Running head: HORROR FILMS 1

The notations on this manuscript come from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). All of the referenced section and page numbers refer to the Publication Manual and not the Concise Rules of APA Style.

The Interrelationships among Personality Traits, Cultivation Effect, and Perceptions of Media

Violence & the Enjoyment of Horror Films

Janine Harris, Michelle Guido, and Shannon Cote

State University of New York at New Paltz

Author Note

Janine Harris, Michelle Guido, and Shannon Cote are all graduates of the Communication

& Media Department at SUNY New Paltz.

This research was conducted as part of the course requirement for Communication

Research Methods (CMM 354) under the direction of Dr. Jason S. Wrench.

Correspondence concerning this research should be addressed to Ms Janine Harris,

SUNY New Paltz, c/o Dr. Jason Wrench, Communication & Media Department, CSB 33, New

Paltz, NY 12561. E-mail: n01382102@newpaltz.edu

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Abstract

The current study set out to examine the relationships among personality traits, perceptions of

media violence, cultivation and enjoyment of horror films. Firstly, temperament was found to

account for 7 % of the variance horror film liking; however there were no significant findings

relating temperament to the consumption of horror films. There was no significant relationship

between neuroticism and cultivation effect in any sub category as well. In addition it was found

that enjoyment and consumption of horror films was not significantly related to cultivation

effects. Also, it was found that there was not a significant relationship between liking of horror

films and the sub measures of perceptions of media violence (constructions of reality and

embedded values about violence). However, there was a weak yet significant positive

relationship found between horror film liking and social responsibility of portrayal as well as

responses of audience members. Lastly, there was no different found between males and females

in their perceptions of media violence or cultivation effect.

Keywords: Horror Films, Temperament, Cultivation Effects, Media Violence

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The Interrelationships among Personality Traits, Cultivation Effect, Perceptions of Media

Violence and Enjoyment of Horror Films

There is no explanation for the particular styling of a person’s taste in film genre.

However, what can be said for certain is that in this day and age the genre of horror films is a

powerful force on the big screen. These movies have become a mainstay in the United States;

horror films such as Jaws have been able to gross over 330 million dollars (Tomalin, 2000)

validating them as an important market and genre. Still there are many questions to be answered

about horror films, among the most prominent being why it is we enjoy slasher, basher, beating,

and murderous plots upon the movie screen and how this affects us as humans. The drive to

achieve these goals through horror films may be attributed to several characteristics associated

with the defined personality traits of Eysenck of psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism

(Krcmat & Kean, 2005).

These internal relationships that are theorized as the causes of horror movie viewing and

enjoyment are not the only area of study. The effects of violence and horror films are seen in

both the perceptions of violence within the film industry and in the real world as well.

Perception of violence is categorized as the sense associated with an overt expression of physical

force against self or other, compelling action against one’s will on pain of being hurt by Gerbner

and Gross (1994). This area of research relates exposure to the perception of violence to

likeability of horror films. Aside from the shift in perception of media violence, there is also a

shift in the perception of actual societal issues. George Gerbner’s (1986) development of the

cultivation theory defines cultivation as “the independent contributions television viewing makes

viewer conceptions of social reality” (p.23). These measurements of personality traits, horror

film enjoyment, perceptions of media violence, and cultivation effect demonstrate a clear

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relationship between causes for exposure and effects of exposure to violent media. The current

study is concerned with an individual’s prominent personality traits, enjoyment of horror films,

perceptions of media violence and possible cultivation effect. To begin this investigation, the

following scholarly review will focus on the research of Eysenck’s personality traits, perceptions

of media violence, and cultivation theory.

Review of Literature

Personality Traits

There are different ways in which men and women are taught as well as expected to

behave. Most individuals believe that men are more likely to see action movies and women are

more likely to see romantic comedies. This is the idea that men and women both seek social

interaction but from different media sources. The consideration of individual traits impacting a

person’s perception of films has been researched. Eysenck (1985) has argued that the traits

known as extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism “really embody the three ways in which

individuals interact” (p.14). Extraversion captures sociability, neuroticism captures fearful

avoidance, and psychoticism captures hostility and aggression (Eysenck, 1960). Researchers

have found these factors to be associated with media preferences (Weaver, 2000; Zuckerman &

Little, 1986). Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are thought to affect an individual’s

behavior as well as interacting together to shape media behavior. Also, traits can be known as

constructs which are inferred from behavior (Eysenck, 1982).

Previous work investigating personality as an antecedent of media use has tended to

evaluate consumption of particular media genres (Weaver, 1991, 2000, 2003) or, less frequently,

use of particular media (Finn, 1997). The product variables that are considered in the analysis

consist of both of these elements. Focusing on media exposures as well as genre preferences

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allows one to consider the impact of genre content while also factoring out variation in exposure

that is due to the medium (Hall, 2005). Individual differences are thought to be the result of

variation in the sensitivity or reactivity of these physiological systems (Beatty & McCroskey,

2001; Gray, 1991).

Previous research has found psychoticism to be associated with enjoyment or exposure to

several media genres that are often seen as transgressive, including horror movies (Weaver,

1991), violent cartoons (Aluja-Fabregat & Torrubia-Beltri, 1998), and an unwillingness for

tragedy films (Weaver, 1993), which was more set on female results then men. An example of

this research is when Zillmann and Weaver (1997) found that the influence on violent films

varied according to the gender and psychoticism level of the participants so that males who were

high in psychoticism were the most likely to be affected. Since specific media genres offer

different satisfactory opportunities, it can be said that both the use of a particular media and the

preference for a specific media genre within a media can be sensitive to audience members’

personality attributes. Weaver’s (2000) findings support this suggestion. He transformed his

participant’s score on Eysenck’s personality scales into discrete personality types and ascertained

whether those with different dominant personality characteristics varied in their motives for

using specific media

The conceptualization for the personality trait of extraversion suggests that those who are

in high extraversion will expose themselves to media, such as movies, that are consumed in

social settings more frequently than will those low in extraversion (Hall, 2005). The personality

trait of extraversion also suggests that it will be associated with preferences for media genres that

have social utility. Male and females will most likely react differently to specific types of genres

but, the idea of finding out how and why is creative. Zuckerman and Little (1986) found

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extraversion to be associated with exposure to horror movies among female viewers. This

finding is consistent with the conceptualization of Extraversion in that one of the functions of

horror films is to allow audiences to enact gender-role expectations (Hall, 2005). Whereas men

get pleasure from displaying mastery over the content by appearing unafraid, women gain a

higher proportion of their gratifications from the social pleasure of attending with others

(Tamborini, 1991; Zillmann, Weaver, Mundorf, & Aust, 1986). This type of so – called pleasure

may be, for the most part, more important to female extraverts.

Neuroticism also plays a role in selecting the type of media audience members choose.

Those who are high in neuroticism are particularly likely to feel affected by violent or disturbing

media content (Hall, 2005). Viewers with high neuroticism scores have been found to rate

specific media texts as more violent and more frightening than those with lower scores (Gunter,

1958). Neuroticism has also been found to be associated negatively with recall of violent news

stories (Gunter & Furnham, 1986), which suggests that violent images are more disruptive to

memory processing among those high in this personal dimension. Neurotics may be more likely

to avoid a disturbing matter because they are extremely bothered by this type of viewing. As we

can see from previous studies, extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism all contribute to

specific preferences in both males and females in regards to media genres, more importantly,

horror films. Personality as an antecedent of media use has tended to evaluate consumption of

particular media genres (Weaver, 1991, 2000, 2003). Audience, as well as media factors, that

contribute to the impact of personality traits will vary depending on the trait.

