Autobiographical Memories About the Experience of Seeing Frightening Movies in Childhood

MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY, 1, 11 7-140. Copyright O 1999, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Autobiographical Memories About the Experience of Seeing

Frightening Movies in Childhood

Steven J. Hoekstra Richard Jackson Harris

Angela L. Helmick Kansas State University

Two autobiographical memory studies were conducted in order to better understand the social experience and short- and long-term eSfects of seeing frightening movies at a young age. Young adult participants (a ) recalled the experience of watching a movie they had been frightened by as a child or teen, and (b) were assessed for levels of four kinds of dispositional empathy. They also reported who they watched the movie with, who chose it, what sorts of emotional reactions were experienced during viewing, and what negative effects they experienced following viewing. Participants typically remembered horror movies seen on video in the evening or at night at a mean age of I1 years. Results also showed that (a) fantasy empathy and perspective taking played a role in negative experiences; (b ) some situational factors predicted later likelihood of viewing, anticipated fear; and enjoyment of the genre; and (c ) a younger age at viewing and higher degree of perceived realism were associated with more negative effects of viewing.

Considerable research has documented several negative effects of viewing filmed violence, including modeling, desensitization, and cultivation (see Donnerstein & Smith, 1997; Dubow & Miller, 1996; Gunter, 1994; Harris, 1999; and Strasburger, 1995, for recent reviews). One of the clear negative effects of viewing violence and horror is fear (Cantor, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998a, 1998b;

Requests for reprints should be sent to Richard J. Hanis, Department of Psychology, Bluemont Hall 492, Kansas State University, 1 I00 Mid-Campus Drive, Manhattan, KS hhCnk5?n? R-rn-i l . v i h o ~ l i ~ ( r j ) b ~ ~ ~ PAI

118 HOEKSTRA, HARRIS, & HELMICK

Hoffner, 1997; Tamborini, 1996). People are more fearful after watching violence, although affective and behavioral reactions differ by age and gender. Also, there are several other mediating variables, including the degree of empathy (Tamborini, 1996; Zillmann, 1991), affective disposition (Zillmann, 1998), and traditionality of gender-role identification (Mundorf, Weaver, & Zillmann, 1989). In reviewing the literature, Cantor (1996, p. 91) concluded that "transitory fright responses to mass media stimuli are quite typical, that enduring and intense emotional disturbances occur in a substantial portion of children and adolescents, and that severe and debilitating reactions affect a small minority of particularly susceptible individuals of all ages."

However, little research has been conducted about the role of the social environment of the viewing experience and viewer personality characteristics on the induction of fear. Are intensely fearful media experiences common or largely restricted to the highly sensitive viewer? Are there personality or situational variables that predict the strength of negative fear experiences? Do early fearful movie experiences reduce or enhance the later preference for scary media? Is the emotional experience of scary movies affected by the presence of other people?

The present research explores some of these issues. Specifically, we wanted to examine individuals' memories for an early experience of watching a scary movie. Additionally, we looked for correlations between the content of such memories and various types of dispositional empathy. Finally, we examined the degree to which memories for being frightened influenced individuals' current preference for watching similar movies.

MOTIVATIONS FOR VIEWING HORROR FILMS

The question of why people choose to view horror and graphic violence has been examined in both the psychological and communication literatures. The individual difference variables of gender, dispositional level of violence, risk taking, disinhibition, sensation-seeking, curiosity about the "forbidden," susceptibility to boredom, and the ability to emotionally distance oneself have all been associated with a liking of horror films (Goldstein, 1998; Lawrence & Palmgreen, 1996). In line with uses and gratifications theory, the particular reasons one watches graphic horror will, in part, determine whom the viewer identifies with (aggressor or victim) and what effects are experienced (Johnston, 1995). For example, those who watch primarily to demonstrate mastery over fear report more positive affect than others both during and after viewing, and those who watch because they like to see the gore are less likely than others to experience high fear or state empathy (Johnston, 1995). Finally, social uses like identification with the coviewing group or the use of violent viewing for

MEMORIES FOR SCARY MOVIES 1 19

purposes of social control, mood management, or emotional expression affect enjoyment of violent media (Goldstein, 1998).

EMPATHY

Empathy is a frequent negative correlate of horror film preference (Lazarus, 1991; Tamborini, 1996). Empathy has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct involving the degree to which an individual can relate to, or vicariously feel, the emotional experience of another person. Although consensus is lacking on its exact subcomponents, researchers agree that it is both cognitive and affective in nature. The present study conceptualized and measured empathy using the model of Davis (1983; Davis, Hull, Young, & Warren, 1987). The model has four components: perspective taking, fantasy empathy, empathic concern, and personal distress. These factors were chosen as potentially relevant for the media experience, because all are involved in the viewing of violence. Perspective taking is the ability to see things from another's viewpoint or to imagine what it would be like in that person's situation (Tamborini, 1996). Fantasy empathy is the ease of becoming emotionally involved with fictional characters (Davis, 1983). Empathic concern is a sensitivity and compassion to others' misfortunes in response to seeing their distress, and personal distress is one's own discomfort or aversion in response to another's distress (Davis, 1983).

