Genre-dependent effects of 3D film on presence, motion sickness, and protagonist perception

Do the increasingly popular 3D movies change how we perceive the content of the movie? We presented short (3.21 min) film sequences to observers equipped with shutter glasses. Three genres (horror, action, and documentary) were crossed with three between-subjects viewing conditions (director’s 3D, artificial 3D, and 2D). Observers had to rate how the film impressed them in terms of arousal, motion sickness, presence, and immersion. They also judged the personality, attractiveness, and intelligence of the protagonist in all viewing conditions. Not surprisingly, horror films produced more arousal and presence than action films. Documentaries scored lowest on presence. Action movies produced t…