essay on negative effects of movies

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Impact of Films: Changes in Young People’s Attitudes after Watching a Movie

Nowadays films occupy a significant portion of the media products consumed by people. In Russia, cinema is being considered as a means of individual and social transformation, which makes a contribution to the formation of the Russian audience’s outlook, including their attitudes towards topical social issues. At the same time, the question of the effectiveness of films’ impact remains an open question in psychological science. According to the empirical orientation of our approach to the study of mass media influence, our goal was to obtain new data on the positive impact of films based on specific experimental research. The task was to identify changes in the attitudes of young people, as the most active viewers, towards topical social issues after watching a specifically selected film. Using a psychosemantic technique that included 25 scales designed to identify attitudes towards elderly people, respondents evaluated their various characteristics before and after watching the film. Using a number of characteristics related to the motivational, emotional and cognitive spheres, significant changes were revealed. At the same time, significant differences were found in assessments of the elderly between undergraduate students and postgraduate students. After watching the film, postgraduate students’ attitudes towards elderly people changed in a positive way, while undergraduate students’ negative assessments only worsened. The revealed opposite trends can be explained by individual differences of respondents, which include age, educational status as an indicator of individual psychological characteristics, the experience of interaction with elderly people and, as a result, attitudes towards elderly people at the time before watching the movie. The finding that previous attitudes mediate the impact of the film complements the ideas of the contribution of individual differences to media effects. Most of the changes detected immediately after watching the movie did not remain over time. A single movie viewing did not have a lasting effect on viewers’ attitudes, and it suggests the further task of identifying mechanisms of the sustainability of changes.

1. Introduction

With the development of information technology, a person’s immersion in the field of mass media is steadily increasing. A significant portion of consumed media products is occupied by cinema. According to sociological surveys, going to the cinema is the most popular way of spending leisure time in Russia today ( http://www.fond-kino.ru/news/kto-ty-rossijskij-kinozritel/ ); the audiences of cinemas are growing, the core of which are 18-24 years olds, as well as the frequency of visits—every tenth Russian goes to the cinema several times a month ( https://wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=1785 ; https://wciom.ru/fileadmin/file/reports_conferences/2018/2018-04-03_kino.pdf ; http://www.fond-kino.ru/news/portret-kinoauditorii-rezultaty-monitoringa-za-i-kvartal-2019-goda/ ), the opportunities and frequency of Internet viewings is expanding, while interest in TV shows is also increasing. The importance of the role that cinema plays in Russia is also confirmed by the close attention currently being paid to the development of the cinema industry: the priority topics of state financing are defined (e.g., “Law and order: the heroes of modern society in the fight against crime terror, extremism and corruption”, “On the continuity of military generations, on the successors of military traditions”, "Images, patterns of behavior and creative motivation of our contemporary—a man of labor, in the military or a scientist"), while state programs are being launched to open new cinema theatres in small towns. Сinema becomes a “tool for broadcasting state ideology to the masses” (according to S. Zizek [ 1 ]), and is also being considered as a “means of individual and social transformation” (according to T. Kashani [ 2 ]) [ 3 ]. As a result, films are expected to form beliefs, influence opinions and change attitudes, including towards topical social issues.

However, the question of the efficiency of films remains open in psychology. In general, this is a key issue for mass communication research: how much emotion, cognition and behavior are changed under the influence of mass media [ 4 , 5 ]. There are various concepts about this: from “theories of a minimal effect” to “theories of a strong effect” [ 6 ]. Thus, for example, cultivation theory considers that mass communication contributes to the assimilation of commonly accepted values, norms and forms of behavior [ 7 ]; and a meta-analysis of studies leads to the conclusion that there is a relationship between the broadcast mass media image of reality and people’s attitudes towards it [ 8 , 9 ]. Despite criticisms, cultivation theory is currently being developed [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. On the other hand, supporters of the opposite viewpoint point out the weak effects of mass communication, caused, for example, by the fact that people are becoming more and more subject of their mass media activity as a result of a wider variety of sources of information now and expanding their choices [ 14 , 15 ].

It seems difficult to identify a single mechanism of mass media impact on the human psyche and behavior and to obtain an unambiguous answer to the question about its efficiency [ 6 ]. This is due to the interconnection of various factors that mediate the influence of mass media (personal experience, realistic content, depth of identification with heroes, personality traits, etc.) [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], as well as those factors that constantly impact persons besides those in the media. Therefore, our thoughts and ideas about this issue are largely based on empirical research data, and are not limited to one theory [ 19 ].

When referring to research of cinema, we can find data on the diverse effects of film exposure. It should be noted that the effectiveness of the impact is determined by what it is directed at: it is more difficult to change human behavior than to influence opinions or attitudes [ 4 , 6 ]. In this regard, there is still a debatable problem on the influence of the media on the aggressive behavior of people [ 20 ]. This research focuses on the potential of pro-social, "humanistic" impact of films and their effectiveness in solving topical social issues. The studies reveal the influence of films on people’s beliefs and opinions, stereotypes and attitudes. Movies can have a significant impact on gender and ethnic stereotypes [ 21 , 22 ], change attitudes towards certain groups of people and cause newly formed opinions on various issues. For example, HIV films contributed to sympathy to people living with HIV [ 4 ], TV series with transgender characters contributed to positive attitudes towards transgender persons [ 23 ]; the portrayal of mental disorders in movies had an effect on people’s knowledge about and attitudes toward the mentally ill [ 24 , 25 ]. Also, viewing an empathy-arousing film about immigrants induced more positive attitudes toward them [ 26 ], and watching a movie offering a positive depiction of gay men reduced homophobia [ 27 ]. Other films influenced people’s attitude towards smoking and their intentions to quit [ 28 , 29 ], while a series with a positive donation message helped viewers to make decisions about their own donation [ 30 ]. It has been shown that emotional involvement in viewing, evaluated using surveys drawing on theories of social learning and social representations, increases the effectiveness of influence [ 30 ]; immersion in narrative, that correlates with the need for cognition, and is characterized by a shift of focus from the real world to the depicted one, explains the power of impact within the framework of transportation theory [ 31 , 32 ].

Cinema can change people’s opinions on specific issues without affecting more stable constructs: for example, the film “JFK” dedicated to the Kennedy assassination influenced judgments about the causes of this crime, but generally did not change the political beliefs of the audience [ 33 ]; at the same time, the movies “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty” changed viewers’ opinions about the U.S. government that reflected in an improvement in sentiments about this government and its institutions [ 34 ]. Movies create images of other countries and stimulate interest in them. For example, European films shaped young viewers’ ideas about other European countries—such results were obtained in a study of the role of films and series in the daily life of young Germans through interviews and focus groups [ 35 ]. Another study showed that whether the movies were violent, scary or happy, the more the viewers were immersed in the stories, the more favorable impressions they had of the places featured in them [ 36 ].

Various positive effects of films on children and adolescents were revealed. Dramatic films taught teenagers about social interaction with the opposite sex and adults [ 37 ], had a positive impact on their self-concept [ 38 ], and, as shown by experiments, increased ethnic tolerance [ 39 ]; humanistically oriented movies improved skills of children in communicating with peers, increased their desire to help and understand others [ 40 , 41 ].

One of the prime examples of positive impact is Cli-fi movies, which clearly show what we can expect in the near future, and offers ways to think about what can be done to avoid the darkest predictions. Thus, after watching the film “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004), viewers recognized their responsibility for the Earth’s ecology and the need to change consumer attitudes towards nature [ 42 ]. In general, the screening of films on climate issues increases the number of online requests and media discussions on these issues [ 43 ].

It should be noted that when analyzing the impact of films, conclusions about their effectiveness are the result of different methodological approaches, which have varying advantages and limitations. Content analysis reveals the images, attitudes, stereotypes broadcast by films (e.g., stereotypical portrayals of India [ 44 ], or images of scientists and current scientific ideas [ 45 ]) on large data sets; however, questions remain about effectiveness, strength and sustainability of the impact on the audience. The influence of films can be investigated through a survey of viewers; based on this, conclusions are drawn about the links between a person’s attitudes and his/her viewer experience, such as in the study of gender attitudes and their correlations with teen movie-viewing habits [ 21 ]. In experimental studies, exposure effects are detected using pre- and post-film questionnaires; however, the time interval between testing and a film screening, such as a few weeks before viewing the film or a several days after [ 26 , 27 , 29 ], can lead to distortion of the results that are caused by the influence on the viewers’ attitudes of other factors besides the film; moreover, usually it is not investigated whether new attitudes are retained over time. Often the effects of films are analyzed in experimental conditions where participants watch only short cut scenes from existing films [ 24 ], which limits the extrapolation of the results.

According to the empirical orientation of our approach, the goal was to obtain new data on the positive impact of films based on a specific experimental study. The task was to identify changes in young people’s attitudes towards topical social issues after watching a specifically selected film. Participants had to watch the full version of an existing fiction film. They were tested just before and immediately after watching the movie in order to avoid the influence of other variables on viewers’ attitudes. Repeated testing (two weeks after the first viewing) was intended to reveal the sustainability of the changes caused by the film.

In the process of developing the design of the work, it was specified what attitudes would be studied. The choice was determined, first of all, by the social relevance of the topic, but outside the focus of the media in order to reduce the impact of other media sources, and on the other hand, by the availability of a suitable film. Important topics as ethnic stereotypes, attitudes toward people with disabilities, etc. were considered. However, the choice of the topics had to be restricted for various reasons. For example, identifying attitudes toward certain professions (e.g., engineer), whose prestige has significantly declined in Russia in recent decades, was difficult due to the lack of relevant films popularizing them. At the same time, despite the availability of humanistically oriented films dedicated to people with disabilities, the identification of changes in attitudes to them was complicated by the need to take into account additional factors caused by increased attention to the topic and active discussion in various media, which could distort the influence of a film.

Given the limitations and opportunities for the implementation of research tasks, the subject of this study the attitudes towards elderly people. At present, attention to the topic concerning elderly people is growing in Russia, but there is still a prevalence of negative stereotypes [ 46 ]. A characteristic manifestation of age discrimination against the elderly—ageism—is a biased attitude towards them, especially among young people, as well as a low assessment of their intellectual abilities, activity and "usefulness" for society.

Studies show that the mass media have a significant impact on negative attitudes towards the elderly [ 47 ]: children have already demonstrated the same stereotypes of the elderly that were depicted in the media [ 48 ], while young people at large viewed the elderly in general as ineffective, dependent, lonely, poor, angry and disabled, which corresponded to the negative representations of elderly people in the most popular teen movies that cultivated their stereotypes [ 49 ]. Research of TV films from the 1980s–1990s revealed the stereotypes of elderly people as being social outsiders [ 50 ], but at the same time a display of positive prejudice contributed to an increase in tolerance towards them within society.

Improving the attitudes of young people towards elderly people is an important social and educational task, the solution of which involves the use of diverse opportunities. Various social projects can be implemented for this purpose, for example, "friendly visitor" types of programs in which young people visit the elderly [ 51 , 52 ], but also mass media, including films, which have a high potential for impact [ 53 , 54 ]. It was found that watching documentary films had a positive effect on both knowledge about aging and attitudes towards the elderly [ 55 ]; these films significantly improved empathy towards elderly people among university students [ 56 ].

We suggested that fiction movies, popular especially among young people, could contribute to changing existing biased attitudes towards elderly people. Based on this, the hypothesis states that there is a connection between watching a positive film about the elderly and changes in young people’s attitudes towards them in a positive way.

2.1. Participants

A total of 70 individuals participated in this study. Group one contained 40 students of The State Academic University for Humanities (25% male and 75% female). The average age was 19 (M = 19, standard deviation SD = 2.4). Group two consisted of 30 postgraduate students from Russian Academy of Sciences (47% male and 53 % female). The average age was 24 (M = 24, standard deviation SD = 1.6).

All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethics committee (Review Board).

2.2. Materials

2.2.1. film.

The film—“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (2011), the main characters of which were elderly people, was chosen to be shown to the respondents ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1412386/ ). Prior to this, a qualitative analysis of empirical material revealed the impact of this film on the attitudes towards elderly people among Russian viewers of different ages. Their reviews on the film, taken from Internet resources devoted to cinema, indicated cognitive effects, expressed in positive changes of ideas about the elderly; the film was perceived quite optimistically and gave hope [ 19 ]. It was supposed that the movie that humorously shows various situations happening to the elderly heroes would also affect the opinion of young people about elderly people, as it allowed to look at them from new viewpoints, to see that age is not an obstacle to having a full life, and even, conversely, open up new prospects.

2.2.2. Measures

To achieve the goal of the study, a psychosemantic approach is used, which is the most appropriate for studying a person’s attitudes towards various objects of reality by reconstructing individual meanings [ 57 ]. This approach allows us to determine the differences in evaluations of the same object (caused by mass media as well), made by different groups of respondents at different times. For example, changes in the stereotypes of viewers were revealed in relation to representatives of another nation (Russians about the Japanese) during viewing of a TV show [ 57 ]. In this work, the psychosemantic technique was used, developed specifically to identify attitudes towards the elderly (based on the Kelly’s Repertoire lattice method) [ 46 ]. The technique included 25 7-point scales, according to which respondents rated elderly people. For comparative analysis, the modern youth were evaluated by participants with the same scales.

The respondents also noted the frequency of watching movies ("every day"/"several times a week"/"several times a month"/"several times a year and less"), and evaluated the level of enjoying the film shown ("did not like"/"rather did not like than liked"/"rather liked than disliked"/"liked").

2.3. Procedure

The study was conducted in three stages: the respondents filled out the psychosemantic test before watching the film, then immediately after viewing and again in 2 weeks. During stage 3, only group one participated in the study.

The respondents did not see the film before participating in the study.

2.4. Statistical Methods

In accordance with the data characteristics, non-parametric comparative methods were used. To determine the differences in the assessments before and after watching the movie, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. To determine the differences in the assessments between different groups of respondents, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. The IBM SPSS Statistics 20 statistical software package was used for data processing.

3. Results and Discussion

As a result of the preliminary data analysis of the group one (students), significant differences were obtained in the assessments given by them to the elderly before and immediately after watching the movie (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.05). However, the analysis of the combined sample (students and postgraduate students) did not reveal such significant differences. Therefore, it was decided to compare the assessments of these two groups of respondents. It appeared that the evaluation of elderly people differed among students and postgraduate students before the film was shown (18 of 25 scales, Mann—Whitney test, p < 0.05). This result could be explained by the individual differences of the participants (students and postgraduates), which led to the necessity to correct the hypothesis and form additional research tasks, including the comparison of groups. Further analysis was carried out separately for each group of respondents, but not for the united group.

Significant differences shown by respondents of the group one before and immediately after watching the film (students) were found in 12 out of the 25 scales ( Table 1 ).

Changes in assessments of the elderly people after watching the film (students).

Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Only the significant differences are represented: b—based on negative ranks, c—based on positive ranks. * inversive scales: a higher rating means a more negative attitude

The group of students revealed changes associated with ideas about activities. The respondents saw the elderly as having less initiative, and being purposeless and weak. Moreover, they defined elderly people’s way of life as more passive, having no desire for knowledge or for living a full life. The results immediately after watching the film demonstrated that the audience perceived the elderly as being those who strived less to learn new things and perceived them to be less positive and more limited in their interests. Also, the changes of assessments related to the emotional sphere were discovered. The elderly were characterized as even more unrestrained and conflict-prone with a tendency towards depression and showing no emotions.

Comparative analysis of assessments of elderly people before and after watching the film, given by respondents of the group two (postgraduate students), showed significant differences on 14 of the 25 scales ( Table 2 ). Postgraduate students evaluated the elderly, unlike students, more positively after watching the film. Changes on 9 common scales (purposeless - purposeful, cheerful - prone to depression, passive - initiative, conflict - peaceful, traditional - modern, etc.) for students and postgraduate students turned out to be of different directions. After watching the film, the elderly seemed to be more purposeful, active and successful, responsible and with a good sense of humor. There were changes in assessments of the emotional sphere (more cheerful, peaceful) and cognitive (more intelligent) in references to novelty and life in general (the strive to learn new things, the desire for a full life).

Changes in assessments of elderly people after watching the film (postgraduates).

Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The significant differences are only represented: b—based on positive ranks, c—based on negative ranks. * inversive scales: higher rating means more negative attitude.

Thus, the data revealed changes in attitude towards the elderly people after watching the film. According to a number of their characteristics related to motivational aspects—regulatory, emotional and cognitive spheres—significant changes were revealed, but the tendency of these changes was unexpected. After group one (students) watched the film, a tendency of worsening assessments was found. It was also determined that before the film, students described the elderly more negatively as being less intelligent and interesting, more conflict prone, angry and aggressive than young people (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.01). This generally negative attitude can be explained by a special view of quite young people on the "old age". But why, despite the attempt of the filmmakers to make the image of the elderly positive enough, did the film fail to change students’ attitude? Instead, it made the image of elderly persons even less attractive. Meanwhile, there was an opposite trend in group two (postgraduate students). Their assessments of elderly people after watching the film changed for the better. The postgraduate students, unlike undergraduate students, had already demonstrated a more "adequate" view on the elderly before watching the film. Despite a number of negative assessments, the elderly were seen by them as smart and striving for a full life, sociable and interesting.

Comparison of the two groups of respondents confirmed significant differences between students and postgraduate students in the evaluation of the elderly after watching the film ( Table 3 ). The assessments given by undergraduate students and postgraduates differed significantly on 21 out of 25 scales.

Comparison of groups of undergraduate students and postgraduates by assessments after watching the film.

Mann-Whitney U test. The significant differences are only represented.

The opposite tendencies found in assessments after watching the film could be explained by differences in individual characteristics of respondents, which were not initially considered in our study as factors mediating the impact of the film: age of respondents (more subtle differentiation), educational status, as an indicator of individual psychological characteristics and experiences of interactions with elderly people. The suggestion of differences between students and postgraduates by personality is consistent with the results of other studies [ 58 ], and is indirectly confirmed by the fact that only about 1 out of 40 students become postgraduate students (data for Russia). In our study, differences between students and postgraduate students already manifested in differences in their attitudes towards the elderly before watching the film.

Then the film, which showed some negative aspects of life for elderly people (loneliness, needlessness, diseases, fears, physical limitations “comic” behavior), despite the optimistic ending, could strengthen the negative attitudes of very young people (students) towards the elderly, whose images might not yet be fully formed. On the other hand, postgraduate students might have a more complex view on elderly people, because of age and more diverse interactions with the elderly, for example, in scientific work. In this case, their perceptions of the film could be focused on its positive ideas, strengthening their previously formed positive image of an elderly person. In addition, postgraduate students, who have chosen the scientific career path, most likely have a high level of analytical skills that contributed to more complex perceptions of the world and a deep assessment of the phenomena that could affect their attitudes towards the older generation and the interpretation of their images in the movies. At the same time, the characteristics of the film itself, as well as the cultural differences between its creators and viewers, might cause additional negative impacts on students’ perceptions. Comedy, as a genre, could have an opposite effect. Younger people perceived the desire of older characters to give their lives new meanings in their own way and they saw a futility in these attempts. Respondents with more experience could be more tolerant to the specifics of the genre, and their perception of the film was more complicated and implemented in a broader context.

Thus, comparison of the results of the analysis for both groups of respondents suggests that the different changes in viewers’ attitudes towards objects of reality that occur after watching a movie can be explained by differences in the attitudes before watching the film. This effect can also be explained by the degree of identification with the characters [ 31 , 59 , 60 ], which is influenced by the previous attitudes of the viewers. For example, a study of the impact of films on attitudes towards migrants showed that greater identification with the characters induced more positive attitudes toward immigration, but only when previous prejudice was low or moderate [ 26 ]. In this regard, the various effects of the film on students and postgraduate students could be caused by the different degrees of their identification with the characters of the film, despite the fact that a large difference in age with the characters could complicate this process for all participants in the study. The conclusion that previous attitudes mediate the impact of the film complements the ideas of the contribution of individual differences to media effects [ 61 ]. In addition, this conclusion has practical value: in order to achieve the desired impact of films, it is necessary to identify the viewers’ individual attitudes before a screening.

At the third stage of the study, it was examined whether changes remained over time. Two weeks after watching the movie, respondents (group one) re-took the test.

Significant differences were found only on 4 scales (strives to a full life - lost the meaning of life, craving for spirituality - limited interests, quickly tired – high in stamina, traditional - modern) ( Table 4 ). The continuing changes in the characteristics related to the inferiority and limitations of elderly people’s lives may indicate the most striking and memorable moments in the film that had the greatest impact on viewers. The assessments of the other characteristics did not differ significantly from those that were identified before watching the film. That leads to the conclusion that a single movie viewing, in general, did not have a lasting effect on the viewers’ attitudes toward the elderly. Most of the changes discovered immediately after watching the movie did not remain over time. Studying the mechanisms of the formation of sustainable changes is a task for future research. One of the directions of such research could be to investigate the influence of additional cognitive processing (e.g., discussion after watching the movie) on the viewers’ attitudes towards objects and the sustainability of changes over time.

Changes in assessments of the elderly people 2 weeks after watching the film (students).

Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Only the significant differences are represented: b—based on negative ranks, c—based on positive ranks. * inversive scales: a higher rating means a more negative attitude.

The correlation between the gender of the respondents and changes in attitudes after watching the film was determined by comparing the assessments separately for males and females in each group. As a result, in group one, women were found to have significant differences in ratings on 13 scales, and men in three, two of which were common (no desire to learn anything - the desire to learn new skills, traditional - modern, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.05). The data showed greater changes in the attitudes among women than among men after watching the film. At the same time, a comparison of the male and female participants in the group two did not reveal such results. The analysis found an equal number of significant differences in assessments (on 10 scales) before and after watching the film (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.05). Thus, it can be assumed that gender had a lower impact on changes in attitudes after watching a film than other individual characteristics of respondents.

The data on the frequency of watching movies was obtained: 56% of respondents watch movies several times a week and more often, 44%—several times a month and less often. However, there were no differences between these viewers in the assessments before and after watching the film (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.05). The degree of general interest in cinema did not affect the change of viewers’ attitudes after watching the film.

It was not possible to determine the connection between liking the film and the changes in attitudes, since the differentiation of respondents by this factor was not found. Only six young people noted they did not like the film, while the others gave it a positive evaluation.

The study has limitations caused due to an assumption of no significant differences between students and postgraduates in the effectiveness of the film’s impact on them. The revealed differences between undergraduate students and postgraduate students led to the initial sample of young people being divided into two samples with smaller sizes already used during the research. In addition, for the same reason, some variables that could more accurately demonstrate the differences between students and postgraduate students and explain the effects of the film were not considered. The respondents’ attitudes before watching the film were taken into account, as well as additional factors on the impact effectiveness, such as the degree of general interest in cinema and liking of the viewed film, which could presumably increase its impacts. But a deeper study, for example, of the processes of identifying viewers with the film characters, probably linked to the viewers’ attitudes before watching, could reinforce these findings.

4. Conclusions

As a result of the study, changes in the viewers’ attitudes after watching the film were identified. Young people changed their assessments of regulatory, cognitive and emotional characteristics of the elderly people after watching a film about the elderly. At the same time, significant differences were found between students and postgraduate students in their assessments of the elderly. After watching the film, students’ negative attitudes towards elderly people got worse, while postgraduate students’ assessments, on the contrary, changed for the better. The revealed opposite trends can be explained by individual differences between the respondents, which include age, educational status as an indicator of individual psychological characteristics, experience of interaction with elderly people and, as a result, attitudes towards elderly people at the time before watching the film. Most of the changes in the viewers’ attitudes detected immediately after watching the movie did not remain over time.

In general, the study confirms the potential for a positive impact, as in the case of improving the postgraduates’ attitudes, but at the same time demonstrates the need to take into account the individual differences of viewers to achieve desired results. In particular, differences in attitudes before watching a movie are probably causes of differences in the effectiveness of the film’s impact. The initially negative attitude towards elderly people among students could contribute to the negative influence of the film on them. The obtained results form the basis of further research and pose the important questions: clarifying the contribution of individual differences to the effectiveness of the impact, forecasting the positive influence of movies on different groups of people and determining the mechanisms of the sustainability of changes.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the engagement and involvement of the research participants.

The research was carried out within a state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project №0159-2019-0005.

Conflicts of Interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Watching violence on screens makes children more emotionally distressed

Researcher at Concordia's PERFORM center and Assistant Professor of Psychology, Université Sainte-Anne

Disclosure statement

Caroline Fitzpatrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Children today can access media through both traditional devices, like televisions, and portable devices like laptops and tablets.

With more access, children are more likely to be exposed to violent content – like real-life or cartoons where force is being used and harm is being done to a person or character. Studies show that 37% of media aimed at children have scenes of physical or verbal violence. What’s more, 90% of movies, 68% of video games, 60% of TV shows, and 15% of music videos have some form of violence. In some cases, it’s rising – the amount of violence in mainstream movies has been growing steadily over the past 50 years.

Evidence shows that this can be detrimental to young children. Around the ages of three and four children begin to develop perceptions and expectations about the world around them. These views are strongly influenced by their daily experiences. If children are often exposed to scenes of violence, they may develop a view of the world as a more dangerous place than it actually is.

To investigate this further, and predict the types of mental health outcomes this has, my colleagues and I examined the potential long-term risks associated with exposure to violent media on children’s development. We found that those exposed to violence become more antisocial and emotionally distressed.

Exposed to violence

Through parent reports, we measured children’s exposure to violent movies and programmes in 1,800 preschool aged children between the ages of three and four. Four years later, second grade teachers rated the same childrens’ classroom behaviour using a social behaviour questionnaire – which covers behaviour such as physical aggression, inattentiveness and emotional distress over the course of the school year. Teachers were unaware of which children had been exposed to violent media.

To rule out the impact of the home environment on the development of these behaviours, we controlled for the contribution of early childhood aggression, parenting quality, maternal education, parent antisocial behaviour and family structure.

According to our results, teachers rated exposed children as more antisocial. Antisocial behaviours include; a lack of remorse, lying, insensitivity to the emotions of others, and manipulating others.

Our results also reveal significant associations between exposure to violent media and classroom attention problems. Furthermore, exposed children were reported to show more signs of emotional distress; in terms of sadness and a lack of enthusiasm.

The results were similar for boys and girls.

Child development

The content of media to which young children are exposed is closely related to child outcomes.

Age-appropriate programmes – like sesame street for kindergarteners– which aim to help children understand words or ideas, are known to help them develop language and mental skills.

New technology can be useful too. Video chat technologies – like Skype or Facetime – which give children an interactive, two-way live exchange with adults facilitate language learning.

On the other hand, violent films and video games often feature attractive protagonists that engage in a disproportionate number of aggressive actions. Children exposed to this type of content can develop a deformed perception of violence and its actual frequency in real life.

Eventually, this can give rise to the impression that the world is an overly dangerous place filled with ill-intentioned people. People that have such a worldview are more likely to interpret an ambiguous or accidental gesture as hostile or as a personal attack.

There are steps that parents can take. By modelling, positive non-violent behaviour – like using respectful communication to solve problems rather than aggression – and having conversations about the violent images their children are exposed to, parents can reduce the negative effects of violent media on their child’s development.

Parents should also keep bedrooms free from screens, closely monitoring children’s media usage, and shutting off the internet at night.

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How Do Movies Affect Society?

By PoutyBoy in Unreserved Thoughts January 15, 2017

Cinema can be very powerful.

Throughout history, many leaders have used the power of film to help achieve their goals. During WWII, for example, both Hitler and Stalin used movies as propaganda and did so very successfully. Cinema can easily change people’s opinions and their outlooks on life. Good films almost always impact the viewer; just how much varies by movie and person. Individually, people are bound to get affected by movies given that a main goal the cinematic art form has is exactly to impact and send a message. There are also numerous ways in which movies affect society and the modern world we live in: some of them negative, some of them positive. Since the cinema industry is so big and because films have become such a big part of our lives, the overall impact and influence that cinema has on our society is immense.

One of the ways in which films affect society is by expanding our knowledge of history and culture.

Some movies are like history lessons to the viewers, since they show real life past events. An example of this is the Academy Award winner for best picture in 2001 “Gladiator”. Winner of five Oscars and the nominee for seven more, “Gladiator” is a very well-made production and as close to perfect as few other get. Even though most of the plot in “Gladiator” is fictional, for example the love story and the revenge tale, the film does depict real life past situations. It shows life of gladiators, the political situation of Rome at the time, and the overall state at which the world was. People who have seen “Gladiator” surely gained some knowledge from the film and expanded their current understanding of Roman culture.

Films also describe and explore different cultures around the world. A perfect example of this is the four Oscar nominee “City of God” which takes place in the underground world of Rio de Janeiro. The film surely impacts the viewer since it shows certain situations and truths about life in Rio de Janeiro that most people don’t know.

Another huge, and often rather ignored, way that movies affect society is through advertisement of different products.

Often, companies will pay studios to include their products in movies; when so many people watch the production, surely some of them will want to buy the can of Coca-Cola that their favorite character was drinking all throughout. A recent example of this that comes to mind is in the movie “Nerve” starring Dave Franco and Emma Roberts. It’s fairly obvious the film is a huge advertisement for Apple. Millions of people went to see that movie; some of them probably had the desire to buy the new Apple product because they saw how well it was working in the hands of the characters. Unlike ‘Nerve’, however, some productions have found ways to advertise products without shoving them in people’s faces. Research has shown that people want to mimic their idols, so productions will often cast famous actors for the sole purpose of advertisement. If someone’s favorite actor was Johnny Depp, for example, they would subconsciously try to mimic him. If Johnny Depp took only one sip from a Coca-Cola can, fans would subconsciously want to buy a Coca-Cola can to be like their favorite actor, even though it’s a role they are playing and even though it was, after all, just one sip.

