[quote]Many of us go to extraordinary lengths to avoid learning the endings of stories we have yet to read or see – plugging our ears, for example, and loudly repeating “la-la-la-la,” when discussion threatens to reveal the outcome. Of book and movie critics, we demand they not give away any plot twists or, at least, oblige with a clearly labeled “spoiler alert.” We get angry with friends who slip up and spill a fictional secret.
But we’re wrong and wasting our time, suggests a new experimental study from the University of California, San Diego. People who flip to the last page of a book before starting it have the better intuition. Spoilers don’t spoil stories. Contrary to popular wisdom, they actually seem to enhance enjoyment.
Even ironic-twist and mystery stories – which you’d be forgiven for assuming absolutely depend on suspense or surprise for success – aren’t spoiled by spoilers, according to a study by Nicholas Christenfeld and Jonathan Leavitt of UC San Diego’s psychology department, to be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Christenfeld and Leavitt ran three experiments with a total of 12 short stories. Three types of stories were studied: ironic-twist, mystery and literary. Each story – classics by the likes of John Updike, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie and Raymond Carver – was presented as-is (without a spoiler), with a prefatory spoiler paragraph or with that same paragraph incorporated into the story as though it were a part of it. Each version of each story was read by at least 30 subjects. Data from subjects who had read the stories previously were excluded.
Subjects significantly preferred the spoiled versions of ironic-twist stories, where, for example, it was revealed before reading that a condemned man’s daring escape is all a fantasy before the noose snaps tight around his neck.
[img]http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/graphics/images/2011/spoilers2.png[/img]
The same held true for mysteries. Knowing ahead of time that Poirot will discover that the apparent target of attempted murder is, in fact, the perpetrator not only didn’t hurt enjoyment of the story but actually improved it.
Subjects liked the literary, evocative stories least overall, but still preferred the spoiled versions over the unspoiled ones.
Why? The answers go beyond the scope of the study, but one possibility is perhaps the simplest one: that plot is overrated.
“Plots are just excuses for great writing. What the plot is is (almost) irrelevant. The pleasure is in the writing,” said Christenfeld, a UC San Diego professor of social psychology.
“Monet’s paintings aren’t really about water lilies,” he said.
It’s also possible that it’s “easier” to read a spoiled story. Other psychological studies have shown that people have an aesthetic preference for objects that are perceptually easy to process.
“So it could be,” said Leavitt, a psychology doctoral student at UC San Diego, “that once you know how it turns out, it’s cognitively easier – you’re more comfortable processing the information – and can focus on a deeper understanding of the story.”
But the researchers are careful to note that they do not have a new recipe for writers to follow. After all, spoilers helped only when presented in advance, outside of the piece. When the researchers inserted a spoiler directly into a story, it didn’t go over quite as well.
The overall findings are consistent with the experience most of us have had: A favorite tale can be re-read multiple times with undiminished pleasure. A beloved movie can be watched again and again.
“Stories are a universal element of human culture, the backbone of the billion-dollar entertainment industry, and the medium through which religion and societal values are transmitted,” the researchers write. In other words, narratives are incredibly important. But their success doesn’t seem to hinge on simple suspense.
Christenfeld and Leavitt conclude the paper by saying that perhaps some of our “other intuitions about suspense may be similarly wrong.”
“Perhaps,” they write, “birthday presents are better when wrapped in cellophane, and engagement rings are better when not concealed in chocolate mousse.”
We might be also well-advised to reconsider surprise parties, Christenfeld said. Meanwhile, he and Leavitt continue to investigate what makes stories work – or not. Numerous recent scandals about fictionalized memoirs have inspired them to explore why it matters that a story be true. “Why does it matter,” Christenfeld said, “whether something happened to one person in five billion or to no one? If the story is still a good story, why do we care?”[/quote]
[url=http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/soc/2011_08spoilers.asp]Source[/url]
[quote]Subjects significantly preferred the spoiled versions of ironic-twist stories, where, for example, i[U]t was revealed before reading that a condemned man’s daring escape is all a fantasy before the noose snaps tight around his neck.[/U] [/quote]
spolier tag that
You'll always have those "OH MY GOD YOU SPOILED THE ENDING OF HALF LIFE NOW I CAN NEVER PLAY IT" idiots.