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY

Although the study of autobiographical memory has mushroomed in recent years (Brewer, 1996; Conway, Bruce, & Sehulster, 1998; Ross, 1992; Rubin, 1986, 1995), it has seldom been used to study memories for media experiences (but see Cantor, 1998b; Harrison & Cantor, this issue). Baumgartner, Sujan, and Bettman (1992) examined advertising effects by assessing participants' autobiographical memories for their use of particular products. Such memories were highly affect laden and influenced product evaluation and purchase decision-making in a less rational, more affective direction; they also evoked empathy for the characters in an ad. This suggests that emotional experiences, in concert with empathy, can impact memories for and decision making about those experiences. Given that autobiographical memories are, by nature, highly personal and affective, autobiographical memory would seem to be a fruitful avenue for studying the highly affective experiences of viewing frightening films. Although clearly validity problems stem from the retrospective nature of autobiographical memory, the approach offers a way to examine very long-term effects and thus


is a useful complement to other experimental and field studies of the effects of media violence, most of which assess effects over a fairly short period of time. It also avoids the ethical question of showing participants disturbing materials known to have strong antisocial effects.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Most previous laboratory and field research on violent media has examined fairly short-term effects, measured either in the same session or up to a few weeks later. Although much of the research has been done on children and teens, there has been little study of the effects of the childhood viewing of violence on adult experience. In an attempt to move in that direction, the present research includes data about the nature of adult memories of being frightened by movies seen in childhood. Are such memories common? What do people remember watching? What were the circumstances surrounding the viewing experience? What do individuals remember about the psychological consequences of viewing? Is it possible to predict liking of scary movies in adulthood based on characteristics of memorable childhood viewing experiences?

To address these questions, two studies were conducted. Study 1 elicited free- recall memories of being fearful while viewing movies as a first step in understanding the nature of these memories. Study 2 used the content analyses of these free-recall responses to develop quantitative ratings and binary-response questions to more uniformly assess memories of the experience of watching scary movies.

STUDY 1

Method

Participants. The participants were 202 introductory psychology students (102 men, 100 women, 90.5% European American, mean age = 19.0 years) from a large U.S. public university with open enrollment. Students earned class credit for participating and were tested in large groups in Fall 1996, when they signed up to participate in a session collecting data for two unrelated studies.

Materials and Procedure. At the beginning, the participants were told that they would be completing an anonymous questionnaire about movies and their memories about them. They were told to take as much time as they needed to think about and to complete the questions.


They first completed the 28-item Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1983; Davis et al., 1987). This is a composite measure of empathy, with seven items for each of four subscales: empathic concern (e.g., "I am often quite touched by things I see happen"), perspective taking (e.g., "Before criticizing somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place"), fantasy empathy (e.g., "I really get involved with the feelings of a character in a novel"), and personal distress (e.g., "Being in a tense emotional situation scares me"). They were asked to indicate on a 5-point scale the degree to which each sentence described them. To avoid acquiescence bias, some items were written negatively and reverse scored. Scores for each empathy component were computed by averaging ratings within each subscale.

Following the IRI, the participants completed a 10-minute filler task for an unrelated study of attributions of interpersonal interactions. Next, in order to better understand the viewing preferences of the experimental sample, participants were given a "Movies Questionnaire," in which they rated their preference on a 1-8 scale (from thoroughly dislike to thoroughly enjoy) for 14 different genres of film (see Table 1). Finally, participants were asked to describe at length their memories for (a) a favorite movie from their child or teen years (a warm-up task designed to partially cloud the intent of the study), and (b) their most vivid memory of being scared by a movie as a child or teen. For each they were asked to name and describe the film and the experience of watching it, including how it made them feel. They were also asked their approximate age at the time of viewing. For the favorite film, they were asked their reason for liking the film. For the scary movie, they were also asked how they happened to see it, who saw it with them, and what effects the movie had on them both while viewing and afterwards. Participants were allowed as much time as necessary for the task, with about half a page allotted for each description. Answers to the specific questions were to be included in the description.

Results

Background Information. The mean preferences of men and women for the different film genres appear in Table 1. For men, the most preferred genre was action-adventure movies; for women it was romantic comedies.