People try to mimic things they’ve seen in cinema constantly and in numerous different ways. For example, violence in films can be very influential to many young viewers. People may subconsciously try to be like a character they see in a film they very much like, even if that character has wicked intentions. In 2012 in Aurora, Colorado James Holmes killed twelve people and injured seventy others during the midnight projection of “The Dark Knight Rises”. James Holmes was a long time superhero fan and especially liked Batman. Psychologists still aren’t sure what exactly provoked him to do the shooting, but one of the theories is that he was enraged by the making of “The Dark Knight Rises” as it defiles his favorite comic book. Another well-known theory is that he was inspired to be like the Joker, the villain of the prequel “The Dark Knight”, who wanted to spread chaos and terror through violence. The Joker does not think of ordinary people as real people and James Holmes has said exactly that ‘these were not real people’. Although this is a very exaggerated example, it’s a fact that the violence teenagers all around the world watch in movies makes them want to cause violence. For example, in 1971, the same year the classic “A Clockwork Orrange” came out, the crime rate in America rose. It’s speculated that some people were influenced by the psychopaths in “A Clockwork Orange” and the awful things they were doing and that affected them in a way that they no longer suppressed their desire to do criminal activity.

But it’s not only through violence that people strive to mimic their favorite character and actors. Watching movies that include young people smoking often makes, surprise, surprise, young people want to smoke. Most big movie studios have a tobacco policy in force, which states that PG-13 rated movies must not include smoking or any other use of tobacco in them. That is because the use of tobacco in films affects the teens watching them in a way that they think it’s okay to smoke, since the characters they are seeing smoke. However, almost half of all PG-13 film produced by big movie studios do include tobacco use in them and the studios are obligated to pay a fine when that happens.

But there are some positive effects to this mimicking. People are inspired to be like characters they love and that motivates them to work on themselves. When we see someone we really like on screen, we always subconsciously try to be more like them.

Another way in which movies affect our modern world is that they help the economy grow and prosper.

Take, for example, action figures. For every big blockbuster, action figures are created and distributed. Fans buy them for aesthetic and collectible value. Action figures don’t have any real application or impact on people’s lives, they are just for fun. It doesn’t cost a lot for an action figure to be made, they are mostly all made by either plastic, rubber, or both. But since they have such a high collectible value, fans buy them at ridiculously high prices. That way, people bring money into the country, into companies, and into private manufacturers. And it’s not only action figures, it’s any form of merchandise. Furthermore, the money the theater makes from selling snacks before every screening is 85% of that theater’s total profit. Some of that money goes to the country in the form of taxes. Another example of this is simply the tickets sold for projections. Although most of the money goes directly to the studio that has produced the movie, some of it goes to the country. And it’s not only direct influence to the country’s economy that films have; the industry itself is of huge significance. A lot of people find jobs in the film industry, especially in the US. About 0.1 percent of all people in the USA work in the film industry. Although that may seem like a low percentage, it’s actually higher than that of a lot of other fields. So, because of big productions, it’s not only that money goes to the country and thus the economy is developed, but private manufacturers and companies prosper and there are more workers in the field.

Films can also both improve and ruin the health of individuals. Studies show that adrenaline junkies love going to horror films since being scared gives them real pleasure. However, most of them don’t know that being scared while watching a horror movie increases your heart rate and blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack and even death. For example, a woman died in the theater from heart attack while watching “The Passion of Christ”. And yes, this is a very specific example, but the principle applies on a smaller scale, too. But of course, films can also give benefits to your health. Comedies help lower your blood pressure and can make your blood vessels dilate. There have been studies that show that 15 minutes of intense laughing while watching a movie have the same effect on the cardiovascular system as exercising.

Perhaps the most influential ways in which films affect society is through giving individual people the opportunity to fantasize and inspiring them about who they want to be.

Although this might sound great, there are, as always, some negative sides to it. Take, for example, the five Oscar nominee “The Wolf of Wall Street”. In it, we have the character of Jordan Belfort: a sinister, self-centered, arrogant, and egoistic millionaire. The movie is based on a real story and explores the life of this Wall Street broker. Throughout the movie, there are numerous scenes where we see Jordan spending his money on ridiculous things, doing whatever he wants because he has money, behaving immorally, and actually enjoying his life. By seeing his extravagant lifestyle, viewers may want to be like him.

However, in that particular movie, the character feels absolutely no remorse when it comes to his actions. Jordan feels amazing while spending his money and unlike most other films about greed, there is no lesson to learn from “Wolf of Wall Street”. In the end of the movie, Jordan does go to prison, but he states that he feels at peace there. He doesn’t learn from his mistakes that much and the movie isn’t apologetic about his greed. Someone watching that will see how great it is to be rich and arrogant and might subconsciously think that there are absolutely no downsides to that and may strive towards it.

However, the positives on this one do probably outweigh the negative. Films inspire people to get in the industry and create dreams. Most actors, directors, cinematographers, etc. probably saw some film as children and were thus inspired to create something themselves. This is a very important aspect of how films affect society: they inspire. They inspire individuals to work towards their dreams and inspire them to get into the industry. Not only that, good movies teach valuable lessons. The aim of that is to affect the viewer and to send a message, and so many individuals change their ideals and beliefs because of what they see in films.

Movies are just so damn powerful.

Even though it’s called ‘the seventh art’, cinema is surely the most influential art form. Most people don’t follow sculpture or architecture and don’t get affected by new sculptures or buildings. Movies, however, are everywhere. So many people see movies every day and the film industry is so big and influential. However, movies can affect society in both positive and negative ways. They can help the economy grow, inspire individuals, and expand our basic knowledge of the world around us. Movies can also create violence and bad habits, can make people greedier, and can send a bad message to the public. The effects that films have on society are numerous and two-fold. And as movies are such an impactful art form, big movie studios must be very careful in what they include in their productions, since even the smallest things can affect the viewer. Individuals must be careful about what they take from movies, since even the smallest thing can push them to do something bad or to become someone different. It’s fairly clear that movies affect society very much. Not only that, they shape the modern world we live in and help individuals develop. In the big picture, it might be too early to say in what way. All people can currently do is think critically and not allow films to entirely change who they are.

Some recommended literature, if you’re interested to read more about the history of film, or just browse through some good movie recommendations:

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How The Sex N’ Drugs N’ Rock N’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance & The Rise of Independent Film The Sky is Falling!: The Unexpected Politics of Hollywood’s Superheroes and Zombies 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die: Updated for 2021 The Film Book: A Complete Guide to the World of Cinema

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Tags: analytical , essay , film , how do movies affect society , movies , paper , society , thoughts

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Stephan King: Why We Crave Horror Movies

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John Berger's 'Ev' Ry Time We Say Goodbye

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The Exorcist (1973) directed by William Friedkin. Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures/Getty Images

You might think that horror movies are a delicious, trashy pleasure. But watching them has surprisingly wholesome effects

by Mathias Clasen   + BIO

I’m a full-time horror researcher with my own lab. I read Stephen King novels at bedtime, watch slasher movies on the weekends, and play survival horror video games whenever I have a spare moment.

But it wasn’t always like that. The first time I saw a horror film at the movie theatre, I left halfway through. It was too much for 14-year-old me. There I was, in the darkness of the cinema, staring at monsters cavorting on the screen and listening to the other teenagers screaming in delight around me. Anxious excitement had turned to heart-stopping horror as those on-screen monsters unfolded their full potential for death and grisly dismemberment.

It was a loss of face from which I have never fully recovered. The burning shame of leaving early is about as vivid in my memory as the metallic terror of witnessing the gory acts of those homicidal monsters.

One particular scene is etched in my mind. Just as the main character – a sympathetic and attractive young woman – is about to kiss her charming date, his handsome face contorts and transforms into the visage of a cat-like monstrosity, with a mouth full of sharp fangs. She manages to fight him off and runs into the arms of a policeman, who helps the sobbing woman into his patrol car. Phew! But then, the cat-man-monster shows up behind the cop with a pencil in his hand. He slams it, pointy end first, into the unfortunate lawman’s ear with a squishy-crunchy sound. The cop then falls over, landing on the side of his head from which the pencil protrudes… with another squishy-crunchy sound to follow.

For all its visceral and violent unpleasantness, the experience of watching this movie – some of it, anyway – ignited a curiosity in me. Why did all the other teenagers around me seem to enjoy this grotesque flick – Sleepwalkers (1992), if you’d been wondering. Indeed, why do so many people voluntarily seek out entertainment that is designed to shock and scare them? What do they get out of it? A thrill, a jolt to the nervous system – or is there something deeper going on?

Horror movies come in various forms, which can be divided into two main subgenres: supernatural ones (think of wailing ghosts, rotting zombies or mind-shattering abominations from forbidden dimensions), and the more psychological (your masked-serial-killers and giant-reptiles varieties). Common to them all is that they aim to evoke negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety, disgust and dread. They also tend to be enormously popular. According to a survey my colleagues and I conducted a few years ago, more than half of US respondents – about 55 per cent – say they enjoy ‘scary media’, including movies such as The Exorcist (1973), books such as King’s Salem’s Lot (1975) and video games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010) .

What’s more, people who say they enjoy scary media really mean it. We also asked our respondents how frightening they wanted their horror to be. It might sound like a weird thing to ask – like asking how funny they want their comedies to be – but we wanted to test an old Freudian idea that the negative emotions elicited by the genre are unfortunate byproducts; a price that audiences are willing to pay in order to watch movies that allow them to confront their own repressed desires in monstrous disguise. But that’s not what we found. About 80 per cent of our respondents said they wanted their horror entertainment to be in the moderate-to-highly frightening range. By contrast, a measly 3.9 per cent said that they prefer horror that’s not scary at all.

So, fear and the other negative emotions are central to the appeal of horror, a fact not lost on the creators of horror entertainment. Surely you’ve seen movie trailers claiming to be ‘The scariest movie of all time!’ or promising to make you sleep with the lights on for weeks afterwards. More inventively, the US filmmaker William Castle once took out life insurance on his audience. If any audience member died from fear as they watched his movie Macabre (1958), their bereaved ones would receive $1,000 from Lloyd’s of London. (Nobody did die. But the gimmick surely drew more horror hounds to the picture.)

Unsurprisingly, given their appeal, horror movies are big business. In 2019, 40 new horror movies were released in North America, grossing more than $800 million in the domestic theatrical market alone. Likewise, the US haunted attractions industry is growing steadily, in 2019 generating up to $500 million in ticket sales. The following year, 2020, naturally saw lower numbers, but even in that year of COVID-19 lockdowns and empty movie theatres, horror movies broke all previous records in terms of market share. That development continued into 2021, with the horror genre now accounting for almost 20 per cent of the market share at the US box office. Evidently, people want scary entertainment, even when you’d think the real world was scary enough.

D espite the broad appeal of the horror genre, it is haunted by bias and prejudice. Many people, apparently, think that horror movies are dumb, dangerous or both – artistically unsophisticated, morally corrosive, and psychologically harmful, with a dubious appeal primarily for maladjusted teenage boys. But what does the science say?

Firstly, horror is not a particularly male genre. While boys and men are slightly more likely than girls and women to say that they enjoy horror, the difference is much smaller than many people seem to think. In our aforementioned survey, when we asked to what extent respondents agree with the statement ‘I tend to enjoy horror media’, on a scale from 1 to 5, men averaged at 3.50, whereas women averaged at 3.29.

Secondly, horror movies are not only watched by teenagers. Yes, the movies are often marketed to that audience, and the appetite for horror does seem to peak in late adolescence, but it doesn’t emerge out of the blue the day that kids turn 13, and it doesn’t disappear in older people either. An ongoing research project of ours is finding that the desire to derive pleasure from fear is evident even in toddlers, who universally enjoy mildly scary activities, such as chase play and hide-and-seek. Even old folks seem to enjoy the occasional thrill provided by mildly frightening media such as crime shows. The British crime drama Midsomer Murders (1997-) always seemed to me like light horror for seniors, with its eerie theremin theme tune and the inexplicably abundant, often startlingly grisly murders in the otherwise peaceful fictional Midsomer County.

The ‘monkey see, monkey do’ model of media psychology now seems to have been abandoned by most experts

Thirdly, there is no evidence that horror fans are particularly maladjusted, depraved or unempathetic. When my colleagues and I looked into the personality profile of horror fans, we found that they are about as conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable as the average person, while also scoring higher than average on openness to experience (meaning that they enjoy intellectual stimulation and adventure). It’s true they do tend to score fairly highly on sensation seeking , which suggests that they tend to be easily bored and on the lookout for excitement. Maladjusted or depraved, though? Nope, no evidence.

If horror movies do not attract the maladjusted and the depraved, do they then create psychotic monsters? One might think so, judging from the moral panics that have surrounded the horror genre throughout its recent history, from Victorian-era concern over ‘penny dreadfuls’ – sensationalist, often spooky or grisly stories sold in cheap (one-penny) instalments – to modern-day media meltdowns over slasher movies.

Most recently, pundits have worried about the effects of so-called ‘torture porn’ movies; films such as Eli Roth’s Hostel franchise (2005-11), about a shadowy organisation that charges people for the opportunity to torture and murder innocents. In the first Hostel movie, we follow a trio of backpackers who are captured by the organisation and sold for torture. The limbs of one backpacker are subjected to a chainsaw; the torso of another to a power drill. Only one of the backpackers makes it out alive (if not completely whole). The film depicts these insidious assaults in all their bloody nastiness, prompting media commentators to rally against the film and its ilk, arguing that their focus on torture and gore stoke unhealthy, sadistic drives in the audience.

There is no substantial evidence to support that concern – audiences know that what they are watching is fiction. The psychological effects of violent media are still discussed by scholars and scientists, but the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ model of media psychology has been severely criticised on methodological and empirical grounds, and now seems to have been abandoned by most experts. In fact, one recent study covering the period 1960-2012 in the US found that, as movie violence went up, real-world violence actually went down.

T his is not to say that horror movies cannot have negative effects. Indeed, media psychologists have documented that most people have some kind of ‘traumatic’ experience with horror movies. I use the quotation marks because we are not really talking about clinical trauma here. For the vast majority of people, such experiences consist of mild behavioural disturbances – nightmares, or sleeping with the lights on, or increased vigilance for a few days. For instance, one study found that around 90 per cent of US college students had had such experiences, including some who had refused to go camping after watching The Blair Witch Project (1999), a movie about three young people getting lost and dying horribly in the woods.

