Challenging Entertainment: Enjoyment, Transportation, and Need for Cognition in Relation to Fictional Films Viewed Online

This study used brief, fantastical fiction films viewed on a computer to extend research into the multiple dimensions of audiences' responses to entertainment media. One hundred sixty participants viewed one of two films and completed measures of transportation into the film, perceptions of the film as fun and meaningful, and need for cognition. Transportation was associated with both fun and meaningfulness perceptions, which were correlated with each other. Need for cognition predicted meaningfulness directly and indirectly through transportation. This trait was associated with fun only indirectly, via transportation.

[1]  A. Rubin.  Ritualized and Instrumental Television Viewing , 1984 .

[2]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The need for cognition. , 1982 .

[3]  Peter Vorderer,et al.  Does Entertainment Suffer From Interactivity? The Impact of Watching an Interactive TV Movie on Viewers' Experience of Entertainment , 2001 .

[4]  Kristopher J Preacher,et al.  SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models , 2004, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[5]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Dimensions of situation model construction in narrative comprehension. , 1995 .

[6]  Timothy C. Brock,et al.  The Need for Entertainment Scale , 2003 .

[7]  L. J. Shrum,et al.  The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and Persuasion , 2003 .

[8]  Robin L. Nabi,et al.  The Sage handbook of media processes and effects , 2009 .

[9]  M. Oliver.  Exploring the Paradox of the Enjoyment of Sad Films , 1993 .

[10]  Jennings Bryant,et al.  The effect of suspense and its resolution on the appreciation of dramatic presentations , 1975 .

[11]  Andrew F. Hayes,et al.  Computational procedures for probing interactions in OLS and logistic regression: SPSS and SAS implementations , 2009, Behavior research methods.

[12]  T. Brock,et al.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology the Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives Text Quality Individual Differences and Situational Influences Transportation Scale Items Gender Differences Discriminant Validation: Need for Cognition Effect of Text Manipulation Beli , 2022 .

[13]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Effects of need for cognition on message evaluation, recall, and persuasion. , 1983 .

[14]  Melanie C. Green,et al.  Transportation Into Narrative Worlds: The Role of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Realism , 2004 .

[15]  D. Zillmann.  The logic of suspense and mystery. , 1991 .

[16]  Helena Bilandzic,et al.  Measuring Narrative Engagement , 2009 .

[17]  Rick W. Busselle,et al.  Fictionality and Perceived Realism in Experiencing Stories: A Model of Narrative Comprehension and Engagement , 2008 .

[18]  Tilo Hartmann,et al.  Entertainment and enjoyment as media effects , 2009 .

[19]  M. Oliver.  Tender Affective States as Predictors of Entertainment Preference , 2008 .

[20]  Michael D. Slater,et al.  Television Dramas and Support for Controversial Public Policies: Effects and Mechanisms , 2006 .

[21]  John L. Sherry.  Flow and Media Enjoyment , 2004 .

[22]  Melanie C. Green,et al.  Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film , 2008 .

[23]  M. Oliver,et al.  Appreciation as Audience Response: Exploring Entertainment Gratifications beyond Hedonism. , 2010 .

[24]  J. Bryant,et al.  Responding to the screen : reception and reaction processes , 1991 .

[25]  Robin L. Nabi,et al.  Explaining the Effects of Narrative in an Entertainment Television Program: Overcoming Resistance to Persuasion , 2010 .

[26]  D. Suvin.  Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre , 1979 .

[27]  Geoff F. Kaufman,et al.  Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds , 2004 .

[28]  A. Rubin.  Television uses and gratifications: The interactions of viewing patterns and motivations , 1983 .

[29]  Mary Beth Oliver,et al.  Development of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Measures of Entertainment Motivations: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Gratifications , 2008 .