Viewer versus Film: Exploring Interaction Effects of Immersion and Cognitive Stance on the Heart Rate and Self-Reported Engagement of Viewers of Short Films

An immersive viewing environment compels the viewer to attend more to the film. Such immersion is associated with increased emotional experience in the viewer. Thus, for an emotional film, an immersive environment should arouse more intense emotional engagement than a less immersive environment. Viewers can actively regulate their cognitive engagement with the film. For example, viewers can remind themselves it's not real, or conversely, they can make extra efforts to empathise with the character. The aim of the study was to explore participant's cognitive engagement with film and how this interacts with the immersiveness of the viewing environment. Self-report measures of emotional arousal and engagement were higher for participants who viewed the films in a more immersive environment and those who were instructed to take an involved stance