These mild and temporary hangover effects are just one side of the coin. Long ignored by the scientific world, it’s now clear that horror consumption has many positive effects. Moreover, a taste for horror is natural and should not be seen as pathological. Kids who are attracted to monster comics such as Tales from the Crypt (1950-55) and The Walking Dead (2003-19) are perfectly normal, as are teenagers who love slasher movies or adults who enjoy haunted attractions. That taste makes good sense from an evolutionary perspective. People evolved to be curious about danger, and they use stories to learn about the world and themselves. Horror stories specifically allow them to imaginatively simulate worst-case scenarios and teach them about the dark sides of the world, and about the dark spectrum of their own emotional lives.

This morbid curiosity has helped our ancestors stay alive in a dangerous world by learning about it

The behavioural scientist Coltan Scrivner at the University of Chicago calls this appetite ‘morbid curiosity’. Some people have lots of it, and some very little, but most of us are fairly morbidly curious – we have a hard time looking away from an accident, and we occasionally feel the pull of a true crime show, a horror movie or a documentary about the paranormal.

This fascination with the gruesome is adaptive, says Scrivner; it is a learning mechanism that allows us to collect information about the Grim Reaper and his modes of operation, and it underpins the widespread interest in horror. Stephen King tells the story of how, when he was 10 years old, his mother discovered a scrapbook he had been keeping on the spree killer Charles Starkweather, who was at that time at large. ‘Why?’ asked his mother, concerned. King’s answer: ‘I need to look out for this guy. I need to know everything about him, so that if I ever meet him or anybody like him, I can go around.’

So, when we are drawn to horror movies, we are basically giving in to a deep-seated instinct, a morbid curiosity that has helped our ancestors stay alive in a dangerous world by learning about it at a distance, or even vicariously. Horror satisfies this instinct and allows us to engage playfully with made-up worlds that brim with danger, but at no real risk.

T o test this hypothesis, my lab conducted an empirical study , led by my colleague Marc Malmdorf Andersen, at a Danish commercial visitor attraction, Dystopia Haunted House, that’s located in an abandoned factory out in the woods. Every October, the factory comes alive with the groans of zombies and the roar of chainsaws, punctuated every few minutes by screams of joyful terror. We recruited more than 100 paying guests, fitted them with lightweight heartrate monitors and asked them to fill out several questionnaires. We also recorded their behaviour with surveillance cameras at key points inside the haunt, such as the moment when an actor in a lab coat distracted the guests with a crazy-scientist rant, setting up another actor in zombie make-up to jump out from under a table, scaring the guests witless and providing us with wonderful data on behavioural and physiological responses to acute threat events.

Supporting the evolutionary function of horror, we found that there is a sweet spot between fear and enjoyment. People who seek out horror want just the right amount of it. Too scary, and it is unpleasantly overwhelming; not scary enough, and it is boring. But just the right amount of fear, and you are in the zone of recreational horror – a zone in which you are enjoying yourself and might just be learning important things in the process, such as how to regulate your negative emotions.

Emotional regulation is key to recreational horror because we all differ in the intensity of fear that we find tolerable or even pleasurable. As horror researchers have known for a while, not every horror fan is an adrenaline junkie. We explored these emotional dynamics in another study we conducted at Dystopia Haunted House. This time, we recruited several hundred guests and gave them a choice of challenges: either try to become as scared as possible, or try to keep your fear at an absolute minimum as you go through the haunted attraction. As it happened, half the guests chose the maximum-fear challenge and the other half chose the minimum-fear challenge.

People actively use a range of psychological, behavioural and social strategies to achieve their optimum fear level

Our participants reported remarkably different fear levels. Those guests who had chosen to minimise their fear reported, on average, a fear level of 4.3 on a scale from 0 to 9. Those who chose to maximise their fear, on the other hand, reported an average fear level of 7.6. Strikingly, though, both groups reported similar (and very high) levels of satisfaction.

In other words: there are several ways in which people can derive pleasure from recreational horror, whether in a haunted attraction or in front of the screen. For some, it is about maximum stimulation; those people are the adrenaline junkies. But for others, it is about keeping fear at a tolerable level – a challenge in self-control; they have been called ‘white-knucklers’. Common to both groups is that they actively use a range of psychological, behavioural and social strategies to achieve the optimum fear level.

In another recent study , we shed more light on the possible benefits and appeal of horror entertainment and made a surprising discovery in the process: there are three categories of horror fan. Alongside the adrenaline junkies and white-knucklers are what we called the ‘dark copers’. We discovered that the adrenaline junkies experience a mood boost when they seek out horror; the intense stimulation puts them in a better mood. The white-knucklers do not experience that mood boost in response to horror, but they do feel that they learn something about themselves and that they develop as a person. They might discover how much fear they can take, what dread feels like, how they respond to intense stress, and how to regulate their own anxiety – all vital survival skills.

The third kind, the dark copers, had not been previously identified in the scientific literature, and they are intriguing. They reap all the benefits: a mood boost, as well as feeling that they learn something about themselves and how to confront the real scary world, perhaps by simulating frightening encounters – for them, it’s a kind of practice. Maybe the dark copers are the ones that the horror movie industry should be targeting, and not just the adrenaline junkies, who seem to be the intended audience of those ‘Scariest movie ever!’ taglines.

S ceptics might remain unconvinced by the idea that people could learn anything of value from movies about demonic possession, deranged chainsaw killers and homicidal puppets. It might seem outrageous. Well, in the early months of the pandemic, we decided to investigate whether horror fans had any edge over non-fans in terms of psychological resilience. Our thinking was that, if people do indeed practise emotional regulation skills when they watch horror movies, they might be able to use those skills in real-world situations.

That is indeed what we found. People who watched many horror movies reported less psychological distress in response to COVID-19 lockdowns than those who avoid horror movies. Moreover, fans of ‘prepper movies’ – zombie-apocalypse movies, alien-invasion movies, that sort of thing – felt more prepared for the consequences of the pandemic. They had seen similar things in the movies. They had imaginatively rehearsed for such scenarios, and were less overwhelmed by the repercussions of the crisis. A fictional scenario about the undead overturning the social order – with healthcare systems collapsing, law and order deteriorating, and infrastructure toppling – might not be that different from a real-world situation of great social and institutional turmoil.

Horror movies, then, can function as inoculation against the stresses and terrors of the world. They help us improve our coping skills, and they might function as a kind of enjoyable exposure therapy. There is also some preliminary evidence to suggest that people who suffer from anxiety disorders can find comfort in horror movies, presumably because these movies allow them to experience negative emotions in controlled and controllable doses, practise regulation strategies, and ultimately build resilience.

People go in with strangers; 50 minutes later, they stumble out, chatting and laughing like old friends

In addition to those psychological benefits, there might be social benefits of watching horror movies. Consider how scientists of religion have puzzled over the prevalence of painful religious rituals. Why do people fire-walk and pierce themselves with sharp objects in religious contexts? Apparently, one major function is that such psychologically and/or physically painful behaviours strengthen group identity and make group members more altruistic toward each other. You go through a painful experience together , which reinforces group bonds. It’s a similar story for horror entertainment.

Even some non-fans let themselves be talked into watching a horror movie with friends, presumably because watching horror films together can be a lot of fun, whether you enjoy the movies themselves or not. Recall that about 55 per cent of Americans in our survey said that they enjoy horror. Well, almost 90 per cent of the individuals sampled in our more recent study had sought out horror at least once in the prior year. Evidently, it is not just horror fans who watch horror movies.

When you face a frightening situation together, and make it through that situation together, you feel that you have mastered it, not unlike the dysphoric religious rituals observed around the world. My colleagues and I see this all the time in our haunted house research. People go through the attraction with strangers. They seem nervous and fidgety before they enter; 50 minutes later, they come stumbling out of the haunted house, sweating, chatting and laughing like old friends.

For many viewers, perhaps most, horror movies provide meaningful entertainment that can have positive psychological and social effects. The genre is still steeped in stigma, maybe because it seems to appeal to ‘primitive’ emotions such as fear, anxiety and disgust. Horror movies rarely receive prestigious accolades, such as Academy Awards, and horror writers, such as Stephen King, have struggled to gain critical recognition. This prejudice is silly. The literary canon brims with frightening material – check your Shakespeare, or your Melville – and besides, horror movies do not appeal just to emotions. Many of them also appeal to the intellect, and prompt reflection and maybe even introspection.

If you don’t believe me, find a horror movie to watch tonight, and see for yourself. The trick will be to chose a movie that hits your sweet spot. You don’t want something that overwhelms you with horror, as happened to me in 1992, but you also don’t want something too tame. Once you have found something that seems to fit the bill, invite a couple of friends over so you also reap the social benefits of collective horror-movie watching. And rest assured that, while you might suffer a few mild side-effects, such as a nightmare or a compulsion to sweep the bedroom for monsters before bedtime, there is a real chance that you will feel closer to your friends, learn something about yourself, and perhaps even emerge more resilient than before.

To read more about emotional regulation, visit Psyche , a digital magazine from Aeon that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophy and the arts.

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The Psychology of Film: How Movies Affect Our Emotions and Perceptions

Cinema, with its mesmerizing visuals and compelling narratives, has the power to transcend mere entertainment and delve into the intricate realm of human psychology. The way we respond to films, both emotionally and cognitively, offers a fascinating exploration into the psychology of film—how movies become more than just a sequence of scenes but a journey that profoundly influences our emotions and perceptions.

Emotional Impact of Movies: Stirring the Soul One of the most potent aspects of film psychology lies in the emotional impact movies have on viewers. Whether it’s the heart-wrenching drama that brings tears to our eyes or the exhilarating adventure that quickens our pulse, films have an unparalleled ability to stir a wide spectrum of emotions. This emotional resonance is a testament to the storytelling prowess of filmmakers and their capacity to create empathetic connections with the audience.

Cinematic Influence on Perception: Shaping Perspectives Movies don’t merely evoke emotions; they also shape our perceptions of the world. From cultural insights to societal norms, films act as a lens through which we view and interpret reality. The cinematic influence on perception extends beyond mere entertainment, contributing to the formation of beliefs, attitudes, and even the way we understand complex social issues.

Psychology of Storytelling: Tapping into Universal Narratives At the heart of film psychology is the psychology of storytelling. Narratives in films tap into universal themes and archetypes that resonate with the collective human experience. Whether it’s the hero’s journey or the exploration of love and loss, these storytelling elements engage our minds on a deep psychological level, triggering emotional responses that connect us to the shared narratives of humanity.

Film and Mood Regulation: Escapism and Catharsis Movies serve as a powerful tool for mood regulation. The act of watching a film allows viewers to escape from the demands of daily life, immersing themselves in alternate realities. From the cathartic release of tension in a comedy to the introspective contemplation induced by a thought-provoking drama, films provide a unique avenue for regulating and expressing emotions.

Cognitive Responses to Films: Engaging the Mind The psychological impact of films extends beyond emotions to cognitive responses. The visual and auditory stimulation in movies engages various cognitive processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving. The intricate narratives and complex characters challenge the mind, fostering intellectual engagement that goes beyond passive observation.

Psychological Effects of Movie Genres: Crafting Experiences Different movie genres elicit distinct psychological effects. Horror films tap into our primal fears, triggering adrenaline and the fight-or-flight response. Romantic movies evoke feelings of love and connection, while action films elicit excitement and suspense. The choice of genre becomes a deliberate tool for filmmakers to craft specific psychological experiences for their audience.

Cinematic Empathy: Understanding Through Film Characters Cinematic empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of film characters, is a central aspect of film psychology. Viewers form emotional connections with characters, experiencing their joys and sorrows. This empathetic engagement not only enhances the viewing experience but also contributes to the development of emotional intelligence and empathy in real-life relationships.

Film and Memory Formation: The Art of Retention Movies have a unique capacity to enhance memory formation. The combination of visuals, dialogue, and music creates a multisensory experience that aids in the retention of information. Iconic scenes, memorable quotes, and the emotional impact of films become etched into our memories, shaping our cultural references and personal recollections.

Viewer Perception in Cinema: Active Participation In the psychology of film, viewers are not passive recipients but active participants in the cinematic experience. The choices made by directors, the visual aesthetics, and the narrative structures invite viewers to interpret and engage with the content actively. This participatory nature deepens the psychological connection between the audience and the film.

In conclusion, the psychology of film is a captivating exploration into the intricate ways movies influence our emotions, perceptions, and cognitive responses. From the emotional resonance of storytelling to the shaping of cultural perspectives, cinema is a potent force that goes beyond entertainment, leaving an indelible mark on the psyche of those who embark on its cinematic journeys. As we continue to be enthralled by the magic of the silver screen, the psychology of film remains a dynamic and evolving field, offering endless possibilities for understanding the complex interplay between storytelling, emotions, and the human mind.

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Neurocinematics: Your Brain on Movies

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of movies and TV shows, either by myself, with my family or with my friends (through Facetime or Netflix Party). This made me wonder how movies affect our brains. I would consider cinema the most advanced art form: it is visual as well as auditory, it takes years and many people to make, yet it still tells a story, just as any other art form does. So its impact on our brains must be crazy, right? This question brought me to neurocinematics: a new and developing field, yet so incredibly interesting. In this blog, I want to share all the crazy things cinema does to our brains.

Imagine sitting in a movie theater. Maybe you’re by yourself, or with your best friend, your partner, your family. Beyond that, you’re in a room full of strangers. However, you all have one thing in common, besides just sitting in that movie theater together. You’re all probably blinking at around the same time, have similar eye movement and incredibly similar brain activity (Miller, 2017).

So what does this mean? Would I have the same brain activity as the stranger next to me every single time we watch a movie? Well, no. Some movies use more cinematic techniques, like strategic cuts and camera angles, to make the audience focus on a single point. These movies have a tighter grip on their audience. This means that this particular audience will have very similar brain activity and eye movements (Hasson, 2008). However, some other movies, whether intentionally of unintentionally, hold much less of a grip on the audience. During these movies, an audience’s brain activity will differ more from each individual person to another (Hasson, 2008).

So lets apply this to various movies. A movie with an intense bank robbery scene will elicit almost 70% correlation in brain activity among the audience (Miller, 2017). Everyone is extremely focused on the robbery scene, their minds and eyes are not wandering. However, a clip of reality, such as a crowd of people at a concert in New York City only elicits 5% synchronization in brain activity (Miller, 2017). There are no special cuts or angle to make a central point of focus for the audience. I could be watching the people in the front row of the concert, and you could be looking at the people waving in the back.

This would explain why people don’t have similar brain activity in everyday life, even if they are experiencing the exact same things. For example, lets say you and I are sitting in a classroom. However, you are choosing to pay attention to the class and I is not. Our brain activity would differ. Additionally, even if both of us were paying attention to the lecture, we might be focusing on different things that are being said and making different connections. A movie has the technology to control what objects or people we focus on and what connections we make. Pretty crazy, right? 

In case you’re wondering which brain regions are activated during cinema, we can look to a 2008 study, that shows activity in the occipital and temporal lobes, Wernicke’s area (critical for language), auditory and multi sensory areas, and brain regions that have been linked to emotion (Hasson, 2008). 