The total empathy score as well as each separate subscore appear in Table 2. Women displayed a higher level of empathy in each of the four subscales, as well as for total empathy. This finding is consistent with past research (Davis, 1983). Reliability for the IRI was in the acceptable range. Cronbach alphas in the present study ranged from .74 to .83, comparable to Davis' reported range of .71 to .77.


TABLE 1 Preferences for Film Genres by Gender on Study 1 ( I = thoroughly dislike, 8 = thoroughly enjoy)

Gender t(200)

Combined Men Women

Silly Comedies 6.86

Romantic Comedies 6.42

Action- Adventure 6.55

PoliceICrime Dramas 5.96

Horror or Slasher 3.56

Psychological Dramas 6.13

Suspense Thrillers 6.22

Historical Dramas 5.12

Literary Classics 4.33

Old Movie Classics 4.73

Science Fiction Movies 5.34

Animated and Family Films 5.71

Musicals 4.15

Foreign-Language Films (subtitled) 2.40

Note. xp < .lo. * p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < ,001.

MEMORIES FOR SCARY MOVIES 123

TABLE 2 Mean Empathy Scores on IRI (Studies i and 2 )

- -

Study 1 (N = 202)

Scale Men Women t alpha Maximum

Empathic Concern 25.5 28.3 4.84*** .74 3 5

Perspective Taking 23.1 23.6 .73 .79 35

Fantasy Empathy 23.2 24.8 2.00* .81 35

Personal Distress 14.8 18.4 5.31*** .83 35

Total Empathy 86.6 95.0 4.93*** .83 140

Study 2 (N = 136)

Scale Men Women t alpha Maximum

Empathic Concern 24.3 28.3 5.37*** .78 35

Perspective Taking 21.8 23.7 2.12* .76 3 5

Fantasy Empathy 21.4 25.0 3.46*** .83 35

Personal Distress 14.0 17.2 4.13*** .73 35

Total Empathy 8 1.6 94.2 6.57*** .81 140

Note. Scores are calculated by summing responses to each of the 7 items in the subscale, after correction for reverse-scored items. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < ,001.

Content Analysis of Film Report Protocols. Only the results from the scary movie question were analyzed. The purpose of the favorite movie question was to act as a warm-up task to prime thinking about the experience of watching movies as a child. The mean age at the time of viewing the scary movie was 10.8 years (men = 10.6, women = 11.2). The movies most reported by both men and women were Nightmare on Elm Street (12%), followed by Friday the Thirteenth (8%) and Poltergeist (6%). The complete listing of the most frequently reported scary movies appears in Table 3. Almost all of the most often reported films were what are generally considered "horror" or "slasher" films, which carry an R rating (no one 17 or younger admitted without a parent). Because some of these movies actually were a series of films, and because participants did not always distinguish which one of the series they were describing, such films were

1 HOEKSTRA, HARRIS, & HELMlCK

considered as a group (e.g., Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street). The fact that there were multiple films may have somewhat inflated the frequency of such movies appearing in the participants' reports.

Through content analyses of the information given by the participants, several categories were developed and examined more thoroughly: coviewers (with whom the viewer watched the movie); choice (whose choice it was to watch the movie); behaviors exhibited during the movie (e.g., hiding eyes, shaking, yelling, jumping); and effects experienced afer viewing the movie (e.g., nightmares, specific fears, insomnia, wild imagination, general fear).

For the most part, men's and women's reported coviewers did not differ much, nor did the report of who had chosen the movie (see Table 4). However, it is noteworthy that a higher percentage of men than women reported choosing the frightening movie themselves. Also, more men than women reported having watched the scary movie alone, whereas more women watched as part of a group.

TABLE 3 Movies Reported by over 3.6% of Sample

MEN

Study 1 % of Sample

Nightmare on Elm St. 11.8% Friday the 13th 8.8% Aliens 4.9% The Exorcist 4.9% Jaws 4.9% Poltergeist 4.9% Pet Sematary 3.9%

Study 2 % of Sample

Friday the 13th Nightmare on Elm St. The Exorcist Aliens Children of the Corn Gremlins Halloween Jaws Scream Texas Chainsaw Massacre

WOMEN

Study 1 % of Sample Study 2 % of Sample

Nightmare on Elm St. 13.0% Nightmare on Elm St. 17.3% Friday the 13th 8.0% Children of the Corn 11.5% Poltergeist 8.0% Candyman 5.8% Children of the Corn 4.0% The Exorcist 5.8% The Exorcist 4.0% Friday the 13th 5.8% Jaws 4.0% Silence of the Lambs 5.8%


TABLE 4 Circumstances at Time of Viewing (%) - ~p

MEN

Coviewers

Study 1 Study 2

Alone 10.7 8.3 Sibling 11.8 21.4 FriendDate 12.7 14.3 Parent(s) 10.8 13.1 Group 11.8 42.9 Other 10.8 -

WOMEN

Coviewers

Study 1 Study 2

Alone 1 .O 7.8 Sibling 10.0 15.7 FriendDate 19.0 5.9 Parent(s) 9.0 17.6 Group 25.0 52.9 Other 10.9 -

Whose Choice? Where?

