Thrilling News: Factors Generating Suspense During News Exposure

Abstract

Hypotheses on emotional reactions to news were derived from Zillmann's (1996) model of affective responses to fictional drama. Participants in a Web-based field experiment in Germany read 2 news stories that were manipulated in a 2 × 2 design to vary affective disposition toward main characters, as well as the perceived likelihood of a negative outcome. Measures of suspense, reading appreciation, and lingering interest for continued coverage were collected. As hypothesized, a positive disposition toward protagonists and a perceived high likelihood of a negative outcome increased suspense while attending to news. A positive disposition also led to higher reading appreciation and more lingering interest.     

Soap Opera Exposure and Enjoyment: A Longitudinal Test of Disposition Theory

Drama's appeal is driven in part by dispositions toward story characters and the deservingness of fortunes that befall them. This article reports the results of longitudinal research testing disposition theory's ability to predict viewer responses to daytime soap opera. A student sample completed a survey asking them to evaluate characters over 10 successive weeks. Measures of character morality and positive/negative outcomes for behaviors were used to predict the results of both viewer enjoyment and official Nielsen ratings in representative independent surveys covering the same 10 weeks. Consistent with disposition theory logic, an a priori specified interaction of character morality and behavioral outcome valence—the Disposition Vector Model—predicted higher Nielsen ratings and increased viewer enjoyment when benefaction/debasement befell characters morally deserving of these outcomes. Although well supported in short-term studies, to our knowledge this is the first study to support disposition theory over extended exposure to soap operas and predicting results in independent data sources.     

Phasic Emotional Reactions to Video Game Events: A Psychophysiological Investigation

To investigate whether interactivity enhances entertainment in interdependence with individual factors, an experiment with a 3 × 2 between_subject design was conducted. 427 participants aged between 14 and 49 were randomly assigned to a 30_minute TV movie with three different interactivity levels and two different introductions that should diversify feelings of sympathy toward the protagonist. Dependent variables like empathy with the protagonist, suspense, and movie evaluation were measured after exposure, and some were measured during exposure. A number of personality scales were also presented at the beginning of each session. The results indicate that individuals with lesser cognitive capacity feel more entertained, that is, they feel more empathic toward the protagonist, feel more suspense, and evaluate the movie more positively when they watch it without any interactivity, in the traditional passive manner. For individuals with greater cognitive capacity, it is just the opposite: They can use interactivity to their advantage. An increase in their entertainment experience was observed as a direct consequence of their being able to influence the plot of the movie.     

When the physical coldness in the viewer's environment leads to identification with a suffering protagonist

Based on theories of narrative engagement and embodied cognition, we hypothesised that a fit between the psychological state of a protagonist and the physical sensation of the viewer would enhance the subsequent identification with the protagonist, but not para-social relationship with him (seeing the protagonist as a friend). We also hypothesised that identification and a para-social relationship would lead to distinct effects on attitudes related to the narrative. Participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to either a warmed or cooled room where they watched a movie clip alone in which a suffering protagonist wanted to undergo euthanasia while his close others wanted him to stay alive. Then, the participants answered a questionnaire measuring their identification and para-social relationship with the protagonist and their attitudes toward euthanasia. In accordance with the hypotheses, the results demonstrated that feeling cold enhanced identification with the suffering protagonist. However, the environmental temperature did not affect the development of para-social relationships. Moreover, identification with the suffering protagonist contributed to acceptance of his attitudes, reflected in more positive views of euthanasia. In contrast, having a para-social relationship with the protagonist resulted in negative attitudes toward euthanasia.     