So what does neurocinema moving forward? There are many different views on this new technology, both negative and positive. Some producers are excited about this technology, predicting that it will be able to increase viewer satisfaction and promote better movie marketing (Randall, 2012). They think this new technology could figure out what interests their audience most and help create better viewing experiences. Additionally, this technology might offer insight as to how to create a better advertisement that will draw more viewers to the movie theater for a particular movie (Randall, 2012).

Cinema has a huge impact on our brain. We now have the technology to see how our brains react to cinema. In the past, producers have been able to control what we see (by using strategic cuts and angles) but this new technology could take that understanding to another level—which is crazy, and a little scary. Neurocinematics is a small and growing field, and I cant wait to see what else we discover in the future.

Hasson, Uri, et al. “Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film.” Berghahn Journals, 2008, www.cns.nyu.edu/~nava/MyPubs/Hasson-etal_NeuroCinematics2008.pdf .

Randall, Kevin. “Rise of Neurocinema: How Hollywood Studios Harness Your Brainwaves to Win Oscars.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 30 July 2012, www.fastcompany.com/1731055/rise-neurocinema-how-hollywood-studios-harness-your-brainwaves-win-oscars .

Miller, Greg. “How Movies Synchronize the Brains of an Audience.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 June 2017, www.wired.com/2014/08/cinema-science-mind-meld/ .

3 Comments Add yours

Andrea, I loved reading this blog! I think this topic is super interesting, one that I literally had never considered before. The idea that movies and directors have the ability to synchronize our eye movements and brain wave patterns is truly such a weird but interesting concept. I wonder what percentage of producers/directors know about their ability to overpower our thoughts, and I am definitely convinced that those who do and utilize cinematic tools in the right way are more successful in getting revenue and the attention of their audiences.

This topic was super interesting! Me and my family have been having many family movie nights, and I never thought that our brain activity would be similar because of it! I wonder if movies that connect our brain activity are more popular and well-liked than movies that don’t connect people’s brain activity. If our brain activity is the same, does that make the movie more likeable? Super interesting!

Hi Andrea! I loved this idea of how we are mentally connected to each other even if we may feel physically distant in a way. It’s super interesting to see how, at the end of the day, we truly are all humans who may have some differences here and there, but also still have a lot of similarities. I never really thought about how other people may be interpreting what was happening on the big screen during movies, so it’s exciting to see how the cinema industry and others like marketing could potentially use this new technology to improve the quality of the experience!

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

How effective are films in inducing positive and negative emotional states? A meta-analysis

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations Psychology Department, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete (Spain), Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit, Medical School, University of Castilla La-Mancha, Albacete (Spain)

Roles Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Psychology Department, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete (Spain), Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit, Medical School, University of Castilla La-Mancha, Albacete (Spain), Unidad de Investigación, Fundación del Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Albacete (Spain)

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Roles Data curation, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

• Luz Fernández-Aguilar, 
• Beatriz Navarro-Bravo, 
• Jorge Ricarte, 
• Laura Ros, 
• Jose Miguel Latorre

• Published: November 21, 2019
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040
• Reader Comments

Meta-analyses and reviews on emotion research have shown the use of film clips to be one of the most effective methods of mood induction. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of this method when positive, negative and neutral emotional targets are studied under similar experimental conditions is currently unknown. This comprehensive meta-analysis included only studies that implemented neutral, positive and negative mood inductions to evaluate the effectiveness of the film clip method as a mood induction procedure. In addition, several factors related to the films, sample and experimental procedure used, the number of emotional categories, for example, or the number of film clips watched, were included to study their influence on the effectiveness of this mood induction procedure. Forty-five studies were included with 6675 participants and 12 possible moderator variables according to the sample and the research procedure. Our findings suggest that film clips are especially powerful in inducing negative mood states (Hedges’ g for valence = -1.49 and for arousal = -1.77) although they are also effective inducers of positive mood states (Hedges’ g for valence of = . -1.22 and for arousal = -1.34). Additionally, this meta-analysis reveals that variables, such as the number of emotional categories or the type of stimulus used to measure the baseline, should be considered.

Citation: Fernández-Aguilar L, Navarro-Bravo B, Ricarte J, Ros L, Latorre JM (2019) How effective are films in inducing positive and negative emotional states? A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 14(11): e0225040. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040

Editor: Hedwig Eisenbarth, Victoria University of Wellington, NEW ZEALAND

Received: February 15, 2019; Accepted: October 27, 2019; Published: November 21, 2019

Copyright: © 2019 Fernández-Aguilar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness/FEDER under TIN2013-47074-C2-1-R and DPI2016-80894-R grants.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Over the last three decades, interest in the study of emotions has increased notably, focusing both on the construct itself and its interaction with other concepts such as cognition, behavior, personality and physiology [ 1 – 3 ].

Controlled mood induction enables us to better know, understand and manage our emotions. For this reason, much effort has been made in emotion research to create systems that artificially elicit emotional changes. Numerous Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) have been developed to generate positive, negative and neutral mood states (see [ 4 , 5 ] for a revision, [ 6 ]). Some procedures use autobiographical information, such as autobiographical memories [ 7 , 8 ], while other procedures use written texts, such as Velten MIP [ 9 ] and the reading of fragments of books [ 10 ]. A number of procedures use acoustic stimuli, such as imagination MIPs e.g., [ 11 , 12 ], the International Affective Digitized Sound System (IADS [ 13 ]) and music MIPs (e.g., [ 14 ]). Pictures are used in others procedures, such as the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS [ 15 ]). Procedures have also been implemented involving the manipulation of the expression, thought or behavior of the participants, for example, the Facial Action Coding System FACS [ 16 ] and social interaction of success or failure [ 17 , 18 ]. Finally, audiovisual materials, such as virtual reality [ 19 , 20 ] and films [ 21 ], have been utilized in certain procedures.

Although all these systems seem capable of eliciting positive, negative and neutral mood states, they also present several limitations [ 5 , 6 , 22 ]. First, one of their main limitations is that of demand characteristics, which refer to participants’ being aware of the purpose of the experiment and shaping their responses accordingly. Second, another limitation of some MIPs is the lack of standardization, as is the case of autobiographical recalls, imagination MIP or behavioral inductions [ 22 , 23 ]. Third, potential priming or cognitive priming can occur, instead of eliciting emotions, in the Velten MIP, for example, or the reading of texts [ 24 ]. Fourth, when the goal is to elicit negative emotions, it is of great importance to control the ethical limitations. For example, in the case of real-life manipulations and autobiographical recalls, traumas might be evoked [ 25 – 27 ]. Finally, another limitation may be the obtaining of discrete emotions or avoiding the attenuation of the mood induction, when, for example, the length of exposure increases, as may happen in the case of the IAPS [ 15 ].

The substantial use of audiovisual materials to induce emotions has evidenced that it is one of the most easy-to-use techniques in the laboratory [ 28 ]. One of the main reasons for its success is that film clips can generate a dynamic context using stimuli that are similar to those in real life, but without the ethical problems that may arise when manipulating emotions [ 29 ]. Film clips are also effective in eliciting discrete emotions and have a greater effectiveness in prolonged maintenance of both subjective and physiological changes in emotion [ 25 , 30 ]. Furthermore, this procedure has been greatly standardized, with sets of film stimuli being used in different settings and with different populations e.g., [ 2 , 31 ]. Nevertheless, the film method also has drawbacks. The film clips that are used in emotional induction studies are frequently from popular films and thus the camera angles, lighting, settings and/or characters may vary from one clip to another. In addition, viewing films requires high cognitive demand and, therefore, may not be suitable for working with certain populations (e.g., individuals with cognitive impairment) [ 21 ]. Finally, there may be demand characteristics in the use of this technique, although this greatly depends on the specificity of the instructions (e.g., [ 32 ]).

The systematic reviews and meta-analysis of mood induction published to date clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of film clips in inducing emotions. [ 4 – 6 , 22 ]. However, these reviews have not addressed important questions about films. In 1996, Westermann and colleagues published the first systematic quantitative review on the effectiveness of MIPS, in which they analyzed the effectiveness of 11 MIPs in inducing positive and negative mood. The authors analyzed the effects of MIPS when different kinds of manipulation check measures are used, and also assessed the effects of MIPs depending on gender, occupation and demand characteristics. The results of their study revealed that film clips exhibited the largest effect size on the induction of positive and negative emotions. However, it is worth noting that the authors classified studies published between 1975 and 1990, while the most significant increase in interest in the use of audiovisual sets actually occurred in the following decade. Indeed, the main sets of film stimuli currently used in research were developed after 1990 (e.g., [ 26 , 28 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]). Subsequently, the meta-analysis conducted by Lench and colleagues in 2011 examined the effectiveness of 10 MIPs inducing discrete emotions.These authors studied whether happiness, sadness, anger, and anxiety elicit changes across cognitive, judgment, experiential, behavioral, and physiological systems. However, they did not control for the potential moderators of each of the MIPs. For example, they coded whether participants completed the mood induction alone or in a group, but only provided a general finding for the set of MIPs studied. Their meta-analysis suggested that mood induction tends to be more effective when the participants are alone but we cannot know whether the finding would be similar in the case of film MIPs. Both studies [ 5 , 22 ] focused on the general features of MIPs without going into the details of each procedure.

Previous reviews have found that most MIPs are more effective in inducing negative mood states than positive ones, although this difference is not considered to be significant in the case of film MIPs [ 5 , 6 ]. However, it is not currently known whether this effect would be maintained if specific features of film clips (e.g., number of film clips used, baseline measure, conditions, etc.) were controlled for. To the best of our knowledge, no reviews have controlled for the influence of the specific features of films in mood induction. For example, no reviews have examined whether the studies assess the emotional targets (positives, negatives and neutrals) using the same experimental design or whether this effect is maintained when the same experimental design is used to induce both negative and positive emotions.

A meta-analysis is a meticulous method of reviewing scientific evidence but the use of the technique without applying critical evaluation may result in a biased work [ 36 , 37 ]. Thus, it is crucial to control for the lack of uniformity in the different study designs, as methodological heterogeneity impacts on the conclusions drawn from the review. For this reason, in the present study, we selected only studies with a similar experimental design and which included positive, negative and neutral film clips in the MIP. The characteristics of the stimuli and the measuring instruments used in the studies also had to be similar for all three types of mood induction (positive, negative and neutral).

Previous research has shown that self-reported quantitative measurement of mood state provides stronger effects than other response systems, such as cognitive, behavioral or physiological responses [ 22 ]. Consequently, for the present review, we selected studies that used self-reported experience to measure the induction capacity of film clips. Self-reported experience is the subjective interpretation of mood states and is measured by means of questionnaires based on an emotion model. Most questionnaires measuring emotional response are based on the dimensional affect model [ 38 ], but there are others that use the discrete model of emotions [ 39 ]. Our work includes self-reports based on both models of emotion as they both provide important information that helps understand the structure of the emotion system. Discrete emotion models classify emotions by their functions and their universal character in primary emotions, including a range of positive and negative emotions with different developmental functions [ 40 ]. Thus, each emotion has a concrete representation (e.g., disgust, surprise, happiness or sadness) [ 41 , 42 ]. For example, disgust and fear are classified as negative emotions and are considered to have different functions, disgust being associated with rejection and fear with protection. The dimensional model proposes the existence of two dimensions to define emotions: valence, or the pleasant-unpleasant dimension; and arousal, or level of intensity of emotional reaction [ 38 , 43 ]. Valence and arousal are interrelated but independent dimensions [ 44 ], and are widely used as a measure of emotional states in research [ 45 , 46 ]. Furthermore, some authors support the idea that measures of emotional response reflect dimensions rather than discrete states e.g., [ 47 ]. In order to obtain an adequate sample size, we chose to include studies based on dimensional and discrete perspectives. When the studies selected included more than one emotional model to assess the emotional response, we only selected those using dimensional self-reports.

The main objective of this review is to provide practical information on potential methodological moderators. We assess the potential influence of film-related variables associated with the mood induction. What variables facilitate effective induction of positive and negative mood states? To date, several questions remain unsolved. For example, is the technique more effective in group or individual sessions? Participants may be more likely to use distraction as a form of emotional regulation when in a group [ 22 ] but, on the other hand, emotional contagion through facial expressions is common in groups [ 48 ]. Is the effectiveness of films for inducing emotions ensured in both general and clinical populations? The presence of emotional disorders is associated with difficulty in responding adequately to emotionally significant stimuli [ 49 , 50 ]. For example, bipolar disorder is linked to an increase in self-reported positive emotion using film MIP [ 51 ] and dysphoria is associated with the inability to maintain positive emotions [ 52 ]. Other important variables to consider are gender, age and sample origin (university community vs. others). Many studies have suggested that women report stronger negative emotions and rate neutral stimuli more positively than men [ 53 , 54 ], while other studies suggest that men report stronger anger than women [ 55 ]. Therefore, the proportion of male and female participants could influence MIP, while age might also impact on the strength of the MIP. Previous studies suggest that older adults tend to report lower negative emotions than young participants [ 56 ]. Regarding the origin of the sample, university participants tend to respond more to demand characteristics than other community members [ 22 ]. There are also unanswered questions about the experimental procedure and film set variables. Previous studies have not explained whether it is more effective to use a single film clip or to use several film clips. Studies that use more than one clip usually study more than one emotional category. Some studies have only used one emotional target (e.g., sadness) and others studies more than one. Using a large number of stimuli to elicit different emotions may result in respondent fatigue [ 57 ] or the physiological transference of one emotion to another [ 58 ]. For this reason, it might be thought that the strength of induction depends on the number of films, emotional categories or conditions used in the laboratory. How clips are presented (random or fixed order) could also influence the effectiveness of the induction. Finally, there are other potential methodological moderators. For example, no previous reviews have studied the type of neutral stimulus used. The most commonly used neutral stimuli to establish the baseline are (a) watching a film clip with neutral content; (b) watching a clip from a nature documentary; and (c) watching a shapes screensaver. Other, less common stimuli used include participants closing their eyes for a short time or taking several deep breaths. The form and content of these control stimuli may generate unwanted differences in the results [ 59 ]. Lastly, no previous reviews have studied how the audio of the film clips impacts on the strength of induction. For example, verbal film clips and music film clips may add intensity to the emotional experience (see [ 34 ]). The emotion model of the self-report instruments was also included.

As previously mentioned, the main objective was to provide practical information on potential methodological moderators. We aimed to determine the most suitable experimental conditions to improve the effectiveness of film clips in inducing positive and negative emotions in the laboratory. To this end, we selected studies that evaluated the capacity of film clips to induce emotions by means of neutral, positive and negative emotional targets. Based on the samples and the procedures used in these studies, the following issues were addressed in the current meta-analysis: (a) differences in induction using positive and negative stimuli; (b) influence of factors or moderating variables on the study design (affective reactions by sample and affective reactions by research procedure).