The idea that cultivation effects are somewhat dependent on personality traits has been

brought up in several studies. “Personality traits represent internal factors that affect one’s

Horror Films 7

unique life history and social encounters and, therefore, promote chronic construct accessibility”

(Eysenck, 1990, p. 245).

Personality traits are likely to influence an individual’s opinions and attitudes, thought

process, behavior and experiences. The proposal that personality traits might obstruct the

cultivation process has been brought up by researchers. The cultivation theory emphasizes on

the fact that ordinary conceptions of violence effects the perceptions of real-world occurrences

which can be portrayed through certain traits.

According to Eysenck (1990), “personality is a hierarchal structure comprised of single

and habitual cognitions or acts, dimensions or patterns of thoughts and feelings, and inter-

correlations between traits” (p. 250). Genetics can be categorized as governing personality traits

due to the fact that personality traits are most commonly known to be lasting and long-term. The

display of threatening and violent media is known to result in negative feelings. “Generally

speaking, those high in neuroticism exhibit biases towards negative, dangerous thoughts;

experience more stress; and tend to have lower life satisfaction than low neurotics” (Matthews et

al., 2003, p. ). This idea connects to the fact that neuroticism is linked to emotional instability.

On the other hand, the personality trait of psychoticism seeks for violence and violent situations.

This may lead to aggressive, violent, and hostile behavior. Weaver (1991) found that “high

psychotics prefer violent horror movies and they found the violence to be more enjoyable,

interesting, and humorous than low psychotics” (Bruggemann & Barry, 2002, p. 335).

Sensation seeking individuals seek for new adventure, experiences, and activities that can be

related to dangerous means. Sensation seeking and extraversion can be categorized together.

Within the broader personality dimension of extraversion, media researchers have emphasized

the trait of sensation seeking particularly in studies of media violence (Hall, 2005). “Sensation

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seeking is a biologically based personality that represents the need for varied, novel, and

complex sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the

sake of such experiences” (Zuckerman, 1979, p.10). Due to the fact that sensation seekers are

known to have aggressive traits and violent outbursts, high sensation seekers might have

aggression and violence-related constructs chronically accessible and low sensation seekers have

danger-related constructs chronically accessible (Hall, 2005). With the information given here, it

is identifiable that high, not low, sensation seekers are more prone to violence-related cultivation

effects. High sensation seekers seem to prefer media messages with high sensation value

(Stephenson & Palmgreen, 2001) and they also seek out and enjoy horror films (Zuckerman &

Litle, 1986). In conclusion, the introductory idea that cultivation effects are somewhat

dependent on personality traits can be a supported by evidence.

Males and females have different individual characteristics that mediate the impact of

media exposure. The idea of viewer aggression along with the liking of violent genres differs in

both males and females which can be clearly linked to personality traits. Gender is an important

demographic factor to consider in the study of media uses and effects. Gender can influence the

uses and effects of television violence (Alexander, 1985; Atkin, 1983; Cantor & Nathanson,

1997; Scharrer, 2001; Wilson & Weiss, 1993). Research has suggested that boys are more

interested in and more regular views of violent television fare than are girls (Atkin, 1979; Cantor

& Nathanson, 1997). Males tend to be more aggressive than females. Research can be

conducted in comparing the relationship between personality traits and media exposure, the

different types of media, viewing motives, and content. These ideas are related to the uses and

gratifications attempts that are used to examine how and why audiences are motivated to

Horror Films 9

consume certain kinds of media. In doing this type of research, personality characteristics such

as; openness, experience, and sensation seeking, can and should be measured.

In relation to the three personality traits involved in Eysenck’s research, neuroticism,

extraversion, and psychoticism relationships between these traits and the liking and viewing of

violent media are revealed. As mentioned before, neurotics tend to have anxiety, are typically

nervous and worried, and observe what is going on in the environment through exposure to

media. Neurotics are likely to be positively related to concern with the future, with one’s own

safety, and with worry about potential negative outcomes (Krcmar & Kean, 2005). Since the

idea that those high in neuroticism are likely to so-call “survey” the environment through media,

it can be said that “because violent depictions may provide information, real or imagined,

concerning the prevalence of danger, criminal acts, and environmental risk” (Krcmar & Kean,

2005, p. 399), neurotics would watch violent television for purposes of surveillance (Eysenck,

1960).

Extraverts are connected to activities that involve social interaction. These individual

may seek to satisfy certain needs, perhaps social needs, through media use (Krcmar & Kean,

2005). Extraverts are known to attend movies whether it’s for social pleasure or a group activity,

but it is possible that they may not enjoy violent movies. Krcmar and Greene (1999) found that

experience seeking, or interest in novel experiences, are actually negatively related to interest in

some forms of television violence. With this concept in mind, it is likely that extraversion will

be negatively related to enjoyment of media violence (Kcrmar & Kean, 2005).

Individuals are characterized to purposely use the media and perception of media to

satisfy specific needs or desires. This idea can contribute to the fact that each individual has

different traits that play a role in perceiving media and more specifically, violence. Traits are

Horror Films 10

factors in this area as well as the thought of gender. To connect all of these ideas together, it is

said that men are more physically and verbally aggressive than women and spend significantly

more time watching violent programs (Krcmar & Kean, 2005). This collaborates with the

proposal of the fact that females are less likely than men to be aggressive or antisocial after

watching media violence (Hearold, 1986), and less likely to be aggressive in general (Harris

1996).

Numerous amounts of research have taken place due to the Eysenck’s theory of

personality traits. Different researchers have a variety of meanings for personality. According to

Watson (1930), personality is “the sum of activities that can be discovered by actual observation

over a long period of time to give reliable information (Eysenck, 1960). But as an example of

the dynamic type of definition, Prince (1924) defines personality as the sum-total of all the

biological innate dispositions , impulses, tendencies, appetites, and instincts of the individual,

and the acquired dispositions and tendencies’ (Eysenck, 1960). According to Eysenck’s theory,

he considers personality differences as growing out of our genetic inheritance which made him

mainly interested in temperament, which is the aspect of our personality that is genetically based,

inborn, there from birth or even before (Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985).

Genetics contribute to individual differences that are linked to the three major dimensions

of personality, psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. An important outcome of the

analysis of the genetic determination of individual items on personality questionnaires was that

genetic effects are highly specific, even to the level of individual item responses, and not just

confined to the major dimensions of personalities (Eysenck, 1990). A Swedish study indicates

that in large samples, there is significant interaction between sex differences and genetic effects

of personality (Eysenck, 1990). This is another area of research that has made new discoveries

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and findings. It can be clearly stated that genetic contributions may be different for males and

females which can be related to the fact that males and females have different individual traits. It

is stated by Allport (1937) and Roback (1927) that, “personality is the more or less stable and

enduring organization of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which

determines one’s unique adjustment to the environment” (Eysenck, 1990, p.252).

The continual aim for research can be described as, “to discover the main dimensions of

personality, and to define them operationally by means of strictly experimental, quantitative

procedures” (Eysenck, 1958). Another idea Eysenck portrays is that “progress in the scientific

study of personality is intimately bound up with what may be called “objective behavior tests”

(Eysenck, 1958, p.39). Personality traits are linked to behavior, differences in gender and

genetics, as well as exposure to the real-world and environment.