The Effect of Suspense on Enjoyment Following a Desirable Outcome: The Mediating Role of Relief

Although endemic to many forms of media entertainment, suspense represents a paradox for enjoyment because it is experienced as an aversive state. Three studies are presented across two media contexts demonstrating how outcomes to suspenseful episodes affect viewers' relief. Study 1 shows that relief is elicited only when a film's outcome is unambiguously favorable and under such conditions is positively related to enjoyment. No such relationship was found given an ambiguous outcome. Study 1 provides evidence that relief is distinct from other affective responses (i.e., positive and negative affect, surprise) that may be present following suspense. Studies 2 and 3 use competitive contests as a context and provide evidence that relief mediates the effect of suspense on enjoyment. Study 2 shows that the previously positive effects of suspense and expectation disconfirmation on enjoyment are obviated in the presence of relief. Study 3 varies suspense in real time across 14 simulated races. Also manipulated are affective dispositions toward the racers and race outcome. The results reveal that relief mediates the effect of suspense on enjoyment, but only when the outcome favors a preferred competitor. The research enhances our understanding of the intertwining of cognition and affect in the enjoyment of suspense.     

Resistance to extinction of human evaluative conditioning using a between‐subjects design

Surprise has been described in various contexts as a neutral, a positive, or a negative emotion. Six experiments are reported in which surprise ratings of unexpected positive and negative outcomes, with identical prior probabilities, were compared. For unexpected occurrences of events that are beyond the control of the protagonist, successes were consistently perceived as more surprising than failures. For unexpected action controlled outcomes for which the protagonist was partly responsible, failures were rated as more surprising than successes. The findings are interpreted as being due to an implicit contrast between out-of-control situations and success, in the first case, and between goal-directed efforts and failure, in the second.     

The Effectiveness of Adaptation of the Protagonist in Narrative Impact: Similarity Influences Health Beliefs Through Self‐Referencing

This study tests whether the adaptation of a narrative's protagonist to be similar to readers increases narrative effects in the health domain. A between‐subjects (N = 220) experiment was conducted that varied the similarity of the protagonist to the participants. Results showed that participants who read the version with a similar protagonist perceived themselves to be more at risk of the disease with which the protagonist was diagnosed and felt more efficacy to deal with the symptoms of this disease, than participants who read the version with a dissimilar protagonist. These effects were mediated by self‐referencing, indicating that adaptation of a protagonist to be similar to readers makes readers relate the story to themselves, which in turn increases narrative impact.     

Toddlers’ social evaluations of agents who act on false beliefs

Mature social evaluations privilege agents’ intentions over the outcomes of their actions, but young children often privilege outcomes over intentions in verbal tasks probing their social evaluations. In three experiments (N = 118), we probed the development of intention-based social evaluation and mental state reasoning using nonverbal methods with 15-month-old toddlers. Toddlers viewed scenarios depicting a protagonist who sought to obtain one of two toys, each inside a different box, as two other agents observed. Then, the boxes’ contents were switched in the absence of the protagonist and either in the presence or the absence of the other agents. When the protagonist returned, one agent opened the box containing the protagonist's desired toy (a positive outcome), and the other opened the other box (a neutral outcome). When both agents had observed the toys move to their current locations, the toddlers preferred the agent who opened the box containing the desired toy. In contrast, when the agents had not seen the toys move and therefore should have expected the desired toy's location to be unchanged, the toddlers preferred the agent who opened the box that no longer contained the desired toy. Thus, the toddlers preferred the agent who intended to make the protagonist's desired toy accessible, even when its action, guided by a false belief concerning that toy's location, did not produce a positive outcome. Well before children connect beliefs to social behavior in verbal tasks, toddlers engage in intention-based evaluations of social agents with false beliefs.     

Are you looking at me? Mu suppression modulation by facial expression direction

Although we encounter numerous expressive faces on a daily basis, those that are not aimed at us will often be disregarded. Facial expressions aimed at our direction appear far more relevant and evoke an engaging affective experience, while the exact same expressions aimed away from us may not. While the importance of expression directionality is intuitive and commonplace, the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are largely unknown. In the current study we measured EEG mu rhythm suppression, an established measure of mirror neuron activity, while participants viewed short video clips of dynamic facial expressions. Critically, the videos portrayed facial emotions which turned towards or away from the viewer, thus manipulating their degree of social relevance. Mirroring activity increased as a function of social relevance such that expressions turning toward the viewer resulted in increased sensorimotor activation (i.e., stronger mu suppression) compared to identical expressions turning away from the viewer. Additional analyses confirmed that expressions turning toward the viewer were perceived as more relevant and engaging than expressions turning away from the viewer, a finding not explained by perceived intensity or recognition accuracy. Mirror sensorimotor mechanisms may play a key role in determining the relevance of perceived facial expressions.     