Study 1 Study 2 Study 2

Self 13.7 22.6 Home 42.9 Sibling 3.9 13.1 Friend's 34.5 Friend 3.9 16.7 Theater 17.9 Parent(s) 2.0 8.3 Other 4.8 Group 1.0 38.1 Date 1.2

Whose Choice? Where?

Study 1 Study 2 Study 2

Self 4.0 19.2 Home 38.5 Sibling 2.0 5.8 Friend's 42.3 Friend 3.9 19.2 Theater 11.5 Parent(s) 2.0 13.5 Other 7.7 Group 1.0 40.4 Date 1.9

Pearson x2 3.76 2.94 1.97

Note. Study 1 data based on content analysis of free recalls. Because of frequent failure to mention relevant information in recall protocols, numbers do not add up to 100. Study 2 data based on multiple-choice responses. Chi-square results indicate differences between males and females across the categories of responses, but should be interpreted with caution due to small sample sizes in some cells.

Participants seldom mentioned behaviors that they exhibited during the movie. Instead, the comments generally focused on subsequent effects of viewing (see Table 5). The most frequent effect reported was a general sense of fear (28%), followed by nightmares (20%) and fears of specific objects, people, or creatures (18%). Overall, women reported more negative effects than did men.


TABLE 5 Per Cent Reporting Effects aJier Viewing

Study 1 Study 2

Men Women Men Women t(134)

General Fear 27.5 28.0 53.6 73.1 2.29"

Wild Imagination 5.9 6.0 45.2 48.1 .32

Specific Fear 13.2 22.0 22.6 38.5 2.00"

Fear of Sleeping Alone - - 17.9 30.8 1 .75X

Nightmares 15.9 24.0 17.9 25.0 1 .OO

Insomnia 9.8 10.0 20.2 21.2 .13

Sleeping w/ Lights On - 15.5 25.0 1.37

Note. Study 1 data based on content analysis of free recalls; Study 2 data based on multiple-choice responses. X p < .lo. * p < .05.

Discussion

This study has demonstrated, first of all, that young adults do have memories of being scared by movies seen as children or teens. Virtually every participant readily offered and described in some detail the experience of being scared by a movie as a child or teen, a finding also found by Cantor (1998a, 1998b). Far from being unusual, being very scared by a violent movie at a young age seems to be a nearly universal experience, at least in this culture.

The major purpose of the content analyses described above was to design more quantitative and structured dependent measures for a second study. Study 2 also asked participants to remember a scary movie seen as a child or teen, but this time they responded to several objective questions and rating scales to describe their scary childhood movie memories. These questions were designed to more objectively tap into the responses given in the free recall protocols of Study 1. In addition, participants also responded to questions about subsequent viewing of similar films and current liking of movies in the horror genre.


STUDY 2

Method

Participants. The participants were 136 introductory psychology students (84 men, 52 women) from the same population. They earned class credit for participation. They were tested in large groups in Spring 1997, when they signed up to participate in a session collecting data for two unrelated studies. The present study was the first in the session.

Materials and Procedure. As in Study I , the students were asked to participate in a study involving the evaluation of movies. As before, in the first part of the session they completed the IRI. Following the IRI, the participants completed a "Scary Movies Questionnaire" asking them to either name or give a brief description of a movie that they recalled had frightened them when they were a child or teen. The categories developed from the content analysis in Study 1 were used to develop several multiple-choice questions and interval scale ratings. Questions asked where the movie was watched, the time of day, who chose it, who coviewed, what behaviors were exhibited during the movie, and what effects were experienced after the movie. Each of these questions offered several options to be checked, as appropriate, with an "other" option to cover any potential responses that were not listed. The questionnaire also included two open-ended questions (one asking with whom participants identified in the movie, and the other asking who or what was particularly scary to them); and four questions using 7-point Likert scales asking how realistic the participant had thought the movie to be at the time of viewing, how often they had watched similar movies afterward, to what degree they thought the movie would scare them today, and whether they liked this sort of movie today. They were also asked whether they had seen the scary movie once again, more than once, or never again. Participants were allowed as much time as necessary to complete the questionnaire. As in Study 1, the emphasis was on memory for the situation of viewing and its effects, not on memory for the content of the film.

