“I see dead people”

This study aimed to add to a nuanced understanding of how viewing different subgenres of paranormal horror can cultivate beliefs in the paranormal. I collected cross-sectional survey data among 601 adults aged 18 – 56 (M = 24.06, SD = 4.16), with a relatively even gender distribution (40.6% males, 59.4% females). Using a linear regression model, I found that more frequent exposure to paranormal horror was related to paranormal beliefs, but only if the paranormal horror subgenre claimed to depict reality (i.e., based on true events re-enactments and paranormal reality TV). Neither paranormal subgenres that did not include a truth claim (e.g., found footage), nor non-paranormal horror subgenres (e.g., slasher), were related to paranormal beliefs. I conclude that it is possible that truth claims lead viewers to process the depicted events as fact, instead of fiction, thus resulting in a shift in real world beliefs. However, considering the cross-cultural nature of the data, it is also possible that those who already believe in the paranormal are more likely to seek out this content

Paranormal · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Media Influence and Health · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Tracing the Course of Reality TV Effects Research

  Open Access•Robin L Nabi, Jiyeon So et al.•2012

  Incluir item

• Reinforcing Spirals Model

  Michael D Slater•Media Psychology•2015

  Incluir item

• I See, Therefore I am

  Femke Geusens, Kathleen Beullens•Health Communication•2023

  Incluir item

• Living with Television

  Open Access•George Gerbner, Larry Gross•Journal of Communication•1976

  Incluir item

• The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects

  Open Access•E A Konijn, P Rössler et al.•The International Encyclopedia of…•2016

  Incluir item

• Religion, paranormal beliefs, and meaning in life

  Taylor A FioRito, Andrew A Abeyta et al.•Religion Brain & Behavior•2021

  Incluir item

• The U.S. Media’s Effect on Public’s Crime Expectations

  Open Access•Rayeheh Alitavoli, Ehsan Kaveh•Societies•2018

  Incluir item

• The Violence Profile

  Nancy Signorielli, Michael Morgan et al.•Mass Communication & Society•2018

  Incluir item

• Cultivation Analysis

  George Gerbner•Mass Communication & Society•1998

  Incluir item

• Depictions of Gender on Primetime Television

  Alexander Sink, Dana Mastro•Mass Communication & Society•2016

  Incluir item

• Entertainment?Education and Elaboration Likelihood

  Open Access•Michael D Slater, Donna Rouner•Communication Theory•2002

  Incluir item

• Toward a Theory of Entertainment Persuasion

  Open Access•Emily Moyer-Gusé•Communication Theory•2008

  Incluir item

• Investigating the relationship between exposure to television programs that depict paranormal phenomena and beliefs in the paranormal

  Glenn G Sparks, Glenn Sparks et al.•Communication Monographs•2001

  Incluir item

• Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs

  Open Access•Michael Lindeman, Marjaana Lindeman et al.•Journal of Research in Personality•2006

  Incluir item

• Complex Sample Data in Structural Equation Modeling

  Bengt Muthén, Bengt O Muthén et al.•Sociological Methodology•1995

  Incluir item

• Documenting Portrayals of Race/Ethnicity on Primetime Television over a 20‐Year Span and Their Association with National‐Level Racial/Ethnic Attitudes

  Open Access•Riva Tukachinsky, Dana Mastro et al.•Journal of Social Issues•2015

  Incluir item

• The Trappings of Science

  Open Access•Paul R Brewer•Science Communication•2013

  Incluir item

• The State of Cultivation

  Michael Morgan, Jarrod Shanahan•Journal of Broadcasting &…•2010

  Incluir item

• Availability

  Open Access•Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman•Cognitive Psychology•1973

  Incluir item

• An Online Process Model of Second-Order Cultivation Effects

  Open Access•L J Shrum, Jaehoon Lee et al.•Human Communication Research•2011

  Incluir item

• A Bounded Affinity Theory of Religion and the Paranormal

  J O Baker, Christopher Bader et al.•Sociology of Religion•2016

  Incluir item