Determining the point of subjective ambiguity of ambiguous biological-motion figures with perspective cues

Orthographic frontal/back projections of biological-motion figures are bistable: The point-light figure in principle can be perceived either as facing toward the viewer or as facing away from the viewer. Some point-light actions—for example, walking—elicit a strong “facing bias”: Despite the absence of objective cues to depth, observers tend to interpret the figure as facing toward the viewer in most of the cases. In this article, we present and experimentally validate a technique that affords full experimental control of the perceived in-depth orientation of point-light figures. We demonstrate that by parametrically manipulating the amount of perspective information in the stimulus, it is possible to obtain any desired level of subjective ambiguity. Directions for future research, in which this technique can be fruitfully implemented, are suggested. Program code of a demo is provided that can be modified easily for program code of new experiments. The demo and QuickTime movie files illustrating our perspective manipulation technique may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/ content/supplemental.     

Love, Suspense, Sex, and Violence: Men’s and Women’s Film Predilections, Exposure to Sexually Violent Media, and their Relationship to Rape Myth Acceptance

This investigation addressed the relationship between men’s and women’s predilections for film with a love story, suspense, or sex and violence theme and how that predilection related to rape myth acceptance (RMA). Also examined was how men’s and women’s predilections, as they related to RMA, were moderated by exposure to different levels of sexually violent media based on a true story. Finally, the relationship between traditional attitudes and film predilection, as well as the relationship between film predilection and attitudes toward film editing, were investigated. Results indicate that men prefer film with sex and violence significantly more than women do, whereas women prefer love stories significantly more than men do. Those with sex and violence film predilections are more accepting of RMA than those with love story or suspense predilections. Women’s film predilections and their relationship to RMA attitudes are moderated to an extent by exposure to sexually violent media based on a true story, whereas men’s attitudes remain unaffected. Finally, those with sex and violence film predilections are less in favor of film editing than are those with suspense or love story predilections. Theoretical explanations for the findings are discussed and their implications.     

An intimate mode of looking: Francesca Woodman's photographs

This essay considers the intimacy between Francesca's Woodman's self representation and her exploration of the photographic medium. I argue that the small scale of Woodman's photographs, combined with their examination of the workings of photography via a picturing of the self, works to produce an intimate experience between viewer and photograph.     

Consumer responses to parodic ads

We analyze parodic ads, which are humorous commercial messages that parody extant advertising. The effects of three dimensions are examined: mockery, perceived truth and playful humor. Consequences are considered for attitudes toward the parodic ad, its sponsor brand, the parodied advertising (which the parodic ad mimics) and the parodied advertising's sponsor brand. Results of three studies indicate that parodic ads can produce positive as well as negative outcomes across these attitudinal variables. These results suggest caution in the use of parody as a messaging device.     

Liking the (Funny) Messenger: The Influence of News Parody Exposure,Mirth, and Predispositions on Media Trust

ABSTRACT

This article features a multi-study research effort (Study 1 N = 331; Study 2 N = 317) examining how predispositions toward a humor source and the perceived humor (i.e., mirth) of a related comedic message can, together, influence media trust-based expectations. Noting the revered status and cultural prominence of various news parody show hosts, this article proposes that feelings of favorability for a news parody humor source (for example, Jon Stewart or John Oliver) can translate into positive perceptions of the press upon exposure to news parody messages. Drawing from principles of the heuristic-systemic information processing model (HSM) and affective disposition theory, the study findings indicate that one’s affective disposition toward a news parody source can have an indirect effect on media trust, as mediated by a feeling of mirth. Upon conducting a test of moderated mediation, the effect is demonstrated to be conditioned by one’s news parody orientation. That is, affective disposition’s mediated effect is most pronounced among those who are least inclined to see news parody as a legitimate/appropriate source of news. Ultimately, this exploratory research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how news parody programming may influence perceptions of the news media as an institutional entity.     

