Abstract
One of the psychological responses to audiovisual fictions that has been receiving more attention recently is appreciation, defined as a reflexive eudaimonic gratification obtained from a meaningful entertainment mode. Appreciation is the perception that the media experience has a profound meaning, has taught or revealed something. This study seeks to advance on the understanding of appreciation by youngsters. It translates and adapts the Oliver and Bartsch’s questionnaire for teenagers of three European countries. A total of 213 Italians, 55 Spaniards and 42 Germans watched a drama film and immediately afterwards answered the questionnaire. The results of confirmatory factor analysis suggest the existence of four first-order factors for each country. The multi-group analysis shows the questionnaire is not invariant across groups. Thus, the concept of appreciation in its current formulation is not universal. Instead, it seems to be dependent on the cultural aspects of the audience. This article discusses the implications of such results for the understanding of appreciation and of teenagers’ media responses. It also reports mean comparisons for the invariant parameters.
Article Note
This manuscript reports results of a study produced as part of a Film Literacy project funded by Creative Europe (2014-20), Media Sub-programme/Support for Audience Development (Film Literacy). Reference = 553981-CREA-1-2014-1-UK-MED-AUDEV.
Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to all project partners, in particular, to Emerald LT and its director Federico Spoletti, for their collaboration in the production of this study. The authors thank Isabel Villegas-Simón for her generous support on the data collection of this investigation.
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Appendix A
Appreciation Spanish items.
Item | Content |
U1 | Esta película se me quedará grabada mucho tiempo. |
U2 | Creo que nunca olvidaré esta película. |
U3 | La película me ha dejado un sentimiento duradero. |
D1 | Me divertí viendo la película. |
D2 | Pasé un buen rato viendo esta película. |
D3 | La película fue entretenida. |
S1 | Mientras veía la película estaba al borde de mi asiento. |
S2 | Es una película emocionante. |
S3 | La película fue intrigante. |
C1 | Creo que esta película tiene mucho significado. |
C2 | Esta película me ha conmovido. |
C3 | La película invita a la reflexión. |
Note: Dinos cuánto estás de acuerdo o en desacuerdo con las siguientes oraciones. Señala la casilla adecuada. Likert scale: 1 = Totalmente en desacuerdo; 5 = Totalmente de acuerdo.
Appreciation Germany items.
Item | Content |
U1 | Dieser Film wird mich noch lange beschäftigen. |
U2 | Ich habe mich bei der Filmansicht vergnügt. |
U3 | Ich habe diesen Film als sehr tiefsinnig empfunden. |
D1 | Der Film war spannend. |
D2 | Diesen Film werde ich nie vergessen. |
D3 | Während des Films konnte ich es vor Spannung fast nicht aushalten. |
S1 | Der Film war unterhaltsam. |
S2 | Der Film hat zum Nachdenken angeregt. |
S3 | Der Film hat einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen. |
C1 | Ich hatte Spaß, während ich den Film ansah. |
C2 | Der Film hat mich bewegt. |
C3 | Bei diesem Film schlug das Herz bis zum Hals. |
Note: In welchem Maß stimmst du den einzelnen Aussagen zu bzw. lehnst du sie ab? Bitte markiere die entsprechenden Kästchen. Likert scale: 1= Lehne vollständig ab; 5 = Stimme vollständig zu.
Appreciation Italian items.
Item | Content |
U1 | Mi ricorderò di questo film per molto tempo. |
U2 | Per me è stato divertente guardare questo film. |
U3 | Ho trovato questo film molto significativo. |
D1 | Il film era pieno di suspense. |
D2 | So che non dimenticherò mai questo film. |
D3 | Ero molto teso, mentre guardavo il film. |
S1 | Il film era divertente. |
S2 | È un film che fa pensare. |
S3 | Il film ha lasciato in me un’impressione duratura. |
C1 | Mi sono divertito guardando questo film. |
C2 | Questo film mi ha commosso. |
C3 | È un film emozionante. |
Note: Ti chiediamo di dirci quanto sei d’accordo o in disaccordo con l’affermazione che leggi sulla sinistra, facendo una croce nell’apposita casella. Likert scale: 1= Per niente d’accordo; 5 = Del tutto d’accordo.
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