Results

The mean age at the time of viewing was 11.1 (men = 11.0, women = 11.3), whereas the mean age of the participants at the time of the study was 20.1 (men = 20.3, women = 19.8). Unlike Study 1, the movies most frequently reported differed somewhat between men and women, although almost all were of the


horror movie genre (see Table 3). Men reported Friday the Thirteenth most, followed by Nightmare on Elm Street and The Exorcist. Women reported Nightmare on Elm Street most, followed by Children of the Corn. With a few exceptions, most of these movies were R rated, which is perhaps worth noting, considering the age of the viewers and the fact that few viewers reported viewing with their parents. Movies that were not rated R (e.g., Gremlins, Jaws, Poltergeist) were PG prior to the implementation of the PG-13 option and had sequels that were PG-13. On the whole, the movies would not generally be considered children's fare (see Cantor, 1998b, for further discussion).

Circumstances of Viewing. Most respondents watched the film either in the evening (44%) or late at night (47%). Only 7% watched in the afternoon and 1% in the morning, with no gender differences in time of day. The films were generally seen either at home or at a friend's house and only occasionally at a theater (see Table 4). Thus the scary movie experiences usually happened late in the day and on video, not in a theater.

As in Study 1, those who made the selection of which movie to watch did not differ much between men and women. For both men and women, many participants reported that it was a group decision to see the movie, and the most frequent coviewers were a group, rather than one other individual (see Table 4).

Concurrent behaviors were assessed by presenting a list of possible behaviors and asking participants to check all that they remember engaging in while watching the film. Of these behaviors, a few were reported by a great majority (see Table 6). For example, approximately 70% of the participants reported watching the movie from start to finish. Almost 60% reported having a rapid heartbeat at some time during the movie. It is also noteworthy that a significantly larger percentage of the women reported hiding their eyes (women = 64%, men = 26%), holding onto someone during the movie (women = 35%, men = 6%), and being jumpy during the movie (women = 65%, men = 45%).

Perceived effects of viewing the film were assigned in a similar fashion- presenting a list of behaviors and asking participants to check all that applied (Table 5). A generalized fear (free-floating anxiety) was the most often reported effect from viewing the frightening movie (women = 73%, men = 54%). A wild imagination (e.g., "monsters" under the bed, someone sneaking up on you) was the next highest reported effect, followed by a specific fear (e.g., sharks, power tools, spiders, the dark, rats, camping).


Table 6 Per Cent Reporting Behaviors Concurrent with Viewing (Study 2)

Men Women t(134)

Watch Entire Movie 77.4 63.5 1 .77X

Hide Eyes 26.2 63.5 4.60***

Shaking 7.1 7.7 .12

Yelling 6.0 15.4 1.83'

Hold Onto Another 6.0 34.6 4.63***

Jumpy 45.2 65.4 2.32" Rapid Heartbeat 58.3 59.6 .15

Note. Xp < .lo. * p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < ,001

On a scale of 1 to 7 ( 1 = completely realistic, 7 = completely unrealistic), the realism of the movies viewed was rated a moderate 4.6. A mean of 3.6 was found for the item asking if the participants watched similar movies (1 = never, 7 = very frequently). Overall, participants did not think the movies would scare them today, although men (M = 2.2) were more certain of this than women (M = 3. l ) , t(134) = 2.49, p < .05. Participants responded near the scale's midpoint when asked if they like this sort of movie today (women = 3.8, men = 4.1, difference not significant). Accordingly, 49% of the men reported that they later saw the movie several times, 2 1 % one time, and 30% never again. However, 42% of the women reported that they never watched the movie again, 25% once again, and only 33% had seen it many times again. This sex difference was marginal, t(134) = 1.87, p = .06.

Character Identification. Almost all participants reported identifying with some character or characters in the film. In most cases the character was a victim or potential victim (84% for men, 91% for women). Only 16% of the men and 10% of the women reported identifying with a character who was clearly an aggressor. Some participants reported some character not clearly identifiable as a victim or aggressor; these data are not included in the above percentages.

Regressions. Stepwise hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine the degree to which empathy and other demographic and situational variables contributed to (a) behaviors while watching the movie, (b) negative effects after viewing, and (c) later appreciation of the genre. Alpha level for all analyses was .05.


Because of the large number and conceptual similarity of the variables (and small sample sizes in some categories), an effort was made to economize the variables used in the analyses. Choice of movie was dichotomized so that the movie was chosen either by the participant or by a coviewer. Coviewer type was recoded to an interval scale reflecting viewing alone, with one other, or with more than one other. The dichotomous categories of behaviors during and consequences following viewing and the Likert ratings of preference were subjected to factor analysis using oblique rotation. This procedure resulted in six factors.' Liking for the genre loaded on one factor, which consisted of whether participants had seen the movie again and the degrees to which participants liked the same and similar movies today. A second factor consisted of statements about whether participants had stopped watching the movie, had watched the whole movie, or had gone in and out of the room. The remaining four factors, although strong in the factor analysis, had limited reliability and so were combined into a single 12-item scale consisting of the number of tallies of various fear-related behaviors and consequences.'