Perceptions of Media Violence

There have been many studies attributed to the viewers’ perceptions of violence, and how

it effects their development and behaviors. Much of the research has been done in children and

adolescents, and how they perceive, react, and behave based on their exposure and type of

violence, and how they perceive the acts of violence that are occurring (Scharrer, 2005;

Tamborini & Salonmonson, 1996). Many researchers have believed, and proven, that there are

differences between male and females who are exposed to violence, in levels or exposure,

behaviors, and perceptions.

The impact of television images on individual viewers and on society as a whole has been

conceptualized in several theoretical frameworks. Gerbner’s (1998) Cultural Indicates Model

suggests that television contains a common set of themes about appropriate and inappropriate

social relations and behaviors that reflect cultural values and that cultivate the belief that the

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patterns shown are normative. Because television contains a consistent set of messages, heavy

viewers from varied social backgrounds come to share a commons set of beliefs, a process called

mainstreaming. People are especially likely to respond to themes and messages that are

congruent with their everyday experience or are perceived as highly realistic, a process called

resonance (Huston et al., 1992).

Erica Scharrer (2005) published a study measuring the effectiveness of a media literacy

curriculum in changing audiences’ perceptions and attitudes about violence presented in the

media. Media literacy can encourage audiences to engage in critical thinking about media

violence, and question media practices, messages, and effects (Cantor & Wilson, 2003). Results

suggest that the students made measurable progress, as evident in both their closed- and open-

ended survey responses, in their understanding of three principles of media literacy (Aufderheide,

1997), media as constructions of reality, the presences (and absence) of particular values in the

media, and the responses of audiences to the media (Sharrer, 2005).

Kirsch divides violence into two categories: glamorized violence and justified violence.

Glamorized violence is characterized by the character traits. The perpetrators of such acts tend

to be presented in an attractive manner, with charismatic and powerful personalities-

characteristics to which many youthful viewers are drawn (Wilson et al., 2002).

Justified violence, as defined by Kirsch (2006), occurs “When the use of violence is

perceived as necessary to the solution of a problem” (p. 205). When the use of violence is

perceived as necessary to the solution of a problem, it is considered justified. In an assessment

of 2,100 adolescents, Hartnagel, Teevan, and McIntyre (1975) found correlational evidence that

youth perceiving violence on television as justified report engaging in more violent acts than

youth lacking this perception.

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Much of the previous research has focused on children and adolescents, and the

differences between male and females. Valkenburg and Janssen (1999) found that 6 to 11-year-

old children perceive the action and violence in television as separate characteristics. Children

were found to have been more likely to watch a high-action high-violence agenda. Kirsh (2006)

presents past evidence that has shown that although males and females tend to consume the

generally same about of media, boys are more likely to consume media in which violence is

present. For instance, Valkenburg and Janssen (1999) found that first through fourth grade

Dutch and American boys, more than girls, preferred television shows with violence. Similarly,

Collins-Standley, Gan, Yu, and Zillman (1996) demonstrated that 2- to 4-year-old boys preferred

fairytales replete with violence, whereas same-age girls preferred romantic fairy tales.

Rosaen, Boyson, and Smith (2006) found through their study that gender was a

“significant moderator of the relationship between certain personality traits and violence

exposure” (p. 119). Exposure to violent media was more frequent when traits that are considered

to be male oriented, such as sensation seeking, impulsivity, existed. Men exhibited lower levels

of guilt than women did upon exposure as well.

Comstock, Chaffee, Katzman, McCombs, and Roberts (1978) developed a flow model of

how television influences human behavior, and expanded the model to the formulation of ones

individual itinerary. The major inputs of the model are the arousal evoked by the program, the

degree of perceived reality, and perceived consequences. Additional inputs of the model are acts

and alternatives.

Sequential relationships are specified among the variables that appear most essential to an

understanding of the way television influences behavior. These include perceptions of

television content (e.g. perceived reality, and perceived consequences of behavior),

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“black box” intra-individual processes (e.g. generalized arousal, inhibition,

reinforcement, and catharsis), and situational contingencies (e.g. opportunity,

consequences). (Comstock, et al., 1978, p. 25)

McLeod, Atkin, and Chaffee (1972a, 1972b) found a correlation between perceptions of reality

in television content, and both exposure to television violence and the display of aggressive

behavior. In one study, programs viewed by adolescents jointly with their parents were more

likely to be perceived as realistic and to be violent than those viewed alone or with youngsters

(Comstock, Chaffee, Katzman, McCombs, & Roberts 1978). Viewers who consistently consume

the media in the form of television and motion pictures are more apt to develop a sort of

relationship; the viewer tends to react more strongly to the characters actions and experiences.

Many studies of character perception, however, have focused on evaluative judgments about

personal attributes, often with regard to social desirability (e.g., good or bad, nice or mean)

(Hoffner & Cantor, 1991).

Despite these differences in the nature of the information that is generally available about

characters versus people, the cognitive processes involved in forming impressions of characters

and real people appear to be highly similar (Babrow, O’Keefe, Swanson, Meyers, and Murphy,

1988; Perse & Rubin, 1989). Because there is so much consensus regarding the processes and

crucial variables involved in person perception in interpersonal and mass communication

contexts, the theories and findings of one area can be used to amplify and complement those of

the other (Hawkins, Wiemann, & Pingree, 1988; Hoffner & Cantor, 1991).

Previous research done in the past to explain how audiences respond to the context of

horror films, and the gender-role socialization (process whereby an individual acquires identity,

and learns norms, values, and social skills associated with that identity) associated with that

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exposure. This reasoning suggests that the exposure setting provided by graphic horror films is

unique in that if offers a socially approved context in which young men and women can engage

in gender-specific behaviors that are denied to them in most circumstances (Tamborini, 1991).

Findings from corresponding studies reveal that although upon exposure males and females

consume the same images, males are more likely to respond to fear in the presence of a female.

Males’ perceptions of violence are proven to be more likely to be consistent with social norms

and values associated with gender.

Cantor and Oliver (1996) generalize people’s reasoning for the consumption of horror

movies into a serious of stimuli and responses. They theorize that one of the primary reasons for

the selection of horror films is the internal arousal associated with the violence and victimization.

As we argued in our stimulus generalization rationale (Cantor & Oliver, 1994), the more similar

a depicted stimulus is to those stimuli that provoke fear in a particular individual, the greater the

fear response should be. This principle predicts that horror films that focus on fears already

resident in the viewer will produce more intense reactions than those that focus on other fear-

evoking events. It may well be that an enhanced feeling of personal vulnerability is on of the

most potent sources of fright among adults who view horror films (Cantor & Oliver, 1994).

The literature claims that environmental stimuli can activate the cognitive structures used

in the formation of social judgments (Kaplan, 1991). This suggests that information contained in

those cognitive structures can play an important role in governing social perception. As such,

the impact of fictional horror on person perception can be seen as a direct function of its effect

on the specific information made available to the decision-making process (Tamborini &

Salomonson, 1996). Research conducted on the perceptions of victims in horror films has also

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been performed, and men tend to prefer exposure, as women tend to not, especially in cases

where violence against women is shown.

Cultivation Theory

There is no doubt that in today’s society media contributes to a plethora of effects within

our lives both daily and in the long run. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that

a child’s television viewing not exceed two hours a day (Hammermeister, Brock, Winterstein, &

Page, 2005) in order to retain a better mental health profile. A study done by Hu, Li, Colditz,

Willet, and Mason (2003) reported a positive relationship between television overexposure and

obesity rates. However, aside from being a detriment to an individual’s mental and physical

health, prolonged exposure to television can also shape and distort perceptions and ideas.

