Spoiler Alert: Spoilers Make Things More Enjoyable
It sounds counterintuitive, but "spoilers" might actually enhance how much you enjoy a story.
That's according to a 2011 study by Nicholas Christenfeld, a psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego. He had people read a number of short stories, and for some people, he spoiled the endings in a seemingly inadvertent way (like casually remarking, "Here, read this story about a woman who murders her husband"). Then he had the people rate their enjoyment of the stories. What he found: People enjoy a story more if they know how it ends.
If you're one of those "skip to the last page of the book" people, this might come as validation. Christenfeld says 10 percent of people deliberately spoil things for themselves.
"Spoilers should really be called enhancers," said Christenfeld. "People's actual experience of this is perfectly consistent with our research. Once you know the silly, superficial plot details, you can really enjoy the work of art."
This works with movies, books, TV shows, and most forms of storytelling. But one category where spoilers really do spoil things: jokes.
"A simple joke like, 'What's brown and sticky? A stick.' That's funny the first time," said Christenfeld, "but the second time you're like yeah, okay, nevermind..."
At what point does the world no longer owe you spoiler alerts? Do you have a right to be mad if someone "spoils" a days-old TV episode or sports game for you? What about years-old movies and books? Tell us where you draw the line for spoilers on Twitter: @WNYC and @shubasu with the hashtag #MyWrongOpinion.
This is part of a new series of low-stakes debates called "You're Entitled to Your Wrong Opinion." Have an idea for what should be debated next? Tweet @shubasu with your suggestions.
,@WNYC @shubasu #MyWrongOpinion for TV spoilers is "no spoilers on weeknights". If a weekend (Fri & Sat nite) has passed, fair game!
— (((Schlemieleon))) (@Schlemieleon) July 20, 2017
I feel like I don't get experience as much these days. Nothing like a Sixth Sense reveal anymore.
— andie bansil. (@technicolorist) July 20, 2017
I let go of #spoilers 20 years ago and my life has been much better
— Brady Dale (@BradyDale) July 20, 2017
They don't matter 👏 Tell me anything 👏 Whatevs 👏#mywrongopinion @WNYC
@WNYC one week for TV episodes, one month for movies, one year for book spoilers. #mywrongopinion
— Yung Shiba Inu (@nikolauskwas) July 20, 2017
I work by "Greek chorus" spoiler rules: spoilers are fine up to immediately before & after, but not while I'm consuming it. #MyWrongOpinion
— Ian McDougall (@iemcdougall) July 20, 2017
#mywrongopinion on Twitter doesn't matter, on Facebook maybe a few days. @MorningEdition
— Allen Peng (@ALLPNG) July 20, 2017
@WNYC #mywrongopinions working v. hard & am so tired, GoT is all I have so NO SPOILERS! I'm earning the right for all the twists in 3 weeks.
— Fiasco Fray (@fiascofray) July 20, 2017
@shubasu it's an old video but I still try to live by the rules of spoiler alerts that it outlines: https://t.co/YTzcCkhkH5 #MyWrongOpinion
— Blair Shiff (@blairxmas) July 20, 2017
My senior Psych thesis was inspired by Christenfeld's study, & my data supported the spoilers-are-good hypothesis! @shubasu #mywrongopinion
— Roma Panganiban (@romapancake) July 20, 2017
I added a middle level of partial spoilers, i.e. giving details but not the ending; total spoilers still led to highest enjoyment levels
— Roma Panganiban (@romapancake) July 20, 2017
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