Search Here

There is no significant difference in the emotional reactions of viewers between 2-D and 3-D film formats, according to a new study. 

Author Sheila Crowell, assistant professor of psychology at the U, said in a press release that results of the large and tightly controlled study also suggest that as an entertainment medium, 3-D may not provide a different experience from 2-D, insofar as evoking emotional responses go.

"We set out to learn whether technological advances like 3-D enhance the study of emotion, especially for young patients who are routinely exposed to high-tech devices and mediums in their daily lives," says Crowell. "Both 2-D and 3-D are equally effective at eliciting emotional responses, which also may mean that the expense involved in producing 3-D films is not creating much more than novelty. Further studies are of course warranted, but our findings should be encouraging to researchers who cannot now afford 3-D technologies."

The study also suggested that personality differences did not change the results and 2-D still remains equally effective for emotion elicitation. 

According to researchers, findings "could be good news for people who would rather not wear 3-D glasses or pay the extra money to see these types of films."

Findings of the study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.