Cultivation theory deals with the idea of perceptions cultivated by television and media; this area

of research focuses on the creation of particular perceptions as opposed to evaluating direct

effects rooted in traditional and ideological research studies (Gerbner, 1994).

Cultivation is defined by Gerbner (1986) as “the independent contributions television

viewing makes to viewer conceptions of social reality” (p. 23). Rather than judge or predict the

behaviors of individuals who are exposed to varying amounts of television or in the case of this

study film, cultivation takes measure of their perceptions on the outside world. These

perceptions are general and easier to gage than are behaviors; general perceptions can be

measured in an interval fashion however these perceptions can manifest behaviorally in an

infinite number of ways in an infinite number of people. Gerbner’s (1986) extensive research

and writing in this area continues on to claim that cultivation is caused by the repetition of

specific images and ideals, “The pattern that counts is that of the total pattern of programming to

which total communities are regularly exposed over long periods of time. That is the pattern of

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settings, casting, social typing, actions and related outcomes that cuts across most program types

and defines that world of television” (p. 19).

However, previous research has assumed that the viewing of media is uniform among all

participants; it can be seen that with the variety of choices within today’s media that participants

would partake in different types of viewing and view different types of programs (Cohen &

Weimann, 2000). Cohen and Weimann’s (2000) study of various types of viewing genres was

inconclusive with respect to the television genres of news, suspense, MTV, sports program, soap

operas etc. Cohen and Weimann (2000) postulated that television viewing was content related,

rather than just watching television for the sake of doing so. While Cohen’s study focused on the

individual in relation to cultivation effect, it has been theorized that cultivation effect is also a

societal effect (Bilandzic & Rossler, 2004). The individual subject’s relation to his fellow man

allows the researcher to measure exactly what cultivation is. Cultivation can be seen in those

who create a social reality, as in what is represented as truth about certain aspects of society, and

those who subscribe to this social reality. Bilandzic and Rossler (2004) define the goal of

cultivation research to be finding out how such a reality is constructed.

A second major question concerning cultivation theory is how such a cultivation occurs?

Gerbner (1998) differentiated that “television neither simply ‘creates’ nor ‘reflects’ images,

opinions and beliefs,” (p.180). How are we so influenced by a mostly fictional world? Are we

as a society so impressionable that we ascribe any information presented to us as the truth? One

possible answer to these questions lies in the idea of what is called heuristic thinking. In

conducting a cultivation study comparing the results of survey methods, Shrum (2007) claims

heuristic thinking involves “task simplification strategies – cognitive shortcuts – that people use

to reduce the difficulty of judgment construction” (p. 65). This is the idea that individuals will

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revert back to most recent or the most repetitive examples they have within their brains as a

method of information recall. In line with this process of thinking, those who view more

television are more likely to recall information from television and use this as a base for their

perceptions of the world. This conclusion of the Shrum study is more likely to be seen when a

subject feels rushed or time pressure, as they refer back to the most readily available piece of

information rather than providing accurate and extensive analysis based on all that they know (p.

67). Not all research done has been able to link cultivation theory with the demonstration of

these types of processing. Shrum, Wyer, O’Guinn, and Thomas (1998) explored the effects of

“priming” upon cultivation theory responses and noted that the strength of cultivation theory

may be reliant on the knowledge of the participant of the effects of television.

Once information is recalled, there are also two theories as to how this information from

the media is actually involved in the “cultivation” of our perceptions. One of these ideas is

mainstreaming, which according to Cohen and Weimann (2000) is the “homogenization of

people’s divergent perceptions of social reality into a convergent view” (p. 101); which directly

confirms the idea of heuristic thinking as it describes the construction of a social view based on

what is learned from television. An opposing theory is that of resonance described as comparing

a mainstream constructed image of the world with one’s own direct experience (Cohen &

Weimann, 2000). These two different theories are seen dividing hypothesis’s in many different

areas of research. A study conducted by Nabi and Riddle (2008) used these two principles to

come up with alternate hypotheses in the area of relationships between cultivation effect,

television viewing and Eysenck’s personality traits. This study not only demonstrated important

results in the area of personality trait research but also provided comparisons of the two

aforementioned constructs of cultivation effect. The results of this study demonstrated a lack of

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consistency in both resonance and mainstreaming in predicting the validity of a particular

cultivation effect. The importance of this finding is in relation to the early concept of the

individual that is key to understanding cultivation effect, and here it is proven that cultivation

effect is not only present in different levels in people but also manifests itself in different ways.

Shrum’s (2007) study of measuring cultivation effects pitted these two theories together by

comparing the results of a phone and mail survey. This study demonstrated that when

respondents were forced to rush their answers (via telephone) there was more evidence of

cultivation effect evidencing that in some instances cultivation effect may not be the underlying

force of causation.

Not only does an individual dictate how cultivation effect manifests itself but also what

message is crafted in the media that comes to affect our perceptions. The two main areas of

study are violence and affluence. Understanding violence has become an imperative area of

research for many social scientists especially in a day and age where violence appears in two

thirds to three quarters of all television programs (Smythe, 1954). According to research done

by the Cultural Indicators Project, violence on television demonstrates who can get away with

what against whom; basically it informs the viewer of who is a winner and who is a loser in

various situations (Smythe, 1954). Cohen and Weimann (2000) reported that females are more

likely to be influenced in their perceptions of violent crimes due to this particular definition. The

second area studied most by cultivation is the perceptions of affluence. The United States is

frequently seen as a materialistic culture, and many studies have been conducted to see the effect

and presence of this particular entity (Harmon, 2006). Harmon’s study of “Affluenza” in 2006

found that individuals who watched less television chose more anti-acquisition priorities than

those who watched more television. This finding mirrors the belief that material gain is

Comment [APA18]: Numbers below 10 – 4.31, p. 111

Horror Films 20

something reflected in television and therefore through the cultivation theory reflected in the

perceptions of viewers.

Harmon (2006) and the Cultural Indicators Project focused on the topics prominent on

the television that caused beliefs they believed to be prominent. However, many researchers

have dedicated studies to understanding genre specific cultivation effects. Rossler and Brosius

(2001) conducted a study of German adolescents perceptions of issues typically dealt with on

German talk shows. The results of the study demonstrated that the subjects that took part in the

study overestimated the prevalence of issues presented on such talk shows such as gay and

lesbian relationships, tattoos, and the negative public opinion of such issues. The results of the

study demonstrated that if cultivation effect is explored in specific genre the results will be

prominent within that particular area only.

While the aforementioned research has focused upon television, there has been a spread

of research into other areas of media, for example video games. Van Mirelo and Van den

Bulck’s (2004) study on video game and cultivation effect violates the basic general premise of

nonspecific television viewing measured in Gerber’s work (p. 98). While there was no

relationship found between videogame playing and cultivation effect in Van Mirelo and Van den

Bulck’s (2004) (2004) study, it is more likely to do with the extreme differences in television

viewing and playing video games, “There are many different video games and different players

may be looking for different things in different games. Measures of selectivity are probably

better indicators of the kind of message the gamer is exposed to than measures of overall game

play” (Van Mirelo & Van den Bulck, 2004, p. 108). This study does however beg the question

about cultivation of perception in different mediums of the media. While genre of television and

video game usage has been studied in relation to the cultivation theory film and more specifically

Comment [APA19]: Prefixes and suffixes that do not require hyphens - Table 4.2, p. 99

Horror Films 21

the horror film genre has been an area absent from such study. Therefore this type of cultivation

has not been compared to perception of violence and personality traits, two areas which have

been studied in relation to both horror film and cultivation effect.

Rationale

Eysenck (1985) has argued that extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism “really

embody three ways in which individuals interact” (p. 14). Researchers have found these factors

to be associated with media preferences (Weaver, 2000; Zuckerman & Little, 1986).

Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are thought to affect an individual’s behavior as

well as interacting together to shape media behavior. Also, traits can be known as constructs

which are inferred from behavior (Eysenck, 1982).

Previous research has found psychoticism to be associated with enjoyment or exposure to

several media genres that are often seen as transgressive, including horror movies (Weaver,

1991), violent cartoons (Aluja-Fabregat & Torrubia-Beltri, 1998), and an unwillingness for

tragedy films (Weaver, 1993). The conceptualization for the personality trait of extraversion

suggests that those who are in high extraversion will expose themselves to media, such as movies,

that are consumed in social settings more frequently than will those low in extraversion (Hall,

2005). The personality trait of extraversion also suggests that it will be associated with

preferences for media genres that have social utility.

Neuroticism also plays a role in selecting the type of media audience members choose.

Those who are high in neuroticism are particularly likely to feel affected by violent or disturbing

media content (Hall, 2005). Neurotics may be more likely to avoid a disturbing matter because

they are extremely bothered by the substance of the topic.

Comment [APA20]: Stating Research Questions & Hypotheses, 2.05, p. 28

Horror Films 22

Personality as an antecedent of media use has tended to evaluate consumption of

particular media genres (Weaver, 1991, 2000). An audience as well as media factors that

contribute to the impact of personality traits will vary depending on the trait. Since specific

media genres offer different satisfactory opportunities, it can be said that both the use of a

particular media and the preference for a specific media genre within a media can be sensitive to

audience members’ personality attributes.

Therefore, the following hypothesis can be posed:

H1: There will be a relationship between temperament and the liking and consumption of

horror films.

The idea that cultivation effects are somewhat dependent on personality traits has been

brought up in several studies. According to Eysenck (1990), “personality traits represent internal

factors that affect one’s unique life history and social encounters and, therefore, promote chronic

construct accessibility” (p. 295) The idea that exposure to threatening and violent media

messages can result in negative feelings has come about in research, which connects to the fact

that neuroticism is linked to emotional instability. The proposal that personality traits might

obstruct the cultivation process has been brought up by researchers. The cultivation theory

emphasizes on the fact that ordinary conceptions of violence effects the perceptions of real-world

occurrences which can be portrayed through certain traits.

Therefore, the following research question can be posed:

H2: There will be a relationship between the score of neuroticism and the scores of cultivation

effect of social violence.

Gerbner’s (2000) definition of cultivation theory involves the unbiased and uncategorized

viewing of television. Although Cohen and Weimann’s (2000) exploration of genre specific

Horror Films 23

cultivation effect proved inconclusive, Rossler and Brosius’ (2001) study proved enlightening.

Rossler and Brosius’ investigation into the cultivation effects present with teens that are exposed

to specific issues within a specific genre shows that a specific message sent by a genre will only

effect the viewer’s perceptions of that particular message. Horror films typically deal with

violence and crime in some way, whether it be the supernatural or natural sort. Cultivation effect

is often more notable in the sub sections concerning society, as personal experience will often

outweigh the experiences viewed in the media (Shrum, 2001). In this line of thinking and

because a majority of horror films deal with violence and crime, the following hypothesis can be

posed:

H3: There will be a positive relationship between scores on the enjoyment of horror movies,

consumption of horror film and cultivation effect.

Previous research has shown that moods induced by depressing films produced reduced

judgments of interpersonal attraction, and those who are in a pleasant affective state give more

positive evaluations, judgments, and evaluations (Fiedler, Pampe, & Scherf, 1986; Forgas &

Bower, 1987; Forgas, Bower, & Krantz, 1984; Mayer, Mamberg, & Volanth, 1988). These

previous studies indicate that depression and fear seem to obscure perceptions, and this impact

can be attributed to film exposure (Tamborini & Salomonson, 1992). Mainstreaming is defined

as the process of viewers from varied social backgrounds coming to share a common set of

beliefs due to the consistent set of messages sent by television (Huston, Donnerstein, Fairchild,

Feshbach, Katz, et al., 1992). Resonance is defined as the process of people responding to

themes and messages that are congruent with their everyday experience or perceived as highly

realistic (Huston et al., 1992). These definitions of mainstreaming and resonance illustrate that a

Horror Films 24

viewer’s perception it correlated with exposure, and in turn enjoyment of horror films. Therefore

the following hypothesis can be posed:

H4: There will be a negative relationship between perception of violence and liking of horror

films.

Many previous studies have indicated that there is a difference of perception of violence

between males and females. Brosius and Harmann (1988) and Brosius and Schmitt (1990)

examined how gender roles embedded, both internally and externally, have historically proven in

studies to alter perceptions of violence from male to female. Females expressed horror as more

appealing, and more stimulating than other “normal” movies, but were also more likely to react

negatively to the fear-inducing film, contrary to males (as cited in Zillmann & Weaver, 1996).

Therefore the following research questions can be posed:

RQ1: Will there be a difference in perceptions of violence between males and females?

RQ2: Will females and males differ in their reported liking of horror films and consumption of

horror films?

Method

Procedure

In order to complete this study, self-report information was gathered from students at a

smaller state school on the East Coast. The researchers distributed 180 surveys to undergraduate

students in several different types of classroom settings across campus. Participants were given

the option to decline and were made aware that there were no risks from participating in this

study. The entire survey took 25-35 minutes to complete.

Participants

Comment [APA21]: Writing the Method Section, 2.06, pp. 29-32

Comment [APA22]: Prefixed words that require hyphens - Table 4.3, p. 100

Horror Films 25

The current study consisted of 77 males (42.8%) and 102 females (56.7%). The mean

age for the sample was 20.65 (SD = 1.83) with a range from 18 to 34.

Instrumentation

The EPQ-R Likert Scale. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R)

was developed by Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett (1985) to measure three supertraits:

extraversion, neuroticism, and lying. The scale also measures socially desirable responding

through a subscale called lying. All four of the subscales are each measured using 12 Likert-type

statements with a possible range from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree, so the overall

measure consists of 48 items. Alpha reliabilities were conducted for the four measures:

extraversion .89 (M = 42.29, SD = 8.37); neuroticism .85 (M = 35.21, SD = 8.45);

psychoticism .65 (M = 30.58, SD = 5.84); and lying .73 (M = 34.61, SD = 6.80). Higher scores

on each of the three instruments are designed to indicate higher levels of that specific supertrait.

The Perceptions of Media Violence Scale. The Perceptions of Television Violence

Scale was created by Scharrer (2005) to measure perceptions of violence on television. For the

purposes of the current study, the measure was retooled to examine perceptions of movie

violence. The Perceptions of Violence Scale is comprised of four indexes: responses of audience

members (3 items), media’s construction of reality (2 items), embedded values about violence (3

items), and social responsibility of portrayals (2 items). The combined measure consists of 10

Likert-type Scale with a range from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Alpha

reliabilities were conducted for the four measures: responses of audience members .59 (M =

10.28, SD = 2.26); media’s construction of reality .33 (M = 6.86, SD = 1.65); embedded values

about violence .67 (M = 9.74, SD = 2.58); and social responsibility of portrayals .48 (M = 6.38,

SD = 1.90). While reliability coefficients were not provided in the original article by Scharrer,

Comment [APA23]: Reporting Percentages – 4.31, p. 112

Comment [APA24]: Numerals and Age - 4.31, pp. 111-112

Comment [APA25]: Level 3 Header – 3.03, p. 62

Comment [APA26]: Anchors of a Scale – 4.21, p. 105

Comment [APA27]: Statistical Abbreviations – Table 4.5, pp. 119-123

Horror Films 26

the low reliability estimates is not surprising do to the limited number of items on the scale.