Literature search

All the studies were selected by means of a search through PsycINFO, Medline (PubMed), Psicothema, Scopus and Web of Science from inception to October 2017. The criteria used in the search of journal articles were the combination of the terms “emotion” OR “mood”; -AND “induction” OR “elicitation” OR “manipulation”; -AND “film” OR “movie”. Furthermore, the studies identified were back-referenced. Published reports were also considered and articles written in English and Spanish were both included. To determine which studies were useful to our work, we reviewed titles and abstracts, the screening of which was carried out independently by LF & JR (Kappa intercoder reliability = .93). In case of disagreement, the full text was read and discussed until a consensus was reached.

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

Studies were accepted for the meta-analysis if they met the following criteria: (a) the study investigated both positive and negative emotions and neutral state; (b) the participants’ affective state was measured with a self-report instrument; (c) self-reports were based on the dimensional or the discrete model of emotion; (d) the results were reported with sufficient detail to allow calculation of effect sizes.

Studies were excluded from the meta-analysis if: (a) they used films with an aim other than that under study (e.g., using film clips to measure empathy levels); (b) if the stimuli were not used to induce any of the emotional targets in the present research (e.g., surprise); and (c) if they used combined MIPs (e.g., film clips and the Velten method).

After database extraction, hand-searching for studies potentially overlooked or absent from the databases was performed by screening the references of all retrieved articles. The review was executed following meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines [ 60 ].

Categorization of variables

In accordance with our research interests, several rules were established for the categorization of variables. All characteristics included in this review were coded according to information available in the published texts. In line with the first research question in this meta-analysis, in which we attempt to describe differences between the induction of positive and negative emotions, we have classified the emotions, taking into account both the dimensional model of emotion and the discrete emotion model. Specifically, the different emotional states were grouped into two single categories according to the emotional tone. Positive emotional tone includes positive valence (dimensional emotion model) and the emotions of joy, amusement, happiness, contentment, tenderness and elation (discrete emotion model). Negative emotional tone includes negative valence (dimensional model of emotion) and the emotions of disgust, sadness, anger and fear (discrete emotion model). Moreover, the arousal level was also categorized for neutral, negative and positive mood inductions.

Surprise was excluded from the analysis because its emotional valence is unclear. In the literature, surprise has been treated as both a pleasant (e.g., [ 61 ]) and an unpleasant emotion (e.g., [ 62 ]).

For the present meta-analysis, we selected works that studied the emotional response to positive, negative and neutral stimuli using a similar experimental design. The response to neutral stimuli was used as the baseline measure. Including a baseline measure allows the strength of the mood induction to be calculated for both negative and positive mood states.

Regarding the second research question, we examined several variables related to the characteristics of the studies to test for potential moderator variables. The potential moderators were determined according to the sample population and the research procedure. As regards the characteristics of the sample, we coded the average age of participants and included whether participants were young or older adults. In view of possible gender differences, the proportion of females was coded. Whether participants were college students vs. members of the community (e.g. participants recruited through advertisements in local newspapers) was coded because the university community is the most common sample in psychology research. We also coded whether the sample consisted totally or partially of clinical individuals, taking into account clinical or neurological pathology, such as depression or dysphoria

Regarding the research procedure, several potential moderators were coded. First, the emotional model was considered. Some studies have analyzed the strength of film clips by emotional dimensions and others by discrete emotions. We coded whether the studies used one or the other emotional model. Second, when the studies assessed the emotional dimensions, we coded whether these measured only one dimension (valence or arousal) or both. Although all the studies included in the present review measured the valence dimension, only 46% of the studies included a measure of the arousal dimension. Third, we recorded the variables according to the research procedure and film set variables. We coded whether participants completed the MIP in group or in individual sessions. If this was not specified, we assumed that participants completed the emotion induction alone. The number of conditions in the experimental design were included in the review. We coded whether all participants watched all film clips (one condition) or whether they were divided into three groups and each of them watched neutral, positive or negative film clips (three conditions). In addition to the above, we recorded whether participants watched the film clips according to high or low arousal in positive and negative mood induction (five conditions). With regard to film clips used as stimuli to induce moods, the number of clips viewed in each study varies greatly. The study with fewest film clips used just one and the study with the largest number included 60 clips. For that reason, we coded the number of film clips watched by each participant. The number of emotional categories elicited also varies. Thus, we coded whether participants were induced to a single emotion category (positive, negative or neutral) or more than one. Some studies included only one category to induce a negative emotion (e.g., sadness) and one category to induce a positive emotion (e.g., amusement), while other studies included more than one category for both mood inductions (e.g., sadness and anger for negative induction; amusement and happiness for positive induction). The influence of the order in which film clips were shown was also included. We coded when the participants watched the clips in a similar (fixed) order and when they watched the clips in a different order (random order). Some studies included only visual clips and others included audiovisual clips. We coded, then, whether the films were shown with or without sound. Finally, we coded the type of neutral stimulus used to establish participants’ basal state. According to the studies selected for this review, we classified the neutral stimulus in four categories: popular film clips without emotional content, dynamic color shapes (screensaver), a combination of both previous neutral stimuli and other less common stimuli (e.g., rest period).

Calculating effect sizes

With the data reported in each study, we used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program (Version 2; CMA; [ 63 ]) to estimate effect sizes for affective reactions generated by film induction. First, we attempted to explain heterogeneity by including moderator/independent variables. We assessed for the possible presence of heterogeneity across studies by using the Q test for heterogeneity and the I 2 index, which describes the percentage of heterogeneity. Heterogeneity was considered low, moderate or high, based upon values of 25%, 50% or 75%, respectively. Second, when these statistics reported heterogeneity in effect sizes, we conducted analyses to calculate Hedges’ g under the random-effects model, which takes within-study variance, sampling error and between-studies variance into account. We used Hedges’ effect size as the main effect size measure, considering 0.2 a small effect size, 0.5 medium, and 0.8 large. The effect sizes were expected to be negative. For the studies using the dimensional model to measure the valence of emotions evoked by negative stimuli (n = 27), we inverted the scores so that the effect sizes would have the same sign in all the studies. To this end, we inverted both responses to the neutral stimulus and the responses to the negative stimulus using the following formula: lower limit of the scale–value of the stimulus + upper limit of the scale. This is because we calculated effects sizes from the neutral mean score of each study to identify the effectiveness of the induction method. We compared this neutral mean score with the negative mean score and the positive mean score. To do this, we obtained the mean negative affect scores in the neutral condition and compared them with the mean negative affect scores in the negative condition. In the same way, we obtained the mean positive affect scores in the neutral condition and compared them with the average positive affect scores.

When a study used different emotional scales, we selected the scale corresponding to the dimensional model of emotion to analyze the valence and arousal. Effect sizes were calculated from means and standard deviations and when these data were not available in the journal articles, we contacted the authors.

Publication bias was measured using Egger’s test. We used a funnel plot to generate a graphic representation of this potential publication bias. The main issue in publication bias is that not all completed studies are published. Studies with larger effects sizes are more likely to be accepted for publication. Taking into account that the meta-analysis can overestimate the true effect size because it may be based on a biased collection of studies, it is important to assess the likely extent of the bias. We used Egger's Test to assess the publication bias.

Various meta-regressions were performed to establish which variables could have an effect on heterogeneity. We also calculated the Q R (to find whether the effect size varied across subgroups), the I 2 (percentage of variation in the effects observed which reflects variance in true effects rather than sampling error), and the R 2 (percentage of variance in the real effects explained by the model). The possible moderator variables were the following: age; percentage of female participants in each study; type of sample (whether the sample consisted totally or partially of individuals with emotional disorders, or older adults, or individuals from a university environment); the emotional model used (dimensional or discrete model of emotion); the emotional dimension measured in case of the dimensional model (valence, arousal or both); type of session (group or individual); sound (whether the film clips were shown with or without sound); presentation of clips (random or fixed order); type of neutral stimulus used (nature documentary, shapes screensaver, a clip from a popular film, a combination of film clips and screensaver, or other less common stimuli); number of conditions (whether participants were exposed to stimuli from a single category or whether they watched fragments from various or all of the categories); number of films viewed by each participant; and number of discrete categories considered in each emotional dimension used in the experiment (i.e., a film reflecting tenderness and another reflecting enjoyment would be considered two positive categories).

Description of the studies

After the initial screening procedures, we obtained 451 citations from the databases. Of these, 313 were discarded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria after reviewing the abstracts. The remaining 138 citations were assessed and reviewed for eligibility in more detail. We excluded 93 full-text articles (7 due to unavailability of data after contacting the authors, 2 meta-analysis articles, and 84 not meeting the inclusion criteria). Finally, 45 studies were included in the present meta-analysis ( Fig 1 ).

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After an exhaustive search from inception to the present, we found that the earliest study meeting the criteria to be included in our meta-analysis was published in 1993, meaning that the studies selected in this review were all published between 1993 and 2017. The 45 studies covered 6,362 non-clinical participants and 313 participants with emotional disorders. Most of the studies used undergraduate samples (n = 29) and most participants were females (66.87%). The weighted mean age in the samples was 33.88 years, with some studies including children (n = 1) and older adults (n = 4). All studies used films as the method to evoke positive, negative and neutral states. Table 1 details the characteristics of the populations and the procedures used in each selected study.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.t001

Overall Effect Size (Valence and arousal regardless of the type of stimulus)

A total of 178 effect sizes were obtained from 45 publications including 6,675 participants. The effect sizes were independent of each other. The Q -test established heterogeneity across the studies ( p < .001, I 2 = 96.61), and the random-effects model was thus used to establish the overall effect size. Hedges’ g effect size was found to be -1.49, with a variance of 0.01, 95% CI [-1.64, -1.34], p < .001.

Valence ratings with negative and positive stimuli

Based on 45 studies and 6,675 participants, we found 63 effect sizes. For negative stimuli, the Q -test established heterogeneity across the studies ( p < .001, I 2 = 95.80), and the random-effects model was thus used to establish the effect size. Hedges’ g effect size was found to be -1.69, with a variance of 0.02, 95% CI [-1.93, -1.45], p < .001 ( Fig 2 ). For positive stimuli, the Q -test showed heterogeneity across the studies ( p < .001, I 2 = 93.74), and the random-effects model was used to establish the effect size. Hedges’ g effect size was found to be -1.22, with a variance of 0.01, 95% CI [-1.41, -1.04], p < .001 ( Fig 3 ).

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Arousal ratings with negative and positive stimuli

Based on 21 studies and 2,625 participants, we found 26 effect sizes. For negative stimuli, the Q -test showed heterogeneity across the studies ( p < .001, I 2 = 98.13), and the random-effects model was used to establish the effect size. Hedges’ g effect size was found to be -1.77, with a variance of 0.07, 95% CI [-2.30, -1.24], p < .001 ( Fig 4 ). For positive stimuli, the Q -test showed heterogeneity across the studies ( p < .001, I 2 = 97.59), and the random-effects model was thus used to establish the effect size. Hedges’ g effect size was found to be -1.34, with a variance of 0.05, 95% CI [-1.78, -0.91], p < .001 ( Fig 5 ).

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Evaluation of moderators

To determine the variables that might have an effect on heterogeneity, we conducted a meta-regression with all the possible influencing variables. We found that the number of positive and negative categories in the films was statistically significant ( Q R = 13.80, p = .541, I 2 = 95.14, R 2 = 0.00, number of studies = 62) for negative valence. For positive valence, we found that using the combined option of shapes screensaver and film clips as a neutral stimulus was statistically significant ( Q R = 12.64, p = .630, I 2 = 90.54, R 2 = 0.10, number of studies = 62). We found that the number of films was statistically significant (QR = 14.87, p = .387, I 2 = 96.29, R 2 = 0.24, number of studies = 26) for negative arousal. Finally, we found no statistically significant variables ( Q R = 8.09, p = .885, I 2 = 96.20, R 2 = 0.00, number of studies = 26) for positive arousal. Tables 2 – 5 show the results for these combined models.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.t004

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.t005

Evaluation of publication bias

We examined the publication bias for negative valence, finding none, with Egger’s test ( p = -.281) yielding a statistically non-significant result. However, Egger’s test ( p = .026) was statistically significant, suggesting the presence of a publication bias for positive valence.

In the evaluation of negative arousal, no publication bias was found, with Egger’s test ( p = .376) for negative arousal and with Egger’s test ( p = .385) for positive arousal yielding statistically non-significant results. S1 – S4 Figs shows the funnel plots of the effect size for the assessment of valence and arousal with negative and positive stimuli.

The overall aim of this meta-analysis was to provide theoretical and practical information for researchers who decide to use this method of emotional induction in their research. We examined the mean effects of film mood induction for positive and negative mood states. The results of our meta-analytical integrations revealed large effect sizes for both negative and positive induction using film clips MIP. These results are described in the following sections.

Differences in induction using negative and positive stimuli

Although scientific research suggests a variety of MIPs are useful for inducing positive and negative emotions, previous literature reviews tend to highlight the effectiveness of film clips [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 22 ]. Hence, we wished to examine the mean effects of positive and negative emotional targets using film clips. Based on the results of 63 effects sizes for valence and 21 for arousal, our results show that the effectiveness of both positive and negative induction is significantly high. Although a direct comparison between negative and positive emotional induction cannot be computed, it can be observed that negative induction presents a larger effect size for both affective valence and level of arousal. Previous reviews have shown that negative mood induction is more powerful than positive emotional induction [ 5 , 6 ]. These results might be explained by the level of motivation in participating in the studies. Thus, if the general mood state during the experiment is positive, the difference between this state and the state obtained by the positive emotional target will be low [ 5 ]. The difference in effectiveness between positive and negative induction might also be explained by the neutral stimuli, which are used to determine the baseline state prior to the induction process. The neutral stimuli used tend to encourage relaxation because they involve calming actions such as listening to peaceful music, breathing exercises or viewing a nature documentary (e.g., [ 80 , 91 ]). Sweeney [ 94 ] defines relaxation as “a positively perceived state or response in which an individual feels relief of tension or strain”. Therefore, the differences between a positive emotional state and a neutral state could be less significant than those between the same neutral state and the affective state after the negative induction.

Last, it should be considered that these findings may be the result of the affect measurement. The present meta-analysis reviewed studies that assess positive and negative affect via self-report. A basic consideration in self-reports is the subjective interpretation of cues from the context, their physiological sensations and the cognitive information about their current mood [ 95 ]. The literature suggests that the processing of affective stimuli is faster when participants respond to a negative high-arousal stimulus or to a positive low-arousal stimulus [ 96 , 97 ]. Thus, our results may be explained by a question of developmental survival. Emotion research argues that humans process positive information and negative information differently. Specifically, negative information has a stronger psychological impact than positive information [ 98 ], requiring greater attention and being recognized more accurately [ 99 ]. From a developmental approach, it may be considered that processing of negative information is more potent than positive information because it is directly linked to survival. Negative emotions are associated with the activation of the defense system [ 100 ]. Our results indicate a larger effect size for negative valence and arousal than for positive valence and arousal. Self-report forms were completed immediately after each induction. In order to give meaning, attend and respond to the stimuli around us, our energy levels must be high, and we need to be active during and immediately after exposure to the inductive stimuli. This might explain the large effect sizes of the negative dimensions.