A summary of the various regressions conducted appears in Table 7. The demographic and personality characteristics were entered first to partial out their effects; empathy subscale scores were entered as a block, followed by age at time of viewing and sex of the ~ i e w e r . ~ Whose choice it was to view the film and the number of coviewer variables were then entered as a block, followed by the participants' ratings of how realistic they remember the film to be.

As shown in Table 7, when predicting individuals' likelihood of maintaining viewing attention, the addition of variables in Steps 3 and 4 into the equation added a degree of variability that caused the resultant equation to be nonsignificant. Stronger results were found for predicting fright (fear), however. Fantasy empathy and perspective taking were positively associated with fright responses. Age and gender were significant predictors as well, with females and younger viewers expressing (or at least remembering to have expressed) more fright. In addition, the more realistic the movie was perceived as being, the more fright was expre~sed .~

Because one would expect previous experience to influence current attitudes, the earlier-mentioned criteria of watching the whole movie and fright were included as an additional step in the regression predicting current liking for the "scary movie" genre. Fantasy empathy was a weak predictor. Viewers who were younger at the time of viewing expressed more current liking, regardless of their sex. In addition, watching the whole movie was a strong predictor. Choice, number of coviewers, and perceived reality of the movie were not significant predictors of current liking of the genre.


TABLE 7 Hierarchical Regression Analyses (Betas) Predicting Behaviors and Attitudes Related to Scary Movie Viewing based on Empathy, Demographics, Viewer Choice, Coviewers, and Perceived Realism

Measure Watched the Current Genre

Whole Movie Fright Liking

Cronbach alpha

Step I: Empathy

Personal Distress

Empathic Concern

Fantasy Empathy

Perspective Taking

R2 change

Step 2: Demographics

Age at Time of Viewing

Viewer Gendera

RZ change

Step 3: Social Dynamics

Choice to viewb

Number of Coviewers

R2 change

Step 4

Perceived Realism

Rz change

Step 5

Watched the Whole Movie

Fright

R2 change

Total R2

Note. a positive numbers indicate more females, negative numbers more males. positive numbers indicate other's choice, negative numbers indicate viewer

chose. rz = 131. xp < .lo. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.


Discussion

As in Study 1, Study 2 found that people do hold strong autobiographical memories for childhood viewing of scary movies. Not only can everyone generate an instance, but they can report with some detail the social situation surrounding the viewing (where they watched, with whom, and who was involved in the decision-making process), as well as remember a variety of psychological outcomes or consequences of viewing.

Study 2 also determined that empathy plays a strikingly feeble role in the enjoyment of scary movies. In most cases, empathy had little or no influence in predicting the other variables in the study. The major exception to this rule is fantasy empathy. Recall that fantasy empathy specifically refers to people's ability to become empathically involved with fictional presentations. Although fantasy empathy's influence was far from overwhelming, and not as large as one might think it should be, based on the theoretical underpinnings of the concept, it contributed especially in predicting fright reactions to the various movies individuals selected. It did not, however, appear to have much of an influence in determining preference for and enjoyment of the genre. Determining the full role of fantasy empathy was difficult given the covariance with other predictors in the study, such as gender.

Several other variables also seemed to play an important role in the scary movie situation. The earlier the age of onset of the individual's scary memory, the more negative consequences helshe remembered experiencing, but the more the genre was preferred as an adult. Whether one chose the movie and with whom one watched it with made little difference in reported fright, but choice did seem to be very weakly indicative of later preference for the genre. Women remembered experiencing more fearful behaviors and consequences of viewing, but this did not appear to predict later liking for the genre. More realistic movies seemed to cause more fright.

Clearly, deciphering trends from regressions like these is somewhat problematic. Dichotomous variables contain substantial error variance, which damages the predictiveness of the equations. Our results show that whereas we have not determined all of the variables that are involved in the preference for scary movies, we can argue that there are some variables that clearly do, and others, such as fright, that surprisingly do not.

General Discussion

Memory for the Scary Movie-Viewing Situation. Clearly, our data support Cantor (1998b) in finding that children are given the opportunity at a young age

MEMORES FOR SCARY MOVIES 133

to view scary movies with peers and without much parental supervision, and that such movie-viewing experiences are remembered vividly. Although we did not measure the detailed memories of the movies themselves, people apparently remember the decision-making process involved in choosing the movie and the social dynamics surrounding viewing. They also remember a variety of negative consequences, some of which appear to affect preferences for scary movies many years later. Although the present study did not isolate the reason behind the choice of the film (excitement, sensation-seeking traits, mastery of fear, danger from viewing restricted material, etc.), it did illuminate some characteristics of the viewer, the social situation, and the medium, that influence how scary movies are perceived.

