Ratings for emotion film clips

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Media Studies
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Film clips are common tools for eliciting emotions in research.
• Existing normative ratings for these clips are limited, hindering consistent application.
• Understanding how demographic and experiential factors influence emotional responses is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide normative ratings for film clips used in emotion elicitation studies.
• To investigate the influence of gender, race-ethnicity, and familiarity on emotional responses to film clips.
• To offer guidance for researchers selecting film stimuli for emotion research.

Main Methods:

• An ethnically diverse sample of college undergraduates rated selected film clips.
• Ratings included measures of intensity, discreteness, valence, and arousal.
• Statistical analyses examined the effects of gender, race-ethnicity, and familiarity on clip perception.

Main Results:

• Males showed stronger reactions to positively valenced clips; females reacted more to negatively valenced clips.
• Caucasian participants generally exhibited stronger reactions.
• Familiarity with films influenced ratings, increasing positive valence responses and decreasing negative valence responses.

Conclusions:

• The study offers valuable normative data for film clips used in emotion research.
• Gender, race-ethnicity, and familiarity are significant factors influencing emotional responses to film stimuli.
• Researchers should consider these variables when selecting film clips for emotion elicitation.