However, the original study conducted by Scharrer did indicate strong factorial validity for the

four factor measure. Higher numbers indicate more agreement with a statement considered a

more critical attitude toward media violence (Scharrer 2005).

The Cultivation Effect Scale. The Cultivation Effect scale was created to measure five

general constructs: crime, marital discord, vices, occupational prevalence and affluence by

Shrum (2007) to measure the theorized cultivation theory of Gerbner (1986). This Likert scale

contains eight items concerning societal crime, three items concerning personal crime, three

items concerning personal crime in NYC, three items concerning occupational prevalence, three

items concerning marital discord, three items concerning vice and three items concerning

affluence. These items ask the participant to rate the probability of occurrence of various

institutions and situations by percent. Aside from demonstrating validity in the areas of face

validity, concurrent validity and retrospective validity, early uses of this scale were shown to

have reliable Cronbach scores for each subsection of this scale (Shrum, 2007). This particular

scale has been used in genre specific television viewing and genre specific results before

including: popular programming among Israeli youth (Cohen & Weimann, 2000), affluence and

acquisition (Harmon, 2006) and talk show programming (Bilandzic and Rossler, 2004). Alpha

reliabilities for the subscales were as follows: societal crime (α = .87, M = 279.37, SD = 130.1),

personal crime (α = .89, M = 35.66, SD = 39.97), personal crime in NYC (α = .65, M = 69.28, SD

= 49.67), occupational prevalence (α = .86, M = 66.81, SD = 40.60), marital discord (α = .68, M

= 109.58, SD = 45.13), vice (α = .78, M = 74.51, SD = 47), and affluence (α = .89, M = 105, SD

= 70.20).

Horror Films 27

The Horror Film Scale. The Horror Film Scale is a scale designed to measure an

individual’s liking and consumption of horror films. The Liking of Horror Films Scale is based

on the Sad Film Scale designed by Oliver, Sargent, and Weaver (1993). For the current study,

the Liking of Horror Films Scale consists of 11 Likert-type items ranging from (1) strongly

disagree to (5) strongly agree. The dimensionality of the 11 items was analyzed using an

unrotated principle components factor analysis. Four criteria were used to determine the number

of factors to extract: sampling adequacy, the a priori hypothesis that the measure was

unidimensional, the scree plot, and the interpretability of the factor solution. To examine

sampling adequacy, Kaiser’s measure of sampling adequacy (MSA) was used. The MSA

obtained was .83, which is considered “meritory” for conducting a factor analysis. The scree

plot indicated that our initial hypothesis of unidimensionality was correct. The principle

component analysis revealed a strong primary factor accounting for 45% of the variance in the

model. The factor loadings and scale items can be seen in Table 1. Alpha reliability for the

Liking of Horror Films Scale was .88 (M = 36.91, SD =8.46).

The second half of the Horror Film Scale, the Horror Film Consumption Scale, was

measured by asking participants how likely they were to watch various horror genres using a

Likert scale ranging from (1) very unlikely to (5) very likely. After combing the horror film

literature, fifteen unique genres of horror films were classified (Table 2). Horror Film

Consumption was measured by summing the likelihood that individuals would watch horror

films across all of the different genres. Higher scores indicate greater consumption of horror

films. Alpha reliability for the Horror Film Consumption Scale was .86 (M = 44.77, SD = 11.04).

Results

Comment [APA28]: Numbering and Formatting Tables – 5.07-5.19, pp. 128-150

Comment [APA29]: Writing the Results Section, 2.07, pp. 32-35

Horror Films 28

The first hypothesis predicted a relationship between temperament and the liking and

consumption of horror films. A multiple regression was conducted to evaluate how well the

independent variables of temperament (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) could

predict the dependent variable (an individual’s liking of horror films). The linear combination of

the independent variables was significantly related to an individual’s liking of horror films F (3,

172) = 4.85, p = .003. The sample multiple correlation coefficient, R, was .28, which indicates

that approximately 7.9% of the variance of an individual’s liking of horror films could be

accounted for by the linear combination of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

Extraversion, (t = 2.9, p = .004, β = .25, 95% CI [.08, .41]) neuroticism, (t= 2.99, p = .003, β

= .25, 95% CI [.08, .41]) and psychoticism, (t = 2.8, p = .005, β = .23, 95% CI [.08, .41]) all

accounted for unique variance in an individual’s liking of horror films.

The second part of the first hypothesis predicted a relationship between temperament and

the consumption of horror films. A multiple regression was conducted to evaluate how well the

independent variables of temperament (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) could

predict the dependent variable (an individual’s consumption of horror films). The linear

combination of the independent variables was not significantly related to an individual’s

consumption of horror films F(3, 171) = 1.37, p = .25.

The second hypothesis predicted a relationship between scores of neuroticism and scores

of cultivation effect of societal violence. A multiple regression was conducted to evaluate how

well the independent variables of cultivation (affluence, personal crime, marital discord, societal

crime, personal crime in NYC, and vice) could predict the dependent variable (neuroticism).

The linear combination of the independent variables was not significantly related an individual’s

level of neuroticism F(7, 162) = 1.80, p = .09.

Comment [APA30]: Reporting Exact p-Values – 4.44, p. 117

Comment [APA31]: Reporting Confidence Intervals – 4.44, p. 117

Horror Films 29

The third hypothesis dealt with the relationship between cultivation effect and the

participant's liking and consumption of horror films. A multivariate linear regression was

conducted to evaluate how well the independent variables (cultivation effect in the areas of

societal crime, crime in NYC, personal crime, affluence, marital discord, occupational

prevalence) could predict the dependent variable (liking of horror films). The linear combination

of the independent variables was not significantly related to an individual's liking of horror films,

F (7, 161) = .65, p = .72.

A multivariate linear regression was also conducted to evaluate how well the independent

variables (cultivation effect in the areas of societal crime, crime in NYC, personal crime,

affluence, marital discord, occupational prevalence) could predict the dependent variable

(consumption of horror films). The linear combination of the independent variables was not

significantly related to an individual's consumption of horror films, F(7, 160) = 1.50, p = .17.

Hypothesis four wanted to examine the relationship between and individuals’ perception

of violence (responses of audience members, media’s construction of reality, embedded values

about violence, and social responsibility of portrayals) and the liking of horror films. To conduct

this analysis, four Pearson product-moment correlations were conducted. Responses of audience

members was found to be positively related to liking of horror films, r (176) = .22, p = .004,

which is considered to be a weak relationship. Media’s construction of reality was not found to

be significantly related to liking of horror films, r (178) = -.04, p = .62. Embedded values about

violence was not found to be significantly related to liking of horror films, r (178) = .02, p = .77.

Finally, social responsibility of portrayals was found to be positively related to liking of horror

films, r(178) = .16, p = .03, which is considered to be a weak relationship.