Several demographic effects were found. Participants who reported viewing their scary movie at a younger age also reported having more fears and sleep problems after viewing, seeing the genre more frequently, and being less scared by the movie today. The sex of the viewer played little role in either the preference for the genre or negative consequences and thus did not support the idea that adolescent boys, but not girls, use horror-film viewing as a way to learn mastery over fear (Mundorf et al., 1989; Tamborini, 1991). However, over half of the participants were preadolescents at the time of viewing, so this bears further research.

Almost half of the participants watched their scary movie as part of a group. Groups can influence the decision to watch as well as apply pressure to continue viewing. For example, the participants in the present study who initially watched as part of a group were more likely to see the movie repeatedly. However, having coviewers apparently neither increased negative consequences nor protected one from them. Viewing as a group did not predict either more or fewer remembered displays of fear while viewing or reported fears after viewing. Our data did not have a sufficient number of movies seen on a date to include that as a factor (most people were recalling movies seen prior to "dating age"), but future studies should investigate the extent to which gender-specific fear-related behaviors affect viewing a scary movie as part of dating rituals.

The list of movies generated by participants as being particularly scary are primarily R-rated films involving substantial amounts of gore and violence, often with a supernatural element. Interestingly, although such movies are not generally considered to be very realistic, viewers reported more sleep problems when these movies were perceived as being more realistic, a perception far more likely to occur at younger ages when the fantasy-reality distinction is blurred (Cantor, 1994). Advances in the technology of creating special effects in the last 30 years has made it possible to produce films that are much more vivid and at


the same time appear more realistic than films of an earlier era. Perhaps one of the benefits of viewing in groups is a lessening of this sense of realism. Although perceived realism ratings and the number of coviewers were not correlated, the number of coviewers was negatively correlated with the number of reported sleep problems, so it is possible that coviewers could serve as a mediator, perhaps by some discussion that attenuated the fright responses.

What About Empathy? With the exception of fantasy empathy, and to a lesser extent perspective taking, both of which showed some modest evidence of influence, empathy played little role in one's movie memories. Empathic concern and personal distress showed little or no effect on the vast majority of the variables studied. Perhaps because movie viewing is a fictional, spectator situation, fantasy empathy is a necessary condition for other empathy subscales to become involved-a gatekeeping trait that, once activated, would allow individuals high in empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress to experience greater effects.

In all four subscales, empathy was correlated with participants' sex but, theoretically, by entering both empathy and sex into the regression equation, it would be possible to see independent influences if they were present. Our results suggest that fantasy empathy influenced the amount of fear one experienced, but that gender roles were also important in the degree to which fear was outwardly expressed. So, on the other analyses, although women scored higher in empathy than men, we can be fairly confident that the absence of significant findings related to empathy are due to a true lack of effect, rather than merely a confound. It is, of course, also possible that the IRI is a poor measure of empathy, but past research has shown it to be as good as any other instrument, as well as one of the few to specifically address empathy in response to a fictional situation. It may also be, as suggested by Zillmann (1991), that contemporary American films, with their style of rapid pacing, actually discourage empathy by not allowing sufficient time for such reactions to be carried out to their fullest. Empathy might play a larger role for movies that emphasize the suffering and consequences of violence using lengthy and close-up shots of the hero in agony (Iwao, Pool, & Hagiwara, 198 1).

It is also possible that other individual difference variables are more (or equally) important in the viewing of scary movies. Sensation seeking, for example, was not addressed in the current study, and would be a fruitful inclusion in future research. Character identification information from the current study was not diverse andlor rich enough to allow for in-depth analyses either, so future studies might choose to explore this issue further as well.


What is the Attraction?

Most people have seen a movie that has terrified them and can report a variety of negative effects from seeing that movie. So what makes these movies so popular and financially successful, with lengthy lists of profitable sequels? Goldstein (1998) reviewed a number of likely important variables. Perhaps enjoyment stems from a general (rather than gender-role specific) mastery of fear, or humor and enjoyment derived from the predictability of the script of such films, such as in the recent film Scream, which was a scary movie about a group of friends watching scary movies. Perhaps it is the very lack of realism, a recognition that such situations are impossible (recall that realistic films had more negative consequences) that contributes to these movies' popularity. However, such movies must have enough of a ring of truth about them to be frightening in the first place if they are to be entertaining. If perceived realism is a valid predictor, one must remember that very young children find movies more realistic than do older ones, and that dimensions of realism change from focusing on stimulus aspects (does it look real?; e.g., special effects) to conceptual aspects (could this event happen to me?; Cantor, 1996, 1998a). It is likely that the present participants' retrospective report of perceived realism was, if anything, underestimated, because their current cognitive developmental level is now beyond their level at the time of viewing the scary movie, disrupting their reconstruction or interpretation of that event.

