Page 303 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

292 CANTOR

Dangers and Injuries. Stimuli that are perceived as dangerous
should, by definition, evoke fear. The depiction of events that either cause
or threaten to cause great harm is the stock-in-trade of the frightening
film. Natural disasters such as tornadoes, volcanoes, plagues, and earth-
quakes; violent encounters on an interpersonal, global, or even intergalac-
tic level; attacks by vicious animals; and large-scale industrial and nuclear
accidents are typical events in frightening media fare. If any of these
events were witnessed directly, the onlooker would be in danger, and fear
would be the expected response. In addition, because danger is often
present when injuries are witnessed, the perception of injuries should
come to evoke fear as a conditioned response, even in the absence of the
danger that produced the injuries. Through stimulus generalization, one
might thus expect mediated depictions of danger, violence, and injury to
produce fright reactions as well. Reports of fright produced by depictions
of dangerous stimuli in media drama abound in the survey and experi-
mental literature (e.g., Cantor, 1998; Harrison & Cantor 1999).

Distortions of Natural Forms. In addition to dangerous stimuli and
the outcomes of dangerous situations, a related set of stimuli that typi-
cally evoke fear might be referred to as deformities and distortions, or
familiar organisms in unfamiliar and unnatural forms. Hebb (1946)
observed fear responses to such “deviations from previously experienced
patterns” in chimpanzees and argued that such responses are sponta-
neous, in that they do not require conditioning. Organisms that have been
mutilated as a result of injury could be considered to fall into this category
as well as the previous category. In addition, distortions that are not the
result of injury are often encountered in thrillers in the form of realistic
characters like dwarves, hunchbacks, and mutants. Moreover, monsters
abound in thrillers. Monsters are unreal creatures that are similar to nat-
ural beings in many ways, but deviant from them in other ways, such as
through distortions in size, shape, skin color, or facial configuration. In
scary movies, monstrous and distorted characters are typically, but not
universally, depicted as evil and dangerous. Monsters, ghosts, vampires,
mummies, and other supernatural beings are frequently cited as sources
of children’s fear in both surveys and anecdotal reports (e.g., Cantor, 1998;
Cantor & Sparks, 1984).

The Experience of Endangerment and Fear by Others. Although in
some cases viewers seem to respond directly to depictions of fear-evoking
stimuli such as dangers, injuries, and distortions, in most dramatic pres-
entations these stimuli are shown to affect the emotional responses and
outcomes of depicted characters. In many cases, the viewer can be said to
respond indirectly to the stimuli through the experiences of the charac-