Does Perceived Realism Really Matter in Media Effects?

Memory, perceived realism, and emotional responses to documentary and fictional film excerpts were investigated experimentally using adult participants. Documen-tary stimuli were perceived as more factual than their fiction counterparts at both semantic and syntactic levels. However, contrary to expectations, memory for vi-sual and verbal information and the intensity of emotional reactions were greater overall for fiction films. Films whose content corresponded to well-known social themes and film genres also had a greater influence on memory and emotions. In general, it appears that perceived factuality does not have as compelling an influ-ence on adults as it does on younger viewers. Results are interpreted in terms of the differences between cinematic attributes of documentary and fiction films and between the cognitive processes activated by these two film genres and by different themes. The effects of audiovisual messages on audience members ’ emotional reactions and incidental or intentional learning are determined in part by the expectations and schemas they have developed during past viewing experiences with similar types of messages and by message attributes (Collins, 1981; Collins & Wiens, 1983; Huston & Wright, 1983; Salomon, 1983). Through exposure to documen-tary and fiction films, audiences acquire knowledge about the conventions of these genres, and develop a set of expectations about the reality status of the events, situ-ations and people that are depicted (Huston et al., 1995; Nichols, 1991; Wright, Huston, Reitz, & Piemyat, 1994). It appears from a number of studies that toward the age of seven, children can discriminate between the reality of persons, events, and situations in documenta-