Horror Films 30

The first research question used an independent t-test was conducted to determine if an

individual’s perceptions of violence (responses of audience members, media’s construction of

reality, embedded values about violence, and social responsibility of portrayals) differed based

on biological sex (male and female). First, female (M = 10.29, SD = 2.10) and male (M = 10.20,

SD = 2.44) levels of responses to violence by audiences members was examined. The Levene’s

test for equality of variances was not significant (F = 2.14, p = .15), so equality of variances can

be assumed, t (174) = .28 , p = .78, 95% CI [-0.58, 0.77]. Second, female (M = 6.88, SD = 1.54)

and male (M = 6.90, SD = 1.73) levels of media’s construction of reality was examined. The

Levene’s test for equality of variance was not significant (F = 1.47, p = .28), so equality of

variances can be assumed, t (176) = -.06, p = .95, 95% CI [-0.50, 0. 47]. Third, female (M =

9.88, SD = 2.36) and male (M = 9.55, SD = 2.87) levels of embedded values about violence was

examined. The Levene’s test for equality of variance was not significant (F = 1.17, p = .23), so

equality of variances can be assumed, t (176) = .86, p = .39, 95% CI [-0.44, 1. 11]. Lastly,

female (M = 6.55, SD = 1.57) and male (M = 6.16, SD = 2.07) levels of social responsibility of

portrayals was examined. The Levene’s test for equality of variance was not significant (F = 4.47,

p = .036), so equality of variances cannot be assumed, t (137.540) = 1.411, p = .16, 95% CI [-

0.16, 0. 96].

The second research question examined the differences between females and males and

their liking of horror films and consumption of horror films. First, female (M = 36.65, SD = 9.36)

and male (M = 37.32, SD = 7.21) levels of liking of horror films was examined. The Levene’s

test for equality of variance was not significant (F = 7.58, p = .007), so equality of variances

cannot be assumed, t (174.99) = -0.54, p = .59, 95% CI [-3.13, 1.78]. Next, female (M = 44.35,

SD = 12.16) and male (M = 45.67, SD = 8.96) levels of social responsibility of portrayals was

Horror Films 31

examined. The Levene’s test for equality of variance was not significant (F = 9.53, p = .002), so

equality of variances cannot be assumed, t (173.85) = -0.83, p = .41, 95% CI [-4.46, 1.03].

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among horror film enjoyment,

cultivation effect, temperament and perceptions of media violence. Through the course of this

study, four distinct hypotheses and two research questions were proposed and this discussion

section will examine each of them separately. The discussion of the study hypotheses and

research questions will be followed by a discussion of the study limitations and possible

directions for future research.

Discussion of Study Findings

The first hypothesis predicted a relationship between temperament and the liking of

horror films. Overall, an individual’s temperament accounted for seven percent of his or her

liking of horror films. Extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism were all positively related to

the individual’s liking of horror films. The second part of the first hypothesis predicted that

there was no relationship between temperament and the consumption of horror films. Overall, an

individual’s temperament accounted for two percent of his or her consumption of horror films.

One possible reason for the overall layout of results can be due to the fact researchers have found

temperament factors to be associated with media preferences (Weaver, 2000; Zuckerman & Litle,

1986). Extraversion captures sociability, neuroticism captures fearful avoidance, and

psychoticism captures hostility and aggression (Eysenck, 1960). Temperament can influence an

individual’s reaction to different type of media. Each personality trait, extraversion, neuroticism,

and psychoticism affects an individual’s perception as well as reaction differently. A

relationship was found between temperament and an individual’s liking of horror films which

Comment [APA32]: Writing the Discussion Section, 2.08, pp. 35-26

Comment [APA33]: Statement support or nonsupport of hypotheses - 2.08, p. 35

Horror Films 32

can support previous evidence that personality is an antecedent of media use that has tended to

evaluate consumption of particular media genres (Weaver, 1991, 2000, 2003) or, less frequently,

use of particular media (Finn, 1997).

The second hypothesis predicted that there was not a relationship between the scores of

neuroticism and the scores of cultivation effect of societal violence. Overall, an individual’s

scores of cultivation effect of societal violence accounted for seven percent of an individual’s

score of neuroticism. In previous research, individual’s high in neuroticism were found to feel

affected by violent or disturbing media content (Hall, 2005). Viewers with high neuroticism

scores also have been found to rate specific media texts as more violent and more frightening

than those with lower scores (Gunter, 1958). Neuroticism plays a role in selecting the type of

media audience members choose. Neuroticism has also been found to be associated negatively

with recall of violent news stories (Gunter & Furnham, 1986), which suggests that violent

images are more disruptive to memory processing among those high in this personal dimension.

In relation to the negative effects an individual may have the violent news, a relationship

between neuroticism and crime and/or violence could easily be positive. Also, neurotics may be

more likely to avoid a disturbing matter because they are extremely bothered by this type of

viewing. However, in the recent study, there was no relationship found between an individual’s

score of neuroticism and scores of cultivation effect of societal violence.

The third hypothesis predicted a positive relationship between cultivation effect and the

consumption and liking of horror films. In this instance, the null hypothesis was proven correct.

There was no significant relationship found between any of the facets of cultivation effect

(societal crime, personal crime, crime in NYC, occupational prevalence, marital discord, vice).

While there has previously been found to be a relationship in genre specific studies between

Horror Films 33

consumption and viewing and cultivation effect there has also been some wariness in accepting

this in a generalizable way. Cohen and Weimann (2000) postulate that “when the cultivation

process occurs, it varies across genres, viewer characteristics, and the beliefs being cultivated” (p.

109). While our study focused on a variety of beliefs, it was also genre specific. Cohen and

Weimann (2000) studied a variety of genres within their study that varied not only in content but

in portrayal as well. However, the conclusion drawn by Cohen and Weimann (2000) that “some

genres by some views has some effects on some beliefs” (p. 109), fits in with our results

excluding ours from being the some. Our results also contradict the findings of Rossler and

Brosius (2001) concerning cultivation of ideas similar to those portrayed on German talk shows

among adolescents. However, in the German study the film in which the researchers were

claiming caused cultivation was shown to the adolescent. It was carefully chosen and clipped

together by researchers whereas in our study we simply asked the participant about their past

viewing habits rather than creating new ones. A commonality between the Cohen and Weimann

(2000) and Rossler (2001) study that also contradicts our own study is the use of adolescents.

Both studies use students on a junior high and high school level, while this study utilized a

college population. Due to the fact that cultivation effect involves the influencing of perceptions

this is a very important difference. Children and adolescents in their developmental years may

be more susceptible to the undue influence of television and media than a college student who

has reached the age of majority. Despite the developmental differences between a college and

junior high school student there is also the availability of information and discussion as

influential factors in deciding statistics found on the cultivation scale. Perhaps our results are

indicative of a well learned college student who has the opportunity to counteract the messages

Horror Films 34

of horror films as Cohen and Weimann (2000) and Rossler’s (2001) are indicative of junior high

students who believe a lot more at face value.

The fourth hypothesis predicted a negative relationship between perceptions of violence

and liking of horror films. Overall, a positive relationship was found between responses of

audience members and liking of horror films, embedded values about violence and liking of

horror films, and social responsibility of portrayals and liking of horror films. All three

relationships were weak, and two factors were not significant; media’s construction of reality and

embedded values about violence. The positive relationship between social responsibility of

portrayals and liking of horror films was significant. A negative relationship was found between

media’s construction of reality and liking of horror films, but the relationship was found to be

weak and not significant. Based on Sharrer’s (2005) study, students that were exposed to

curriculum based on changing attitudes towards media violence during adolescence made

measurable progress in their understanding of media’s construction of reality, presences/absence

of values in the media, and responses of audience members. The differences in results could be

due to a difference in participants’ age and values.

