Gender characteristics and comparisons in the emotional reception of standard and aesthetically integrated subtitles in a fantasy-thriller context

In this article, we test the findings by Leveridge and colleagues (2024) as regards the reception of aesthetically integrated subtitles (AIS), and most critically we explore the role of gender in these outcomes. We explore psychophysiological (skin conductance and heart rate) and self-report responses (questionnaires) among three different subtitle deliveries (no subtitles, standard subtitles, and aesthetically integrated) overall, and between male and female participants in a series of clips from the Russian thriller-horror film Night Watch (Bekmambetov, 2004). In this research, we involve the entire array of film clips that included AIS from the film Night Watch. We use null-hypothesis significance-testing (NHST) and Bayesian analyses to explore the claim that AIS enhance psychophysiological arousal and viewing experience quality compared to standard subtitles (STS), and investigate the gender characteristics and differences in the reported outcomes. We provide a replication of previous findings. Critically, we show that female participants exhibited higher arousal for AIS, and also separately for all subtitle types, that was not reflected in significant between-gender differences for self-reports for intensity and arousal. We show, in another novel section of this research, that AIS subtitles increased interest in film genres for both genders, suggesting their significant potential for future audiovisual translation practices.