Shot Scale Matters: The Effect of Close-Up Frequency on Theory of Mind Responses in Film Viewers

Theory of mind (ToM) processing is crucial in everyday social functioning. Fictional film narratives can elicit ToM, however, little is known about the cinematographic techniques underlying this effect. The present experiment focuses on the role of close-up shots of the character’s face in viewers’ ToM responding, as well as in their cognitive and affective processing more generally. The online experiment (N = 495) included thirteen versions of an animated film and employed a 6 (Close-up frequency, 1 vs. 2. vs. 3 vs. 4 vs. 5 vs. 10) × 2 (Facial expression, neutral vs. sad) plus a control condition with zero close-up factorial between-subject design. Participants were randomly assigned to one version of the film and subsequently asked (with and without a prompt for ToM) to recall the story. In these free responses, the study used a quantitative content analytic method (with independent blind-coders) to identify the level of spontaneous and prompted ToM, as well as cognitive and affective processing employed by viewers. Additionally, we tested the moderation effect of character facial expression (in the close-up) and participant gender. Confirming our main hypothesis, close-up frequency significantly influenced ToM-spontaneous, but not ToM-prompted. Results indicate that increasing the number of close-ups may elicit higher levels of ToM-spontaneous up to a certain point, beyond which it may decrease spontaneous ToM responses. Results suggest that the effect of close-up frequency is specific to ToM processing rather than some general effect on cognitive and affective processing of narratives.心理理论（Theory of Mind，ToM）加工在日常社会功能中至关重要。虚构电影叙事能够诱发心理理论加工，但目前学界对支撑这一效应的电影拍摄技法仍知之甚少。本实验聚焦于角色面部特写镜头在观众心理理论反应，以及更广泛的认知与情感加工过程中所发挥的作用。本次在线实验（有效被试量N=495）包含13个动画电影版本，采用6（特写镜头出现频率：1次、2次、3次、4次、5次、10次）×2（面部表情：中性、悲伤）的被试间因子设计，并增设零特写镜头的对照条件。被试被随机分配至某一动画电影版本组，随后被要求在有、无心理理论提示的两种情境下复述故事内容。在上述自由复述的回答中，本研究采用定量内容分析法（由独立盲评编码员执行），对观众的自发与提示性心理理论加工水平，以及其所运用的认知与情感加工策略进行识别。此外，本研究还检验了特写镜头中角色面部表情与被试性别对实验结果的调节效应。本研究的主假设得到验证：特写镜头出现频率对自发心理理论加工具有显著影响，但对提示性心理理论加工无显著作用。结果显示，增加特写镜头数量可提升自发心理理论加工水平，但仅在某一临界范围内有效，超出该临界值后反而会降低观众的自发心理理论反应。研究结果表明，特写镜头出现频率的效应仅针对心理理论加工，而非对叙事的认知与情感加工产生一般性影响。