The first research question asked if there would be a difference in perceptions of violence

between males and females. Equality of variance was not significant for three factors; responses

of audience members, media’s construction of reality, and embedded values about violence. All

three factors were also not statistically significant. Equality of variance was significant for the

factor of social responsibility of portrayals. Based on Rosaen, Boyson, and Smith’s (2006) study,

gender was a “significant moderator of the relationship between certain personality traits and

violence exposure” (p. #). In another study performed by Collins-Standley, Gan, Yu, and

Zillman (1996), research demonstrated that two to four year old boys preferred programs with

Horror Films 35

violence, while two to four year old girls preferred programs without. This finding would

indicate that there is both a difference of perceptions of violence between males and females.

The second research question found that there was no significant difference between

males and females in their consumption and liking of horror films. This lack of difference

contradicts the findings of many studies concerning the effects of film viewing upon males and

females. Oliver, Sargent, and Weaver (1998) found that while watching violent films females

reported “experiencing greater disturbance, less enjoyment, and tended to express greater

empathetic responsiveness,” (p. 61). The horror genre is often earmarked by violence in varying

situations and examples. The finding by Oliver (1998) seems to be in line with gender roles and

traits associated with each biological sex; this relationship between gender traits and film

enjoyment was also explored by Oliver (1998) and found to have a similar relationship to that of

biological sex. Perhaps the results expressed by our study contradict the findings of Oliver (1998)

as well as Brosius and Harmann (1988) because these roles are becoming less strictly defined.

As we progress further into the future the limitations of gender seem to be coming less and less

important, as men and women take on each other’s “assigned roles.” The result of this study

found that there was no significant difference between the enjoyment and consumption of horror

films by men and women and while the null hypothesis being accepted in this case may be

disappointing from a statistical standpoint, it is promising for the world of gender relations.

Study Limitations

Although some useful and informative results were found during this study, several key

limitations exist. The first limitation is the fact that the sample was gained entirely from the

SUNY New Paltz Campus. While the campus itself boasts of a diverse population, the fact of

the matter is students who participated in the study either live on campus or in the surrounding

Horror Films 36

area for a majority of the year. Different geographical locations have different recreational

trends (in this case film watching). Therefore in order for this study to become more

generalizable it would have to be extended over a larger region.

A second limitation of this study concerning the fact that it was completed with a college

sample is that of age. The average age of the sample was 20.6 with the range being from 18 – 34.

This limited sample ignores many age groups and generations can differ greatly in their

interpretation and enjoyment of various types of film. Their perceptions and viewing habits

could differ greatly, again affecting the overall generalizablity of this study.

Lastly, this study utilized a new scale, The Horror Film Scale that was created from the

Sad Film Scale specifically for this study. As with any new scale, there are reliability and testing

issues that could affect overall results. In this case, our inclusion of the various types of horror

film may not have been exhaustive because such a list has not been previously compiled in this

context.

Future Research Directions

As with any good research, future directions should become easily noticeable as one

progresses through a research project. This is most certainly true with this study and is also an

important area of concern considering the staying power of the horror genre in Hollywood. As

long as the horror genre exists it will be able to impact different groups, and it is important to

note the studying of these groups would bring invaluable knowledge to society. The first group

that should be looked at in relation to horror film liking and consumption is adolescents. As seen

in Rossler and Brosius (2001) and Cohen and Weimann (2000) there is a greater chance of media

cultivating ideas in the youth of today. Due to their fragile developmental state, they are more

likely to be influenced by media outlets, whether it is in television or film. Therefore it may

Horror Films 37

prove diligent to explore the relationship between cultivation effect and horror films in youth, as

horror films deal with a variety of violence and crime.

Although our study found no significant difference between males and females in their

liking, consumption or perceptions of horror films there are further directions similar to this that

may be prudent to continue research. The horror film genre, like any media outlet, deals with the

portrayal and relation of males and females and their roles in society. While our study tested for

differences between the biological sex a participant identified themselves with, it did not explore

the social construct of gender in relation to horror film and the various other variables tested for.

When comparing these constructs Oliver (1998) found noticeable differences in reactions to

violent and horrific movies. Due to this finding, and our lack of significant finding substituting

gender for biological sex may be important for future study.

Lastly, there are some direct modifications our study that could prove enlightening. First,

more analysis and research could be done of the horror movie genres, and film scales. For the

purposes of our study, we transformed the Sad Movie Film scale to the Horror Movie Film scale,

which allows for error while surveying. With more research in the area of horror movies more

research can be done on audiences and the effects it has on them.

Conclusion

In this day and age, it is easy to write off movies, television and music as forms of

entertainment that society can affect and change. However, as academic research has proven

over the last century, this media has taken a toll on our emotional states, perceptions of the

outside world and perceptions of media itself. The horror genre is no exception to this idea;

millions every year flock to movie theaters in order to “elicit and purge fear and disgust, appeal

to curiosity and sensation seeking, give viewers the opportunity to practice their gender roles,

Horror Films 38

increase arousal and reduce boredom and set up a powerful sense of relief when the film is over”

(Goldstein, 1998, p. 155). This current study set out to examine the relationships among horror

film enjoyment, temperament, perceptions of media violence and cultivation effect. Hopefully,

the discussion provided here will encourage other researchers to reexamine the horror genre as

an important catalyst in how we communicate and think about ourselves rather than just a form

of entertainment.

Horror Films 39

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Horror Films 49

Table 1 Factor Analysis of the Liking of Horror Films Scale

Scale Item Factor

Loading

1. I like horror movies because they allow me to become part of another world.

.62

2. Horror movies are too simplistic or unrealistic for me to enjoy.

.58

3. I enjoy feeling scared or jumping in response to horror movies.

.63

4. I don’t like horror movies because I would rather feel safe than scared when watching a film.

.74

5. One reason I like horror movies is because I get a rush of adrenaline.

.73

6. I enjoy getting wrapped up in the lives of the characters in horror movies.

.73

7. Horror movies are too fake for me to enjoy.

.64

8. I find horror movies entertaining because they’re fun.

.77

9. Horror movies are too dramatic for me to enjoy.

.59

10. I don’t enjoy horror movies because I like to be entertained or stimulated when I watch a film.

.59

11. It feels good to scream or jump when watching a horror movie.

.75

Comment [APA48]: Table Formatting – 5.08, p. 128-129

Horror Films 50

Table 2 Horror Movie Genres

Horror Genre Sample Films Favorite Genre

(n) 1. Animal Films Jaws, Up from the Depths, etc.

2

2. B-Horror Films Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Body Snatcher, etc.

7

3. Biological/Body Horror

The Thing, Hellraiser, etc.

7

4. Comedy Scream, Psycho Beach Party, etc.

37

5. Evil Children Children of the Corn, Alice, Sweet Alice, etc.

4

6. Ghost Movies The Haunting, The Amityville Horror, etc.

12

7. Monster Movies Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.

4

8. Psychological The Whicker Man, Cube, etc.

24

9. Satanic/Demonic The Omen, The Exorcist, etc.

12

10. Science Fiction Swamp Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc.

8

11. Slasher Films Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.

12

12. Splatter Films Psycho, Blood Feast, etc.

2

13. Survival Horror Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark, etc.

8

14. Torture Porn Hostel, Saw, etc.

20

15. Zombie Movies Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, etc.

15