with the character if that difference was revealed early on, vs. being revealed after the story covered several aspects where the reader and the character were similar.
For the fiction author there is a practical implication--if you want your reader to identify with your protagonist, first emphasize the elements with which the reader probably can identify.nLater reveal the ones that are less likely to be shared .
Of course this doesn't apply across the board--otherwise Kafka would have been wise to let us identify with Gregor before he turns into a bug.
I suspect this applies just as much to revealing the negative side of a character. First impressions are hard to overcome, so lead with that only if you want the reader to think of that person as a villain. Otherwise reveal a good side first, then later villainies will seem less negative.
The Godfather film did this very well. Faced with getting the audience to be willing to spend time in the company of a man who does many bad things, they led with him doing some good things: hosting his beloved daughter's wedding and agreeing to help a man whose daughter was raped but was not able to get justice due to police and judicial corruption.
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