My Research

Results
EN202-03
Leeza Dowez
Northern Marianas College
Hypothesis: Horror cliches are still
effectively scary

Research Proposal

Background
Topic:

Horror Movies and Games

Exploring the effects of horror tropes

(cliches)
Exploring the effects of the horror genre
in general
Exploring how or why the horror genre
may be addictive for some

Research Question
Primary

Are horror cliches (predictability) actually

effective in creating a strong reaction in
people?

Secondary

Does the predictability make some people

desensitized when exposed frequently?
Can horror movies and games be
addictive?

Research Question (cont.)

Secondary

Do people still react to a threatening

situation despite varying horror media
exposure

Literature Sources
Body

of Fear: how Your Body Keeps You

Playing Horror Games by Anthony
Agnello, IGN.
Monsters Evolve: A Biocultural Approach
to Horror Stories by Mathias Clasen
Men, women, and chainsaws: Gender in
the modern horror film by C.J. Clover
Sign of a Threat: The Effects of Warning
Systems in Survival Horror Games by B.
Perron

Literature Sources
Understanding

the Popular Appeal of

Horror Cinema: An IntegratedInteractive Model by G. Walters
Sex and Violence in the Slasher Horror
Film: A Content Analysis of Gender
Differences in the Depiction of Violence
by A. Welsh
The Horror Genre Media Studies by R.
Wood [online slideshow]

Research Methods
Self-Observation

Researcher analyzes her own behavior

after watching horror media consistently

1st

Survey, Horror Movies and Games

2nd

Method:

Survey, Horror Movies and Games:

Psychological Effects

3rd

Method:

Method:

Evil Dead (2013), survey afterwards

Results

Self-Observation
Watched

over a 100 horror gameplays

over 5 months
Adrenaline rush addiction
Desensitization?
Other people react is entertaining

1st Research Method

Survey,

48 responses

100% watched a horror movie before

People with low rate of horror media
exposure could still list down several
horror cliches
75% agreed horror movies were
predictable
The Grudge and Slender

2nd Research Method

Survey,

19 responses

Inconclusive, results too varied

Having children under 13 in household
does not seem to affect horror media
exposure
Most people with low horror media
exposure are more careful/suspicious
Most people would rather die by guns
than knives

2nd Research Method (cont.)

Choice of death is quite varied among

people, but none chose paranormal death

84.2%

of respondents feel
uncomfortable finding a fully lit class
with only one chair in the center

3rd Research Method

Evil

Dead, 12 participants

Audience actually became more reactive

in horror trope scenes (bathroom mirror)

Survey,

6 respondents

People rated it fairly high in predictability

Most people rated it 4 out 5 for scariness
Most reported anxiety or trauma, but
none for aggressiveness

3rd Research Method (cont.)

Males had less empathy for the female

characters
For most disturbing/frightening scene,
people either chose the scene of Mias
possession or the films gore in general

Conclusion
Although

some findings did contradict

past studies, a few findings also
confirmed past studies
Results are overall inconclusive