2000/06/01 by Mary Beth Oliver, James B. Weaver, Stephanie Lee Sargent · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Psychology · #Media Influence and Health #Media, Gender, and Advertising #Cinema and Media Studies #Psychology #Theme (computing) #Perception #Social psychology #Identity (music) #Developmental psychology #Aesthetics #Art
paper · doi:10.1207/s15506878jobem4402_8
openalex publication_date 2000/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Three studies were conducted to examine possible explanations for sex differences in enjoyment of sad films. The first two studies examined enjoyment of prototypical "female" and "male" sad films (Beaches and Brian's Song); the third study utilized film descriptions to examine the impact of gender identity (i.e., gender role self-perceptions) and film characteristics (theme and characters' sex) on anticipated enjoyment. Overall, females and communal (feminine) viewers reported greater enjoyment, particularly of films featuring relational themes.