Determinants of the strength of affective reaction

Film clips are the most commonly used stimuli in mood induction [ 22 ], and are currently one of the most widely recognized and accepted MIPs. However, researchers might have doubts when selecting the type of sample or the most adequate methodological procedure, given that the previous literature presents diverse findings on both aspects. The strength of the MIP is arguably directly related to the population selected for research, the experimental procedure used or the characteristics of the audiovisual stimuli. Accordingly, the present meta-analysis was also designed with the aim of answering such practical questions and thus provide guidelines on emotion induction research.

Affective reactions by sample.

Regarding the characteristics of the sample, our results show no variables are related to the strength of emotional induction. With respect to gender, previous literature reviews have reported that participants” gender is unrelated to the effect size obtained [ 5 ]. In this sense, the present meta-analysis also finds no evidence that gender influences the strength of induction of positive and negative emotions using film clips as the MIP. As for age, the literature provides evidence on changes in emotional response over the adult lifespan (young adults vs. older adults). Moreover, older adults have been found to exhibit reduced reactivity to negative stimuli [ 56 ]. In addition, previous studies have used film clips as a MIP with this population, with adequate rates of success in inducing positive and negative moods (e.g., [ 61 , 64 ]). In the same line, this meta-analysis finds no evidence that age affects the strength of mood induction. Film clips appear to be an effective method for mood induction in both young and older adults. Nonetheless, most of the participants in the studies included in this review are young adults. The same is true of the comparison between clinical and non-clinical population. Despite the low level of non-clinical populations in this work, the results suggest there exist no differences between clinical and non-clinical populations that might affect the strength of mood induction. Hence, film clips are apt for mood induction procedures in clinical population. Finally, we considered possible differences between college students and community members, supposing that the former might exhibit a stronger response to mood induction. This hypothesis emerges given that the familiarity of students with experimental tasks in university settings might lead them to experience the demand effect more than other participants. However, the present review has found no evidence of such effects, as is the case in previous reviews [ 22 ].

In summary, sample-related variables, such as age, gender composition, sample community and clinical disorders seem to have no impact on the effectiveness and strength of emotion induction using film clips.

Affective reactions according to the research procedure.

Regarding the influence of the different variables considered in the experimental procedures, the present meta-analysis shows the need to consider the characteristics of the stimuli, film clips in this case, since the way they are used may affect the strength of the mood induction generated in the procedure.

With regard to the induction of negative emotions, it was observed that the number of film clips and emotional categories had an impact on the strength of the affective reaction. Specifically, it was found that the larger the number of emotional categories elicited and the greater the number of film clips used, the greater is the impact on the strength of the mood induction. These findings might be explained by the accumulative effect of mood states, or, in other words, excitation transfer. Take the emotion of anger, for example. One way to evoke anger is to use only one film clip. However, if the goal is to induce different negative states, we will choose several film clips, one for anger and other clips for the remaining negative emotions. In a short period of time, watching only one film clip is a different experience compared to watching several film clips. The strength of mood induction is likely to be greater in the second case. The larger the number of films or emotional categories, the longer is the time of exposure to emotional stimuli. When one emotional state after another is induced in a person, the baseline state will not normally be recovered in the period between one stimulus and another. Considering the dimensions of valence and arousal, this phenomenon is dependent on the latter dimension, and thus the effect of residual arousal is posited. The excitation transfer theory [ 101 , 102 ] is based on the fact that when exposure to a first stimulus finishes, the physiological arousal does not suddenly stop. Sympathetic activation persists for a certain time and declines slowly, potentially impacting the effect of the subsequent induction stimuli.

The fact that both the number of emotional categories and the number of film clips used affects the induction of negative emotions but not that of positive ones might be a consequence of negative information being processed differently from positive information. Indeed, negative information is thought to be more informative and its recognition is more robust and intense than that of positive information as it is considered a developmentally more adaptive process. Ignoring negative information (e.g. a danger stimulus) may put one’s survival at risk [ 98 , 99 ]. Hence, it is unsurprising that the results in this review show that continued exposure to negative stimuli affects the strength of mood induction. This finding is interesting as it supports the need to establish a rest period between stimuli (e.g., the use of distraction tasks) that facilitates emotional recovery when an experiment includes more than one mood induction. In addition, it highlights the need to control for the order of the stimuli based on their affective valence. In an experimental procedure, inducing negative emotions before positive ones could have an impact on the emotion induction obtained in the latter.

Finally, with regard to the induction of positive emotions, it was observed that the characteristics of neutral stimuli influence the strength of the mood induction. For this reason, it is worth noting the importance of selecting an appropriate neutral stimulus to establish the baseline and of using the emotional responses to this stimulus as a control variable. The present review shows the existence of a diversity of stimuli or techniques used for neutral induction. Moreover, the importance of the choice of the neutral stimulus in mood induction procedures is often neglected. An inappropriate selection of the neutral stimulus may have an impact on the effect of the emotional stimuli on participants and even on the capacity for recovery following the induction. In this sense, our results suggest that the combined use of neutral clips from popular films and a shapes screensaver is the most effective stimulus. The findings also seem to show that the fact the neutral stimuli share the same idiosyncratic characteristics as the other emotional clips facilitates the experimental procedure in mood induction [ 59 ]. In this case, the combination of both stimuli is presented audiovisually, encouraging coherence across the experimental session.

Limitations and future research

This meta-analysis suffers from a number of limitations. First, to assess the emotional response evoked by the induction method, some studies have examined valence (positive, negative and neutral) and arousal (high, medium and low), while others have considered the type of emotion (e.g., disgust, anger, fear and sadness as negative emotions). This complicates a direct comparison of these studies. Second, it was not possible to assess the differences within each emotional category (e.g., gender differences, taking into account the approach and avoidance models) due to the conflictive classification of these emotions. Third, the fact that no association was found between the emotional response and type of sample (for example, age and clinical population) may have been due to the lack of statistical power of the studies selected that included these moderator variables. Clear evidence of the effect of these variables would require further studies with older adults and clinical population with a variety of disorders.

For future experimental research, we recommend investigating whether film clips are useful for the study of other emotional areas. In this study, we examined subjective experience to understand the emotional process. Future studies could review the implication of the use of films for other dimensions, for example, from a neuroscientific perspective. In addition, it could be interesting for future reviews to study film clip MIPs to induce discrete mood states at both physiological and subjective levels. In relation to the aforementioned discrete emotion model, it would also be necessary to improve the definition of positive emotions and the number of positive emotions used in the MIPs, because there is a lack of consensus, as the present review reflects. It would also be of interest to determine whether results vary according to whether the measurement is conducted after or during the viewing of the clips. It would also be interesting to increase the study of MIPs, especially in older adults, to determine whether they respond differently to young adults both with regard to the emotional reaction generated by the audiovisual stimuli and their subsequent recovery. In this sense, it might also be useful to study how the changes in the aesthetics and contemporaneity of films affect the emotional reaction of individuals of different generations.

Conclusions

Although work remains to be done on classifying and enhancing our understanding in the field of emotion psychology, and more specifically on the use of audiovisual techniques in the laboratory, our meta-analysis suggests that mood induction by film clips is a highly effective method to generate negative and positive affective reactions. All the effect sizes on mood induction using film clips, both in terms of valence and arousal, were large, ranging between -1.22 and -1.77. Moreover, this quantitative review highlights the need to take into account the variables related to the experimental procedure since these may directly affect the strength of the mood induction obtained. Findings suggest that this effect may vary according to whether negative or positive emotions are being elicited. In the case of negative emotions, the number of emotional categories evaluated and the number of film clips used in the procedure may contribute to the strength of the mood induction. Furthermore, the type of stimulus used to measure the baseline state appears to influence the strength of the induction of positive emotions.

Despite some inconsistencies among individual studies examined, this work provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of using this engaging and increasingly popular methodology, encouraging further research to enhance the understanding of the complex emotional system and its functioning.

Supporting information

S1 fig. funnel plot of standard error by hedges’ g for valence with negative stimulus..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.s001

S2 Fig. Funnel plot of standard error by hedges’ g for valence with positive stimulus.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.s002

S3 Fig. Funnel plot of standard error by hedges’ g for arousal with negative stimulus.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.s003

S4 Fig. Funnel plot of standard error by hedges’ g for arousal with positive stimulus.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.s004

S1 Dataset. Dataset of the study.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225040.s005

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the following authors who sent us requested data and statistical information: Alexandre Schaefer, Cesare Maffei, Dana L. McMakin, Lynne Dawkins, Peter Koval, T. Lee Gilman and Wataru Sato.

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Positive and negative effects of movies

In today’s time, the movies are one of the biggest sources of entertainment. Most of the people love to watch the movies and the weekend is definitely the right time. All the multiplexes are houseful during this time with movies getting an overwhelming response from the audience. There is no denial to the fact that movies are gaining a lot of popularity with few of them really showcasing the society and bringing a huge revolution. On the other hand, there are some which provoke people and end up having an adverse impact on their life.

Movies not only offer several advantages to the people but there are a few disadvantages too. Here we will talk about the same.

Also read: Positives and negatives of rap music

Pros of watching movies:

•    As already discussed that movies are a good source of entertainment as it adds spice to your life. You can get rid of your boring day and make it fun filled. In short watching movies is a superb activity if you wish to spend your day. •    If you are fond of spending time with your friends and family members then watching a movie with them is a superb idea. It is certainly a different experience to watch a movie together and spend quality time with the people you love. •    Movies are a source of inspiration and provide a lot of information as well. Movies made on famous personalities help you to know more about them and at the same time learn from their life. •    With the help of the movies, you come to know about the different things happening in our society. There are many incidents which we are not aware of but when movies are made on such topics it is a way to bring them into limelight thus letting people know about them. Apart from the positive effects that the movies have on our lives, it also has a negative effect on it.

Cons of watching movies:

•    Some of the movies have adult content in it which spoils the college going students, these movies not only spoil their mentality but change their thinking as well. •    People learn wrong habits like smoking and drinking which are showcased in almost all the movies. This is definitely a big concern as the major audience of the movies is the adults and they get carried away with the stuff done by their favorite actors. •    A few movies even have a provoking message which creates conflicts among the people thus disturbing the harmony of the place as well as the country. So it is very important that the film-makers understand that value of movies in people’s life and make sure that the right theme is projected. This will not only change the society but also help the people in living a happy life. Movies are just a mirror for us and therefore we should grab the positive things from rather than leaning towards the negative ones. So watch good movies that inspire you and bring a change in your life.

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Essay on Impact of Movies on Youth

Students are often asked to write an essay on Impact of Movies on Youth in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Impact of Movies on Youth

Introduction.

Movies are a powerful medium that can significantly influence the youth. They can shape thoughts, inspire actions, and even change perspectives.

Positive Impact

Movies can educate and enlighten youth. They can learn about different cultures, historical events, and social issues. Inspirational movies can motivate them to strive for success.

Negative Impact

However, movies can also have negative effects. Violent or inappropriate content can influence youth negatively. They may develop unrealistic expectations from life and relationships.

While movies can be a source of entertainment and learning, it’s essential for the youth to discern between reality and fiction.

250 Words Essay on Impact of Movies on Youth

The influence of cinema on youth.

Cinema, a powerful medium of mass communication, has a profound impact on the youth. It shapes their perspectives, influences their behaviour, and provides a lens through which they view the world.

Shaping Perceptions

Movies often serve as a mirror to society, reflecting its virtues and vices. Consequently, they can shape the perceptions of the young audience. For instance, films that tackle social issues such as racism, gender inequality, or climate change can foster awareness and inspire youth to become socially responsible citizens.

Impacting Behaviour

The behavioural impact of movies on youth is equally significant. The portrayal of violence, substance abuse, or explicit content can potentially normalise such behaviour among impressionable young minds. Conversely, positive depictions can encourage desirable behaviour, such as empathy, resilience, and perseverance.

Creating Aspirations

Movies also play a role in shaping career aspirations. The portrayal of successful characters in various professions can inspire youth to pursue similar paths. However, this can also lead to unrealistic expectations, as the reel life often glosses over the struggles associated with these professions.

In conclusion, movies undeniably impact the youth, shaping their perceptions, influencing their behaviour, and creating aspirations. While they can be a potent tool for positive change, the potential for negative influence underscores the need for responsible filmmaking and discerning viewership. As consumers of cinema, youth must be encouraged to critically analyse the content they consume, distinguishing fiction from reality.

500 Words Essay on Impact of Movies on Youth

Cinema, an art form that has captivated audiences worldwide, has a profound impact on its viewers, particularly the youth. Movies, with their vivid narratives and compelling characters, shape young minds, influencing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Shaping Perceptions and Attitudes

Movies often serve as a mirror to society, reflecting contemporary ideas and issues. They shape perceptions and attitudes by introducing viewers to diverse cultures, ideas, and perspectives. For instance, films addressing social issues such as racism, gender equality, or climate change can enlighten the youth, prompting them to engage in social activism. However, this influence can also be detrimental if movies glorify negative aspects like violence or substance abuse, potentially normalizing such behaviors among impressionable viewers.

Impact on Emotional Development

Cinema plays a crucial role in the emotional development of the youth. Movies elicit a wide range of emotions, helping young viewers understand and express their feelings better. They can serve as a cathartic release, allowing youth to experience emotions vicariously. However, excessive exposure to emotionally intense content can lead to desensitization, reducing their emotional responsiveness over time.

Influence on Behavior and Lifestyle

Movies significantly influence the behavior and lifestyle choices of young people. They often emulate their favorite characters, adopting their styles, speech, and actions. This mimicry extends beyond mere fashion trends to include attitudes and values. While this can foster creativity and individuality, it can also lead to unrealistic expectations and harmful behaviors if the portrayed lifestyles are extravagant or unethical.

Imparting Education and Awareness

Cinema is a powerful medium for imparting education and raising awareness. Documentaries and biopics can inspire the youth, providing them with valuable insights into various fields. They can learn about historical events, scientific discoveries, and cultural practices, broadening their horizons. However, it is essential to ensure the accuracy of such portrayals to prevent the spread of misinformation.

In conclusion, the impact of movies on youth is multifaceted, influencing their perceptions, emotions, behaviors, and knowledge. While cinema can be a potent tool for positive change, it also holds the potential for negative influence. Therefore, it is crucial to promote responsible filmmaking and critical viewing habits among the youth. This will enable them to appreciate the art of cinema while remaining discerning viewers, understanding the difference between reel life and real life.

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Essay on Movies: Advantages and Disadvantages 

• Updated on  
• Dec 19, 2023

Essay on Movies:   Movies create a huge impact on human life. It can be positive as well as negative. People learn and implement new and innovative things from movies in real life. For example, learning new languages, getting inspiration, self-motivation, and gaining more insight and understanding are examples of the brighter side of movies. 