Limitations of the Study

Clearly there are limitations to the autobiographical memory methodology. Primarily there is the fact that the data are all retrospective in nature and thus subject to the familiar retrospective and possibly self-enhancing biases. For several reasons, however, these concerns are not critical in this case. First of all, because we asked participants to admit and describe a situation in which they were fearful, any social desirability biases in reporting or self-aggrandizing biases in memory, as well as the general memory tendency for material to be forgotten over time, should have worked against the sort of reports obtained. Also, the cognitive bias of reporting from the adult perspective may have reduced the retrospective memory and perception of fear, because what was highly fearful at an earlier age would not be so scary to a young adult. It is quite plausible that actual experienced fear at the time of viewing was greater than what was reported in the present studies. Thus, the conclusions from the present studies probably were, if anything, conservative as to the effects of the movies. Further, Brewin, Andrews, and Gotlib (1993) examined the reliability of


ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Thanks are expressed to Fred Sanborn and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

'The factors also replicated using orthogonal rotation

21nsomnia, nightmares, fear of sleeping alone, sleeping with the lights on, and fears of something specific did create a weakly reliable scale (Cronbach alpha = .57), but because the remaining factors were unreliable by themselves (Cronbach alphas ranging from .32 to .47) it was decided to combine them to a larger scale with Cronbach alpha of .65 instead.

'The pattern of results replicated when empathy scores were entered as the last step rather than the first.

'For Comparison to Harrison and Cantor (this volume), the analysis was repeated using the scale (Cronbach alpha = .57) combining items that loaded on a "disorder" factor: insomnia, nightmares, fear of sleeping alone, needing to sleep with the lights on, and fears of something specific (i.e., construction of a phobia). By far, the strongest predictor of such consequences was the perceived realism (Beta = .30, R2+.23,p < .001). Perspective taking and age at time of viewing were marginal predictors.

APPENDIX

Scary Movies Questionnaire

This study is investigating memories for movies over long periods of time. Think of a movie that frightened you when you were younger (a child or teen). Think about that movie for a few minutes. Think about the experience of watching it and how it made you feel and how it affected you at the time and afterwards. Then answer the following questions. Of course, there are no right or wrong answers; we are only interested in your honest opinions.

Name of Movie (or brief description)

1. About how old were you (or what grade in school) when you saw this movie? - How old are you now? - What is your gender? man woman (circle one)

2. Where did you watch this movie?

a) at your home, b) at a friend(s) house, c) in a theater, d) at a drive-in, e) other ( )

3. What time of day was it? a) morning, b) afternoon, c) evening after dark, d) late at night

4. Whose choice was it to view this movie? a) yours, b) a date(s), c) a friend(s), d) a sibling(s), e) a parent(s), f) a group decision

5. Who else watched it with you? a) no one else. b) a date only, c) one friend, d) sibling(s), e) parent(s), f) group of friends


6. Which of the following describe your behavior while viewing this movie?

(circle all that apply) a) I watched the movie start to finish b) I frequently hid my eyes or looked away C) I was shaking d) I was crying/yelling/screaming e) I held onto someone else f) I was generally very jumpy g) My heart was heating fast h) I tuned in and out or left the room and returned repeatedly I) I shut the movie off or stopped watching before it was over

7. Who (if anyone) did you most identify with in the movie?

8. What or who was particularly scary about this film and why?

9. Which effects do you remember experiencing after seeing the movie? (circle all that apply) a) general sense of fear or anxiety, nervous, jumpy, looking over your shoulder b) a fear of something specific (e.g., sharks, power tools, spiders, the dark, rats, camping) c) insomnia (you stayed awake, couldn't get to sleep) d) fear of sleeping alone e) needing to sleep with the lights on f) serious or recurring nightmares, scary dreams related to the movie g) wild imagination (e.g., monsters under the bed, someone sneaking up on you) h) other (please specify)

10. On a scale from 1-7, how realistic did you find this movie to be at the time? (circle one) completely unrealistic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 completely realistic

11. Did you ever see this movie again? Yes, several times - Yes, once - No

12. After watching this movie, how often did you seek out similar movies to watch at later times? never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 very frequently

13. To what degree do you think that this movie would scare you today? not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a lot

14. Do you like this sort of movie today? no, not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 yes, very much

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Autobiographical Memories About the Experience of Seeing Frightening Movies in Childhood