Often I find great enjoyment in just seeing how something gets to an ending.
So if you tell someone how someone is murdered at the start of the book, the enjoyment comes from seeing how it happens.
This is why the premise of Machine of Death is good.
Yeah, I felt that finding out that Cerberus were indoctrinated in Mass Effect 3 kind of spoiled the story a bit. But now I'm more interested than ever to find out how this came about.
And now 10 more people are interested to find out how they were indoctrinated.
I hate when my anime is spoiled and DOES ruin things
prolly same with books
someone spoilt the ending to the usual suspects for me
i really would have enjoyed it more if i didnt know that [sp]spacey was the soze guy[/sp] (yes it is quite obvious but there were open possibilities)
[QUOTE=The DooD;31934064]Yeah, I felt that finding out the [sp]Cerberus were indoctrinated in Mass Effect 3[/sp] kind of spoiled the story a bit. But now I'm more interested in ever to find out how this came about.[/QUOTE]
Wait what
I have this tendency to always read the last page from a book whenever I get a new one, it doesn't matter because usually it's almost meaningless or I don't understand it, but I'm just too goddamn curious.
I've spoiled myself more than once too, it's not much of a big deal, annoying if something
When somebody spoils something I remember that most of the time. When I start reading the book/watching the movie I get to the part where the person who spoiled it talked about. At that point I know what is going to happen and that ruins it for me.
[QUOTE=_Maverick_;31934018]spolier tag that[/QUOTE]
I read that story, t'was cool.
No wonder I got interested into Halo Contact Harvest after reading the summary for the story.
I guess spoilers can actually serve as motivation to read books that have a bad start (which I've encountered plenty).
Maybe spoilers can be vague to be "safe", but also good, like for example: Someone dies in a story. I don't know about you guys, but I usually I would become curious and more motivated to wait and see how said person dies.
[QUOTE=Oblivious1;31934520]No wonder I got interested into Halo Contact Harvest after reading the summary for the story.
I guess spoilers can actually serve as motivation to read books that have a bad start (which I've encountered plenty).
Maybe spoilers can be vague to be "safe", but also good, like for example: Someone dies in a story. I don't know about you guys, but I usually I would become curious and more motivated to wait and see how said person dies.[/QUOTE]
and why
and when
it's so many factors that a little spoiler won't ruin an entire story
It depends on the nature of the spoiler. Most stories are pretty predictable in their endings: You know Harry will kill Voldemort, you know Frodo will take the ring and destroy it, the character development along the way was what made the books great.
I hate having stories spoiled for me. It doesn't make me enjoy the story at all.
I agree and disagree to different extents.
On the one hand, I agree because more than a few times I have spoiled a movie or game for myself with something like a character's death or the ending of the film/game. Therefore I go into the game/movie asking myself "How did this happen?" "How does it fit?" "What's its significance?". I mean, I know the fates of a lot of the important Harry Potter characters, but I actually want to see how that one jigsaw piece fits in with the rest of the puzzle.
On the other hand, it depends on the spoiler itself. For instance, Citizen Kane is considered one of the best movies of all time. Part of that is because of how the story is told leading up to the big revelation of what 'Rosebud' actually meant to Kane. Well, the first time I watched Citizen Kane I remembered a Family Guy episode where Peter blatantly spoils the movie. For me, it ruined most of the enjoyment of getting into the movie. Since I had known A and Z everything in between felt less important to watch (I still watched the whole movie, and loved it. That is just somewhat how I feel pertaining to that spoiler).
[quote]Other psychological studies have shown that people have an aesthetic preference for objects that are perceptually easy to process.[/quote]
"I don't enjoy that"
"Well you're just too stupid.
I read the plot summary to Mass Effect 2 before I played it, and I still enjoyed it.
