Story ‘Spoilers’ May Boost Enjoyment

U.S. News & World Report:

Although many people think that flipping to the back of the book or knowing a story’s ending before it even starts will “spoil” it, a new study revealed knowing what happens in the end may actually help people enjoy a story even more.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego added that this holds true for tales with ironic-twists, mysteries and suspenseful thrillers.

The investigators conducted three experiments involving 12 short stories written by various authors, including John Updike, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie and Raymond Carver. The stories fell into three categories: ironic-twist, mystery and literary.

Three versions of each story were prepared: unchanged without a spoiler; with an introductory spoiler paragraph; or with a spoiler paragraph seamlessly incorporated into the text. Each version was read by at least 30 people who had never read the story before.

The study, published in the Aug. 15 online edition of the journal Psychological Science, found the readers overwhelmingly preferred the spoiled versions of ironic-twist stories. Knowing how mysteries ended actually improved the stories for the readers, the researchers added. Although they liked the literary stories least of all, the readers still preferred the spoiled versions over those left unchanged.

Read the whole story: U.S. News & World Report