On the contrary, movies with a provoking message that disturbs peace and harmony, inappropriate content, and gender discrimination contribute to desensitization and normalizing harmful behaviors. 

Essay on Movies: Impact of Movies on Society

The motive for watching movies can differ from person to person. For some, it can just be a pastime, but for others, it can present a real-life context for learning. Therefore, it plays a vital role in shaping societal norms and influencing the culture.

Also, movies have the power to evoke emotions in the audience. Besides, it has the potential to raise awareness and promote social change by addressing important issues. Further, movies also serve as a form of entertainment and cultivate a sense of shared experience among the audience. 

Now, let us analyze the advantages and disadvantages of movies to evaluate their impact on society:

Advantages of Movies :

1. Source of Entertainment: Movies are the best mode of enjoyable and immersive entertainment. When one gets bored with the same routine work and needs relaxation, the cinematic experience, with its special effects, music, and storytelling techniques, helps provide a unique way of escaping reality. 

2. Form of Storytelling: Stories take us to a world where we can explore different stories, characters, and themes. Film directors, with the help of visuals and narrative methods, help convey a message and evoke emotions in the audience while developing a connection with the story being told.

3. Means of Social Bonding: Sitting in front of the television and watching a movie with family is fun on another level. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a night out at the cinema or a movie night at home; the experience of bonding among friends and family cannot be explained in words.

Also Read: Film Direction, Drama, and Theatre Archives 

Disadvantages of Movies:

Now, let us understand what adverse effects movies can have on the audience: 

• Negative Influence: Movies with harmful content such as misogyny, celebration of communal violence, racism, and glorification of patriarchy create an adverse impact on the impressionable audience. Therefore, as viewers, it is important to understand the message conveyed very carefully and its potential consequences. 
• Time-Consuming: Also, watching movies for long hours can interfere with work, studies, and other activities. It is, therefore, required to create a balance between leisure and responsibilities. However, this does not apply to present-day and future generations of filmmakers, actors, scriptwriters, cinematographers, camera operators, etc. 
• Expensive: Watching movies is a costly undertaking. Whether tickets, streaming subscriptions, or home entertainment comes with a heavy expense. If one is a regular moviegoer, watching movies can lead to a potential drawback. 

Thus, it is essential to carefully analyze the messaging of movies. It is our responsibility to watch movies as a source of entertainment and not indulge in wrongdoings. Also, cinema is a beautiful art form and a great source of learning for technicians, writers, and filmmakers.

Also Read: Film Making Courses

Ans. Time consumption, social isolation, and distorted realities are the negative impacts of movies on society. 

Ans. Career opportunities, technological advancements, and emotional impacts are some of the positive impacts of movies on society. 

Ans. The movies aim to serve content suitability, so movies are served with different ratings. 

Ans. Movies serve as a source of entertainment, a means of relaxation, and a platform for imparting moral values.

Ans. Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumiere are credited for inventing movies. 

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Deepika Joshi

Deepika Joshi is an experienced content writer with expertise in creating educational and informative content. She has a year of experience writing content for speeches, essays, NCERT, study abroad and EdTech SaaS. Her strengths lie in conducting thorough research and ananlysis to provide accurate and up-to-date information to readers. She enjoys staying updated on new skills and knowledge, particulary in education domain. In her free time, she loves to read articles, and blogs with related to her field to further expand her expertise. In personal life, she loves creative writing and aspire to connect with innovative people who have fresh ideas to offer.

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Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts Essay

The term piracy is used to refer to robbery or criminal violation of copyrights. Robbery in his case is viewed in terms of criminals benefiting from other people’s intellectual products. Such products include books, music, paintings, and movies to mention but a few. This crime is commonly known as copyright infringement, which is the unauthorized use of works under copyright. These rights include exclusive rights also known as holder’s rights such as, the right to reproduce, to distribute and display or performing rights (Edwards & Waelde, 2005). This paper will discuss the impacts of piracy in the movie industry, the reasons why piracy is on the rise and how the practice can be curbed.

The entire world has become in one way or another victim of piracy. Movie piracy in particular accounts for almost 1/3 of the worlds pirated products (Ryan, 2012). Other products with a close margin include software and music piracy. Piracy can be perpetrated depending on the person violating the copyright law through many ways. Although people feel that by reproducing other people’s works of art without legitimate authorization has dismal effects, the opposite is true. In the end, the entire market if flooded with the products that are pirated and illegally acquired therefore robbing the original author his or her benefits.

A good example of the adverse impacts of the movie piracy practice is presented in a case in Canada where 12,600 full time equivalent jobs were lost. This affected the entire economy and the movie industry as well which experienced a loss of 4,900 direct jobs (McDonald & Wasko, 2008). The movie industry is a very prestigious and fast growing market. Many other significant industries greatly depend on the movie industry including the software industry among others. Therefore, the collapsing of the industry can cause a lot of harm than good for both the industry and the economy as a whole.

America alone, the entertainment industry is a very significant economic contributor but with the rampant piracy, the industry might lose its economic value. Piracy has adverse impacts on people’s lives especially the industry players. It is in the public knowledge how some of the movies that are flooded in the market are costly to make. Making a movie can reach up to the levels of hundreds of millions in American dollar currency. Movie making is a business and the investors hope to rise as much and make some profits out it as well.

However, piracy has made the recovery and ultimate benefit of such investments a very difficult endeavor. Although the perpetrators argue that, their actions are justified by the act that the prices set on original movies are too high in the middle-class and low-class population, the industry maintains the prices are set putting into account the production cost. It is very practical for the industry players to have their prices as high as their production cost since this is also a business entity. Piracy of movies is not justifiable since it is a criminal offense to infringe other people’s rights.

Nonetheless, the copyright owners on the other hand have to rethink and restructure their market structure. It is true that with the rampant growth of piracy has grown, there lacks an easy way to stop the practice. It is real and happening in almost every corner of the world today. All that one needs to do is to purchase an original movie once and then they can reproduce it as many times as they wish and as many copies as they can. This can be later sold at a very subsidized price that is affordable to all hence spreading the movie and increasing its viewing. The chain goes on as the copy is sold out since every copy sold out can also be reproduced in other copies and eventually the original copies will have no demand in the market in the end.

Piracy of movies has both positive and negative impacts. However, the positive impacts of piracy are outweighed by the negative impacts depending on which angle of problem one is looking at. From the consumer angle, it may seem justifiable because it reduces the prices and enables the poor to access entertainment. However, looking at the broader scope of the industry, piracy is as disadvantageous as a nation experiencing an economic meltdown. The movie business covers a lot of other economic loopholes and it is a source of revenue to the government as well as to individuals who get employment directly or indirectly through the industry.

This paper has outlined a number of the impacts of piracy. In the paper, piracy has been defined and analyzed considering both the bad and good sides of its existence. Piracy has been described as a way to solve pressing problems but it also has been criticized for having economic deformity. Movie piracy as discussed in this essay is illegal and the practice of it attracts very serious copyright infringement punishable by law in most of the countries globally.

McDonald, P., & Wasko, J. (2008). The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry . Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.

Edwards, L., & Waelde, C. (2005). Online Intermediaries and Liability for Copyright Infringement . Web.

Ryan, P (2012). College sports should hook ‘em online . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, August 21). Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-piracy-its-positive-and-negative-impacts/

"Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts." IvyPanda , 21 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/film-piracy-its-positive-and-negative-impacts/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts'. 21 August.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts." August 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-piracy-its-positive-and-negative-impacts/.

1. IvyPanda . "Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts." August 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-piracy-its-positive-and-negative-impacts/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Film Piracy, Its Positive and Negative Impacts." August 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-piracy-its-positive-and-negative-impacts/.

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Essay on Impact of Cinema in Life for Students and Children

500 words essay on impact of cinema in life.

Cinema has been a part of the entertainment industry for a long time. It creates a massive impact on people all over the world. In other words, it helps them give a break from monotony. It has evolved greatly in recent years too. Cinema is a great escape from real life.

Furthermore, it helps in rejuvenating the mind of a person. It surely is beneficial in many ways, however, it is also creating a negative impact on people and society. We need to be able to identify the right from wrong and make decisions accordingly.

Advantages of Cinema

Cinema has a lot of advantages if we look at the positive side. It is said to be a reflection of the society only. So, it helps us come face to face with the actuality of what’s happening in our society. It portrays things as they are and helps in opening our eyes to issues we may have well ignored in the past.

Similarly, it helps people socialize better. It connects people and helps break the ice. People often discuss cinema to start a conversation or more. Moreover, it is also very interesting to talk about rather than politics and sports which is often divided.

Above all, it also enhances the imagination powers of people. Cinema is a way of showing the world from the perspective of the director, thus it inspires other people too to broaden their thinking and imagination.

Most importantly, cinema brings to us different cultures of the world. It introduces us to various art forms and helps us in gaining knowledge about how different people lead their lives.

In a way, it brings us closer and makes us more accepting of different art forms and cultures. Cinema also teaches us a thing or two about practical life. Incidents are shown in movies of emergencies like robbery, fire, kidnapping and more help us learn things which we can apply in real life to save ourselves. Thus, it makes us more aware and teaches us to improvise.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Disadvantages of Cinema

While cinema may be beneficial in many ways, it is also very damaging in various areas. Firstly, it stereotypes a lot of things including gender roles, religious practices, communities and more. This creates a false notion and a negative impact against that certain group of people.

People also consider it to be a waste of time and money as most of the movies nowadays are not showing or teaching anything valuable. It is just trash content with objectification and lies. Moreover, it also makes people addicts because you must have seen movie buffs flocking to the theatre every weekend to just watch the latest movie for the sake of it.

Most importantly, cinema shows pretty violent and sexual content. It contributes to the vulgarity and eve-teasing present in our society today. Thus, it harms the young minds of the world very gravely.

Q.1 How does cinema benefit us?

A.1 Cinema has a positive impact on society as it helps us in connecting to people of other cultures. It reflects the issues of society and makes us familiar with them. Moreover, it also makes us more aware and helps to improvise in emergency situations.

Q.2 What are the disadvantages of cinema?

A.2 Often cinema stereotypes various things and creates false notions of people and communities. It is also considered to be a waste of time and money as some movies are pure trash and don’t teach something valuable. Most importantly, it also demonstrates sexual and violent content which has a bad impact on young minds.

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Impact of Movies on Youth

Impact of movies on youth.

INTRODUCTION

Getting bored? Let’s watch movies! Nowadays, movies have become a part of our lives. Of course, it is one of the best sources of entertainment, especially for the young generation. Movies act as a savior for escaping us from our busy lives and stressful schedule.

But, is it really good every time? What impacts does it have on our youths and society? Movies leave a great impact on our lifestyles and behavior. It is created to bring a sense of refreshment to the people. Well, it depends on us. If we make it as an addiction and absorb all the negatives from it, it can be very harmful to the young generation.

However, youths are grown-ups, so they should make themselves to grasp all the positives from the movies and leave the negatives there itself. And as we know, youths are the future of our society, so it becomes really important to have a watch on this.

“One of the powerful temptations is that of the cinema palace. The cinema has undoubtedly an enormous attraction for boys, and people are constantly cudgeling their brains on how to stop it. But it is one of those things which would be very difficult to stop even if it were altogether desirable.” – Robert Baden-Powell

STATISTICS – What numbers have to Say?

• Studies show that about 1600 to 1800 movies are released every year in India in 25+ languages. This shows that Indians are very keen on watching movies.
• 20 million people in India go to watch movies every day, which equates to nearly 2% of the entire population.
• 50% of the youth is affected by what they watch in movies as compared to what they see in real life.
• Studies have found that 91% of movies on television contained violence, even extreme violence.
• As per the PwC report, India is poised to be the 3 rd largest cinema market in the world by 2021.

DESCRIPTION – Let’s take a Deep Dive

As we know, movies have the power to make or break the world. Movies can act as a strong medium for bringing significant changes in society. Nowadays, people prefer watching movies than reading books. Visualization leaves a great impact on the minds of people than imagination. So, the best use of this should be made such that our young generation absorbs all the positive things from it.

Movies such as ‘BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG’, ‘NEERJA’, ‘RAAZI’ etc bought a sense of patriotism and motivation. Movies such as ‘DANGAL’, ‘MARY KOM’, etc encouraged girls to participate in sports activities and helped in discouraging gender inequality.

Movies can act as a great source of knowledge as well. Many autobiographies have been made, through which we can learn a lot about our culture and history. But not everything shown in the movies must be absorbed like fights, violence, vulgarity, smoking, taking drugs, etc.

It all depends upon our perception that how we take it. Youth is a stage of life when we are full of energy and very enthusiastic about learning new things.  So, if the positive things are taken into consideration, movies can act as a source of social awareness as well as motivation for achieving goals.

Positive impacts of movies on youth

• Movies act as a powerful medium of education, information, and entertainment which helps in opinion building on various social groups.
• Movies can bring a significant change in our society and culture.
• Movies can make youths familiar with historical events and stories.
• Watching comedy movies can act as a good source of refreshment and relieving stress and tensions.
• Movies can stimulate our emotions, perceptions, skills, and understandings.
• Movies can help in enhancing our knowledge.

Negative impacts of movies on youth

• The vulgarity shown in the movies leaves a bad impact on the minds of the young generation as well as children of our society.
• Youngsters try to act like the lead characters of the movies. So, if they are shown smoking, taking alcohol or drugs, doing crimes, it will be harmful to youngsters.
• Movies containing obscene and terrorism can affect the minds of the youth in a dangerous way.
• Youngsters try to copy the lifestyles of actors in movies. They fail to differentiate between reel life and real life.
• Movies are taking away the interests of youngsters from reading books and novels.

Everything has something good as well as bad in it. It is us who can decide whether to grab good things or bad things. In the same way, movies can have a very good impact on the minds of our youngsters if they learn to catch all the good aspects like learning new things about our history and culture, gain social awareness about the real scenario occurring around us or take the vulgarity and bad things. Just have a look at what you choose as the future of our country depends upon you guys!

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Mam firstly I want to thanks to you for explain this topic very understably and make it very interesting and If i talk about my views on it that movies are the connected with our sentiment and emotions if effect on us can be good or bad it’s totally depend on us so i want to movies are the best soource to motivate and learn about historical things and places Thank you ❤mam again

According to me, films are not corrupting the youth. Currently, movies usually fall into the following genres, action, thriller, or romance. The youth does try to imitate whatever is shown in the movies and this reflects in their dressing style, their way of talking and so on. Watching movies allows us to disconnect for a while and helps us to relax. Movies encourage ideas and help us in knowing what is going on around the world. It has also been scientifically proven that watching movies is good for us. Like watching horror movies can burn nearly 200 calories at a time and enhances brain activity. I think there should also be some restrictions. Children should not watch television or movies for more than 90 minutes per day. Children should also be restricted from watching movies which can have a bad impact on them and can affect their mental health. And it’s their parents’ job to guide them.

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