Emotional Response to Film Clips Alone Versus in Pairs

Abstract

Emotional elicitation using film clips is one of the most effective and commonly used ways of eliciting emotion in participants in psychology studies. However, previous studies have been inconsistent with regards to whether participants view film clips alone or with other people. The present study examined whether or not participants viewing film clips with another person reported more intense emotional responses to film clips targeted to elicit tenderness, sadness, fear, and disgust than participants watching the same film clips alone. Thirty-two female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to view a set of four film clips alone or with another participant, reporting the intensity of their emotional response after each clip using the Differential Emotions Scale. Results showed that the film clips used were mostly successful in eliciting significantly differentiated target emotional responses in all participants, but that only the tenderness and disgust film clips were successful in eliciting significantly more intense target emotional responses in participants viewing the film clips in pairs than participants viewing them alone. This suggests that whether a person views a film clip alone or with other people may affect the intensity of their emotional response, but more research needed on the subject.