These days, scrolling through social media right after a new TV show drops can feel risky. Spoilers are everywhere.
For some, though, it’s no big deal. In fact, some people actually seek out spoilers, wanting to know what happens in a movie, book, or show – fully aware that the ending will be revealed.
For some, spoilers ruin the entire experience. For others, they bring relief.
Why do we react so differently to them?
An emotional shield
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Gerit Pfuhl, a psychology professor at NTNU, believes it comes down to control.
"I’m glad we’re all different and don’t like the same things," says Professor Gerit Pfuhl.(Photo: Paul S. Amundsen / University of Bergen)
Those who avoid spoilers want to control when and how they receive information, to keep the suspense alive. Those who prefer spoilers try to control their emotional response to what happens.
"Being able to control or regulate emotions is a skill that can be learned," she writes in an email to Science Norway.
She adds that there are both positive and negative ways to do this.
A positive approach might be to reinterpret a situation and adjust your reaction.
A negative one is to suppress your feelings.
"Could it be that those who are good at regulating their emotions dislike spoilers? And that those who have trouble regulating their emotions prefer them?" she wonders.
Death or engagement
According to Pfuhl, much also depends on how the story ends. Do the main characters get engaged, or do they die in a tragic accident?
"At the same time, we know that those who watch romantic films and shows aren't usually the same people who enjoy mysteries and crime series," she says.
It’s all about how much excitement you want. Some people watch movies and shows to relax, others to be mentally or emotionally stimulated.
"My guess is that those who watch to unwind don’t mind spoilers, while those seeking stimulation hate them," she writes.
What does it say about you?
In a 2016 study, researchers examined which personality types like spoilers.
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They found that certain personality traits were revealed right along with the plot.
"People who don’t necessarily like to think a lot, they prefer spoiled stories," one of the researchers behind the study, Judith Rosenbaum, said in an article on the website Today.
Rosenbaum and her colleague asked 368 university students to participate in an experiment. The students read several story summaries, some with spoilers and some without. Then they took personality tests.
Requires less thought
The study found that people who enjoy reflecting on complex, abstract ideas and analysing what they read prefer to keep the suspense alive and avoid spoilers.
Those who dislike abstract thinking and focus more on more superficial details – like what a character is wearing – didn't mind getting spoilers.
In fact, some of them actually prefer knowing the ending in advance because it requires less thought, according to the researchers.
Rosenbaum has written extensively about spoilers and their effect on us.
A fan of spoilers
Other researchers believe that the appeal of spoilers comes from a desire for safety and comfort.
One example is Christina Scott, a professor of social psychology at Whittier College in California. She is a fan of spoilers.
She compares it to what people enjoy at amusement parks:
Spoilers can hit you anywhere, anytime.(Stock photo: Shutterstock / NTB)
A need for reassurance
"Some people want to go on roller coasters that flip them upside down. I just want to go on the cute little merry-go-round. You need to do whatever's going to help you enjoy the ride," she said in an article in The Times.
She believes spoilers can give people a sense of reassurance.
"There's enough ambiguity and stress – enough cliffhangers in real-life existence – that you want to sit down and enjoy a movie that should be relaxing," she said.
In other words, the world is unpredictable enough as it is. So why expose ourselves to even more of that?
Greater immersion
While many people can keep a certain emotional distance from a book or film, those who love spoilers tend to be highly empathetic, according to Scott.
They put themselves in the characters' shoes and feel what they do – perhaps because the story reminds them of their own experiences.
"To invest in a character who's now going to be blown to pieces – that's the ultimate worst ," Scott told The Times. "Knowing they'll be okay allows you to feel safe in rooting for them and empathising with them, because you know it will be worth the investment."
Spoilers can make a story better
But what's best for the story itself? A story with or without spoilers?
A Dutch study from 2014 found that viewers who didn't know how a story ended experienced more excitement and emotional engagement.
However, other research suggests that spoilers don’t actually ruin the experience, they just change how we perceive it.
In a study of people who watched the TV show Lost, researchers found that those who had read about the episode's plot in advance actually enjoyed it more.
Knowing the outcome reduced mental strain and allowed them to focus more deeply on the story, according to the researchers.
No one knew Darth Vader was the father
The film industry goes to great lengths to protect the suspense around its movies, writes professor of psychology and human factors Anjum Naweed in an article in The Conversation.
For instance, Marvel filmed several alternate endings for Avengers: Endgame to ensure no one knew the real conclusion in advance.
And those who worked on the first Star Wars film had no idea that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father until the movie premiered in theatres.
And in a more recent example, actor Andrew Garfield flat-out denied he’d ever return as Spider-Man – only to shock fans when he appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, to their delight and surprise.
Johnson, B.K. & Rosenbaum, J.E. 'Spoiler Alert: Consequences of Narrative Spoilers for Dimensions of Enjoyment, Appreciation, and Transportation', Communication Research, vol. 42, 2014. DOI: 10.1177/0093650214564051 (Abstract)
Rosenbaum, J.E. & Johnson, B.K. 'Who’s afraid of spoilers? Need for cognition, need for affect, and narrative selection and enjoyment', Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2016. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000076 (Abstract)
Ryoo et al. 'Do Spoilers Really Spoil? Using Topic Modeling to Measure the Effect of Spoiler Reviews on Box Office Revenue', Journal of Marketing, 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0022242920937703 (Abstract)
