Personal Relevance, Empathy, Self-Disclosure, and Film
Notes: This talk explores how the design of audio-visual narratives, particularly formal features such as camera distance, can influence viewers’ emotional engagement and willingness to open up. Empirical studies of viewer responses can contribute to our understanding of how media features prompt particular cognitive and affective reactions. Drawing on experimental research in psychology, the presentation focuses on the effects of close-up shots, viewer empathy, and personal relevance, offering insights into how film might (and might not) create space for personal reflection and self-disclosure.
– Director of UCD Media & Entertainment Lab.
– Father and Daughter (2001) Short Film.
– Bálint, K. E., Blessing, J. N., & Rooney, B. (2020). Shot scale matters: The effect of close-up frequency on mental state attribution in film viewers. Poetics, 83, 101480.
– Bálint, K., Sukalla, F., & Rooney, B. (2022). Personal relevance and state empathy with a character facilitates self-disclosure in film viewers. Frontiers in Communication, 7, 984341.
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