Mediated Messages and Synchronized Brains

Schmälzle, Ralf; Grall, Clare

doi:10.4324/9781351235587-11

Cited by 9 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…This study examined how movies align audience brains, specifically how people “tune in” more to the movie during moments of peak suspense or motivational tension (Lehne & Koelsch, 2015), which should result in more tightly aligned neural responses (Schmälzle & Grall, in press). Our hypothesis stated that fluctuations in the degree to which audience brain responses become collectively aligned during the movie should be related to the strength of reported suspense in independent viewers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To measure these brain responses and compare their similarity between audience members, we can record their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they watch movies and we can compute inter-subject correlations (ISC). In ISC analysis, one calculates cross-recipient correlations between the brain activity time series measured in corresponding regions of different viewers’ brains while they are exposed to the same message (Hasson et al, 2008; Hasson, Malach, & Heeger, 2010; Schmälzle & Grall, in press). As illustrated in Figure 1, fMRI time series from viewers’ visual cortex can be extracted and compared to identify the degree to which they concur.…”

Section: The Collective Nature Of Continuous Audience Responses To Mo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This necessitates a research approach that takes time into account, yet previous work has largely relied on static or retro- and introspective measures (Watt, 1994). The ISC approach has potential to unpack the reception process by providing spatially resolved and temporal information about how movies engage audiences at the neural level, yet theoretical connections with media psychology remain scarce (Dudai, 2012; Hasson et al., 2008; Schmälzle & Grall, in press). Furthermore, previous work on audience-wide ISC in response to motivational messages has focused on comparing different messages but rarely examined dynamic fluctuations of ISC within a message, such as during the more suspenseful or less suspenseful parts of a movie.…”

Section: The Collective Nature Of Continuous Audience Responses To Mo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Coupled Brains of Captivated Audiences

Schmälzle

Grall

2020

Journal of Media Psychology

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Abstract. Suspense not only creates a strong psychological tension within individuals, but it does so reliably across viewers who become collectively engaged with the story. Despite its prevalence in media psychology, limited work has examined suspense from a media neuroscience perspective, and thus the biological underpinnings of suspense remain unknown. Here we examine continuous brain responses of 494 viewers watching a suspenseful movie. To create a time-resolved measure of the degree to which a movie aligns audience-wide brain responses, we computed dynamic inter-subject correlations of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) time series among all viewers using sliding-window analysis. In parallel, we captured in-the-moment reports of suspense in an independent sample via continuous response measurement (CRM). We found that dynamic inter-subject correlations over the course of the movie tracked well with the reported suspense in the CRM sample, particularly in regions associated with emotional salience and higher cognitive processes. These results are compatible with theoretical views on motivated attention and psychological tension. The finding that fMRI-based audience response measurement relates to audience reports of suspense creates new opportunities for research on the mechanisms of suspense and other entertainment phenomena and has applied potential for measuring audience responses in a nonreactive and objective fashion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Collective Nature Of Continuous Audience Responses To Mo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Collective Nature Of Continuous Audience Responses To Mo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Coupled Brains of Captivated Audiences

Schmälzle

Grall

2020

Journal of Media Psychology

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“…In the present research, these terms will be used interchangeably although neural synchrony is preferred. Schmälzle and Grall (2020) provided an extensive review of research on the similarity of neural responses. Methods that have been employed include magnetoencephalography (MEG; Lankinen et al, 2014) and electroencephalography (EEG; Barnett and Cerf, 2017) but most studies focused on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; e.g., Hasson et al, 2008b;Dmochowski et al, 2014;Chan et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methods that have been employed include magnetoencephalography (MEG; Lankinen et al, 2014 ) and electroencephalography (EEG; Barnett and Cerf, 2017 ) but most studies focused on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; e.g., Hasson et al, 2008b ; Dmochowski et al, 2014 ; Chan et al, 2019 ). These brain-to-brain similarities can be understood as commonalities between the signal processing of the observers ( Schmälzle and Grall, 2020 ), a collective engagement. This could be explained by the idea that efficient communication requires a successful translation from one individual to another ( Hasson et al, 2004 ), and therefore, similar brain activity should indicate similar experience, needed for efficient communication purposes ( Stephens et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sound Prediction: EEG-Based Neural Synchrony Predicts Online Music Streams

Leeuwis

Pistone

Flick³

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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Neuroforecasting predicts population-wide choices based on neural data of individuals and can be used, for example, in neuromarketing to estimate campaign successes. To deliver true value, the brain activity metrics should deliver predictive value above and beyond traditional stated preferences. Evidence from movie trailer research has proposed neural synchrony, which compares the similarity of brain responses across participants and has shown to be a promising tool in neuroforecasting for movie popularity. The music industry might also benefit from these increasingly accurate success predictors, but only one study has been forecasting music popularity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging measures. Current research validates the strength of neural synchrony as a predictive measure for popularity of music, making use of electroencephalogram to capture moment-to-moment neural similarity between respondents while they listen to music. Neural synchrony is demonstrated to be a significant predictor for public appreciation on Spotify 3 weeks and 10 months after the release of the albums, especially when combined with the release of a single. On an individual level, other brain measures were shown to relate to individual subjective likeability ratings, including Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and engagement when combined with the factors artist and single release. Our results show the predictive value of brain activity measures outperforms stated preferences. Especially, neural synchrony carries high predictive value for the popularity on Spotify, providing the music industry with an essential asset for efficient decision making and investments, in addition to other practical implications that include neuromarketing and advertising industries.

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Media Neuroscience on a Shoestring

Jahn

Meshi

Bente

et al. 2023

Journal of Media Psychology

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Abstract. Event-related potentials (ERPs) capture neural responses to media stimuli with a split-second resolution, opening the door to examining how attention modulates the reception process. However, the relatively high cost and difficulty of incorporating ERP methods have prevented broader adoption. This study tested the potential of a new mobile, relatively easy-to-mount, and highly affordable device for electroencephalography (EEG) measurement – the Muse EEG system – combined with a free, open-source platform for ERP recording and analysis. Specifically, we compared ERPs with affective visual stimuli – representative of the kind of engaging content that pervades modern social media. Our results confirm that the Muse system provides robust visual ERPs, highly reliable across two samples. Although there was no difference between ERPs to moderately positive and neutral stimuli in the expected time windows (200–300 ms, 400–600 ms), an exploratory analysis provided some evidence for differential processing of positive versus neutral images at the right temporal sensor site (TP10). Additionally, a compliance-gaining manipulation in participant instructions significantly improved data quality. These results support the use of the Muse EEG system in large-scale studies examining brain responses to screen media. They also suggest an easy social influence tactic that can enhance data quality as communication neuroscience is scaled up. The availability of a mobile EEG system for 250 USD makes it possible to incorporate neuroimaging into various communication paradigms beyond visual communication.

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Mediated Messages and Synchronized Brains

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

The Coupled Brains of Captivated Audiences

The Coupled Brains of Captivated Audiences

A Sound Prediction: EEG-Based Neural Synchrony Predicts Online Music Streams

Media Neuroscience on a Shoestring

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