The interplay between perceived busyness and power distance belief on subjective social status: Consequences for consumer preferences for material versus experiential purchases

The perception of a busy life as an indicator of self-worth varies among individuals. Postulating that this perceptual difference can be attributed to one's attitude toward social stratification, the current research examines the interplay between perceived busyness and power distance belief (PDB). We propose that perceived busyness dictates a consumer's subjective social status under low PDB but not under high PDB. Furthermore, the interaction between perceived busyness and PDB determines an individual's relative preference for purchase types: material versus experiential purchases. Study 1 verifies that consumers' perceived busyness has a positive effect on their evaluation of their social status when they have low PDB, whereas this effect disappears when they have high PDB. Study 2 tests the asymmetric effect of perceived busyness and PDB on preference for purchase types, and Study 3 further provides evidence for the mediating role of subjective social status.     

Domain-specific perfectionism in intercollegiate athletes: Relationships with perceived competence and perceived importance in sport and school

ObjectivesTo examine the domain-specific nature of perfectionism in sport and school, and to examine potential links between domain-specific perceived competence, perceived importance (task value), and perfectionism in sport and school.Design and MethodA total of 255 male and female varsity student-athletes from a successful intercollegiate sport program completed domain-specific (i.e., sport and school) versions of Hewitt and Flett's (1991) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HF-MPS). Participants also completed an inventory designed to assess perceived competence (PC) in sport versus school and perceived importance (PI) of success in sport versus school.ResultsExploratory factor analyses conducted on perfectionism data indicated that perfectionist orientations were organized around domain-specific as opposed to global perfectionist tendencies. Regression analyses indicated that PC was a significant predictor of domain-specific levels of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism (ps < .05), and PI was a significant predictor of domain-specific levels of self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented perfectionism (ps < .001). A repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that student-athletes had significantly higher levels of perfectionism in sport than school (ps < .0001) across all three HF-MPS subscales.ConclusionResults reinforce the value of measuring perfectionism as a domain-specific (rather than global) personality disposition, and identify the potential role that perceived competence and perceived importance may play in the development of domain-specific perfectionism.     

Eye direction aftereffect

Three experiments using computer-generated human figures showed that after a prolonged observation of eyes looking to the left (or right), eyes looking directly toward the viewer appeared directed to the right (or left). Observation of an arrow pointing left or right did not induce this aftereffect on the perceived eye direction. Happy faces produced the aftereffect more effectively than surprised faces, even though the image features of the eyes were identical for both the happy and the surprised faces. These results suggest that the eye direction aftereffect may reflect the adaptation of relatively higher-level mechanisms analyzing the others eye direction.     

Some Interpersonal Effects of Imposing Guilt Versus Eliciting Altruism

Two groups of participants observed a videotaped interpersonal conflict involving two friends. The two groups were distinguished by their observing the videotaped protagonist making a request by imposing guilt or eliciting altruism. Immediately after observing the conflict, ratings were obtained from the two groups on their evaluation of the protagonist and their probable response to the protagonist's request. The major results indicated that when altruism was elicited instead of guilt imposed, participants indicated that the protagonist was more likable and respected and that they would be more likely to comply with the protagonist's request and less likely to become overtly or covertly angry at the protagonist.     

On Vandervert et al. “Working Memory,Cerebellum, and Creativity”

Four measures of self-determination (SD) were correlated with two measures of trait creativity. In Study 1, subjects high on the Creative Personality Scale (Gough, 1979) and the Problem-Solving/Creativity scale (Marsh &; O'Neill, 1984) were found to strive for self-determined reasons, to strive toward greater SD, and to evidence higher SD in measures of both motivational orientation and self-concept. Study 2 replicated most of these findings and also showed that creative subjects perceived their parents to be more autonomy supportive. Results are interpreted in terms of a general disposition to be self-determining that may help attune creative people to deeper cognitive resources and capacities within themselves.