Bias perceptions of realism in audiovisual media: Why we may take fiction for real

This study investigated whether emotions induced in TV-viewers (either as an emotional state or co-occurring with emotional involvement) would increase viewers' perception of realism in a fake documentary and affect the information value that viewers would attribute to its content. To that end, two experiments were conducted that manipulated (a) participants' emotions and (b) the framing of a TV-documentary (fiction vs. reality-based). The results of Study 1, a 2 (Mood Induction: yes vs. no) 2 (Fiction-Based vs. Reality-Based) design, indicated that when they believed the program was fictional, emotional viewers attributed more realism and higher information value to the TV-program than non-emotional viewers did. In Study 2, a 3 (Positive vs. Negative vs. No-Mood Induction) 2 (Fiction-Based vs. Reality-Based) design, a significant effect of emotional involvement (empathy) on perceptions of realism and information value was found. Potential explanations for the finding that emotional viewers seemed more inclined to take fiction for real than non-emotional viewers in light of recent literature on perceiving realism and emotion theory is discussed.