Premature plot revelations are so far out of bounds that their name alone stands as a warning: spoilers. You’re Dead.” Our purpose was to determine the extent to which knowing the outcome of a dramatic scenario would affect a viewer’s ability to be drawn in by it. We showed our participants this short episode, in which a young boy finds a loaded gun and mistakes it for a toy. You’re dead!” oblivious to the fact that there is a bullet in the chamber. As the suspense mounted midway through the show, they were so immersed in the events onscreen that they forgot all about their assignment.

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