Elsevier

Poetics

Volume 83, December 2020, 101480
Poetics

Shot scale matters: The effect of close-up frequency on mental state attribution in film viewers

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2020.101480Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • The frequency of film close-up shots increases viewers’ spontaneous mental state attribution.

  • Film close-up frequency increases spontaneous but not prompted mental state attribution.

  • Effects are not linear; highest spontaneous mental state attribution for medium level of close-ups.

  • Close-up effects represent mental state attribution related social cognition, not general cognitive or affective processing.

  • No observed moderating effects of content (character facial expression) or gender.

Abstract

Mental state attribution, an important aspect of social cognition, refers to the verbalization of mental state references observed in another person. Fictional film narratives can elicit social cognition and mental state attribution specifically, however, little is known about the cinematographic techniques underlying this effect and their link to mental state attribution. The present experiment focuses on the role of close-up shots of the character's face in viewers’ mental state attribution, as well as in their cognitive and affective processing more generally. The online experiment (N = 495) included thirteen versions of an animated film and employed a 6 (different number of close-up shots) × 2 (facial expressions) factorial between-subject design, with an additional zero close-up control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to one version of the film and subsequently asked to describe the story (with and without a prompt for mental state attribution). In these free responses, the study used a quantitative content analytic method (with independent blind-coders) to identify the proportion of spontaneous and prompted mental state attributions (i.e. explicit mental state references to the character), as well as cognitive and affective processing employed by viewers. Additionally, we tested the moderation effect of character facial expression (in the close-up) and participant gender. Confirming our main hypothesis, close-up frequency significantly influenced spontaneous, but not prompted mental state attribution. Results indicate that increasing the number of close-ups may elicit a higher proportion of spontaneous mental state attribution up to a certain point, beyond which it may decrease the proportion of spontaneous mental state attributions. Results suggest that the effect of close-up frequency is specific to mental state attribution rather than some general effect on cognitive and affective processing of narratives.

Keywords

Mental state attribution
Social cognition
Shot scale
Close-up shot
Narrative

Cited by (0)

Katalin E. Bálint: Katalin Bálint is an assistant professor at VU Amsterdam, Department of Communication Science. Previously, she was a postdoc researcher at Utrecht University, and University of Augsburg. Her interest is centred on audio-visual form features, as well as the processes and determinants of character engagement and the theory of mind response in particular. She has published papers in peer-reviewed journals (Frontiers in Psychology, Poetics Today, Scientific Study of Literature, Projections, Journal of Media Psychology) and chapters in edited books for Bloomsbury Publishing, John Benjamins Publishing, and Routledge.

Janine Blessing: Janine Blessing is a research fellow and PhD student in the field of media reception and media effects at University of Augsburg, Department of Media, Knowledge and Communication. She researches in the field of health communication, science communication, and risk communication. Her interest is also centered on audio-visual media content as well as entertainment and their effects.

Brendan Rooney: Brendan Rooney is an Assistant Professor at the University College Dublin School of Psychology, Ireland and director of the Media and Entertainment Lab there. He has previously chaired the Psychological Society of Ireland's Special Interest Group for Media, Art and Cyberpsychology and held appointments at The Irish National Film School, the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and Columbia University. Rooney's research interests include the interaction between cognition and emotion in the context of media and other entertainment. He is particularly interested in processes associated with appraisals of realism in stories and virtual worlds, and its relationship to emotional regulation.

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Present address: Communication Science, VU Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands