The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers' Perceptions of Sharks.

ABSTRACT: Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation. These negative attitudes arise from an instinctive, yet exaggerated fear, which is validated and reinforced by disproportionate and sensationalistic news coverage of shark 'attacks' and by highlighting shark-on-human violence in popular movies and documentaries. In this study, we investigate another subtler, yet powerful factor that contributes to this fear: the ominous background music that often accompanies shark footage in documentaries. Using three experiments, we show that participants rated sharks more negatively and less positively after viewing a 60-second video clip of swimming sharks set to ominous background music, compa

SUBMITTER: Nosal AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4972383 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature