The Social Science of Cinema

Edited by James C. Kaufman and Dean Keith Simonton

The first comprehensive collection of empirical research devoted to the social science of cinema
Top scholars from psychology, economics, sociology, business, and communications tackle key questions about the film experience
From a movie's creation to the audience's reaction to its eventual reception by critics and the box office, this book offers insights about all aspects of the movies based on cutting-edge research
Essays explore such topics as the specific factors that influence whether movies make money, win awards, or flop; how our personality impacts on our viewing preferences; issues of gender inequity on screen; the relationship between visual perception and the way movies are edited; and many more

The Social Science of Cinema

Edited by James C. Kaufman and Dean Keith Simonton

Description

Ever since motion pictures first landed on screen, there have been many key questions that the studios and movie watchers have tried to answer. What makes a movie an Oscar winner? How does one movie become a hit and another movie flop? Why do some films earn critical acclaim while other films become critical turkeys or bombs? How do audiences perceive film? What makes a movie resonate with a viewer? Are we unduly influenced by negative behaviors on screen? These questions have spurred debates, discussions, and many theories. Until the last two decades, however, it was quite rare to have the issues approached from a scientific viewpoint.

The Social Science of Cinema compiles research from such varied disciplines as psychology, economics, sociology, business, and communications to find the best empirical research being done on the movies, based on perspectives that many filmgoers have never considered. Essays explore such topics as the specific factors that influence whether movies make money, win awards, or flop; how our personality impacts on our viewing preferences; issues of gender inequity on screen; the relationship between visual perception and the way movies are edited; and many more. This book attempts the ultimate act of figuring out the mystery behind the movies - what makes them so memorable to us, what makes them this century's leading works of art, and how this art intersects with the business of making money.

The Social Science of Cinema

Edited by James C. Kaufman and Dean Keith Simonton

Acknowledgements
Dedication
List of Contributors

Introduction: Social Science of the Cinema: Fade In
James C. Kaufman and Dean Keith Simonton

Section One: The Creation
1. Writing for success: Screenplays and cinematic impact
Dean Keith Simonton
2. Sell by date? Examining the shelf life and effects of female actors in popular films
Stacy L. Smith, Amy Granados, Marc Choueiti and Katherine M. Pieper
3. Resolving the paradox of film music through a cognitive narrative approach to film comprehension
Annabel Cohen

Section Two: The Audience
4. What type of movie person are you? Understanding individual differences in film preferences and uses: A psychographic approach
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Andrea Kallias, and Anne Hsu
5. Film through the human visual system: Finding patterns and limits
Jordan E. DeLong, Kaitlin L. Brunick, and James E. Cutting
6. Self and the cinematic experience in the age of electronic transmission
Gerald C. Cupchik and Michelle C. Hilscher

Section Three: The Production
7. The producer-director dyad: Managing the faultline between art and commerce
Joris J. Ebbers, Nachoem M. Wijnberg, and Pawan V. Bhansing
8. Networks and rewards among Hollywood artists: Evidence for a social structural ordering of creativity
Gino Cattani and Simone Ferriani
9. Strategic assets and performance across institutional environments
Allègre L. Hadida

Section Four: The Reception
10. Analyzing the Academy Awards: Factors associated with winning and when surprises occur
Iain Pardoe and Dean Keith Simonton
11. Responses to and judgments of acting on film
Thalia R. Goldstein
12. As good as it gets? Blockbusters and the inequality of box office results since 1950
Victor Fernandez-Blanco, Victor Ginsburgh, Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, and Sheila Weyers

End Section
13. Social Science of the Cinema: Fade Out
Joshua Butler and James C. Kaufman

The Social Science of Cinema

Edited by James C. Kaufman and Dean Keith Simonton

Author Information

James C. Kaufman, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. An international leader in the field of creativity, he has published 23 books and more than 200 papers. He is the president of the American Psychological Association's Division 10 (Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts) and the founding editor of Psychology of Popular Media Culture.

Dean Keith Simonton, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. Internationally known for his research on genius, creativity, and leadership, he has produced over 450 publications that have received more than 11,000 citations, and 180 publications have been cited at least 10 times. He is the winner of APA's Division 46 Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Media Psychology. His Google Scholar h index is 51.

Contributors:

James C. Kaufman
Learning Research Institute
California State University at San Bernardino
San Bernadino, California

Dean Keith Simonton
Department of Psychology
University of California, Davis
Davis, California

Stacy L. Smith
School for Communication and Journalism
University of Southern California Annenberg
Los Angeles, California

Marc Choueiti
School for Communication and Journalism
University of Southern California Annenberg
Los Angeles, California

Amy Granados
School for Communication and Journalism
University of Southern California Annenberg
Los Angeles, California

Katherine M. Pieper
School for Communication and Journalism
University of Southern California Annenberg
Los Angeles, California

Annabel Cohen
Department of Psychology
University of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island, Canada

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London
Department of Psychology, University College London
New York University-in London
London, United Kingdom

Andrea Kallias
Department of Psychology
Goldsmiths, University of London
London, United Kingdom

Anne Hsu
Department of Psychology
University College London
London, United Kingdom

Jordan E. DeLong
Department of Psychology
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Kaitlin L. Brunick
Department of Psychology
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

James E. Cutting
Department of Psychology
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Gerald C. Cupchik
Department of Psychology
University of Toronto Scarborough
Toronto, Ontario

Michelle C. Hilscher
Department of Psychology
University of Toronto Scarborough
Toronto, Ontario

Joris J. Ebbers
University of Amsterdam Business School
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Nachoem M. Wijnberg
University of Amsterdam Business School
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Pawan V. Bhansing
University of Amsterdam Business School
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Gino Cattani
Department of Management and Organizations
Stern School of Business - New York University
New York, New York

Simone Ferriani
Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali
Universita' di Bologna
Bologna, Italy

Allègre L. Hadida
University of Cambridge Judge Business School and Magdalene College
Cambridge, United Kingdom

Iain Pardoe
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Thompson Rivers University
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Thalia Goldstein
Department of Psychology
Pace University
New York, New York

Victor Fernandez-Blanco
Departmento de Economica
University of Oviedo
Oviedo, Spain

Victor Ginsburgh
ECARES, Brussels and CORE Louvain-la-Neuve
University of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium

Juan Prieto-Rodriguez
Departamento de Economía
University of Oviedo
Oviedo, Spain

Sheila Weyers
Center for Operations Research and Econometrics
Université catholique de Louvain
Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

Joshua Butler
Iceblink Films