Having the last Harry Potter book spoiled was a bit shit
He's kind of right, I knew Marston dies before even starting the game (thanks mum) yet it was still one of the best games I've ever played.
Great now people are going to use this as an excuse to wantonly spoil upcoming stuff to people who don't want to hear it
"you'll enjoy it more :downs:"
[QUOTE=Haxxer;31934567]and why
and when
it's so many factors that a little spoiler won't ruin an entire story[/QUOTE]
If you know someone's gonna die before you read/watch/play something, then you know not to get attached to them, removing the "Goddamnit I liked that guy!" effect you get.
[editline]25th August 2011[/editline]
I mean, if I had known that in Cave Story that [sp]you would be forced to put down Toroko AND King dies right before that too[/sp] then that part of the game wouldn't have had such an impact.
Someone spoiled Super 8 for me back in June, but I've completely forgotten since then.
KOTOR wouldn't have been as good if it was spoiled.
It's really a matter of opinion, you can't just say "most people agree with my opinion so it is now a fact".
[QUOTE=UberMunchkin;31934024][sp]Snape kills Dumbledore[/sp]
Well, I was once spoilt what happened on "Murder on the oriental express", I still liked it[/QUOTE]
Everybody knows Snape kills Dumbledore, but does anybody know who truly killed Dumbledore? Drako! Shocker ain't it? Now watch the movie and find out how it all comes together. Enjoy your increased enjoyment rating.
I think it's subjective. I know that I enjoy films more when I don't know what will happen, because I'm not sitting waiting for that scene that I know is coming because my mates have told me all about it.
And I certainly don't need a study to tell me what I do and do not like
[editline]26th August 2011[/editline]
Also if the rationalisation for spoilers is that it makes the story easier to grasp because you know what happens (thus aren't trying to figure the plot out) then read the damn thing twice. I don't read for the concepts so much as the emotional investment in the story. By advocating spoilers based on the 'easier to grasp' rationalisation you open up novel writing to increasingly convoluted plots that require external information to understand, and then books become more about the idea than a 'good plot'. Then you get books which are more or less the same as modern/postmodern art.
And I don't like the sound of that.
Sometimes, if the spoiler relates to a twist in the ending, it can make knowing and reading the book/seeing the film more enjoyable as the viewer will be looking for hints that suggest this ultimate truth.
For example, SPOILERS FOR SIXTH SENSE,
Everyone knows that film is about Bruce Willis and how he helps the young child, only at the end is it revealed that Bruce has been dead for much of the film, and is simply a ghost, visible only to the child in his care. I already knew this when I sat down to watch the film and I was alert, looking for hints that gave it away. It enhanced my enjoyment of the film.
But knowing the events of a story that are strictly within the scope of the story, Ie, a character dies, can really ruin the feel of a story for me. Earlier today, I was reading the Deus Ex thread and I foolishly clicked a spoiler. I know one that a character will die. While it's true that I can't say if this'll spoil my enjoyment and shock at the death (as Steam hasn't unlocked the bloody game yet) I can't help but feel like I've spoiled that part of the story for myself.
[QUOTE=Jurikuer;31936031]Everybody knows Snape kills Dumbledore, but does anybody know who truly killed Dumbledore? Drako! Shocker ain't it? Now watch the movie and find out how it all comes together. Enjoy your increased enjoyment rating.[/QUOTE]
[sp]Drako didn't kill him, he defeated him.[/sp]
[QUOTE]In other words, narratives are incredibly important. But their success doesn’t seem to hinge on simple suspense.[/QUOTE]
DEAR GOD. Someone give this man a fifty billion dollar grant, we NEED to find out more about things we've known since the conception of language.
[QUOTE]“Perhaps,” they write, “birthday presents are better when wrapped in cellophane, and engagement rings are better when not concealed in chocolate mousse.”
We might be also well-advised to reconsider surprise parties, Christenfeld said.[/QUOTE]
Hey, let's not package food anymore. I'm sure it will taste better :downs:
I would have enjoyed Bioshock a lot more if I hadn't known the secret about Fontaine
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