FOREWARNING OF GRAPHIC PORTRAYAL OF VIOLENCE AND THE EXPERIENCE OF SUSPENSEFUL DRAMA

The present study was designed to assess the effects of forewarning of explicit violence on the experience of suspense. Male and female unde rgraduate students were read one of two consent forms, which either al erted them to the violent and potentially offensive content of the fil m they were about to see or that assured them that the graphically vio lent material had been cut from the film. Participants then watched on e of two suspenseful him clips. Results show that respondents who were told that the film clip contained graphic violence experienced signif icantly more distress than respondents who were told that graphic viol ent content had been cut. Gender differences also emerged, with female s responding more strongly to the film clips than did the males. The m ediating role of empathic sensitivity in the experience of suspense wa s considered in interpreting the observed gender differences.