When it comes to stories, people like to be surprised. Isn't a movie or TV series made that much better when it contains a twist you didn't see coming? While big plot twists make people stressed and are generally avoided, small surprises are actually liked by many. In fact, according to a 2023 poll, 46% of American adults prefer small surprises to grand gestures.
In general, people like to be surprised when it's done by their friends and loved ones. 48% of Americans say they feel appreciated, 36% like the fact that they're in someone else's thoughts, and 43% feel loved. But what about other kinds of surprises, more in the spirit of unexpected twists and turns, do people like?
You know those people who go out of their way to avoid spoilers and get mad when someone accidentally tells them how a movie or TV show ends? Turns out, they're wrong when they say that you can't enjoy a story when you know the ending. Research shows that knowing the ending doesn't stop a person from enjoying a story.
In 2016, researcher and UC San Diego psychology professor Nicholas Christenfeld found that spoilers make people like the stories even more. When he and his team asked the participants of his study if they enjoyed spoilers, the majority said "no." Ironically, when they knew the endings before reading the stories, they found them more enjoyable.
Christenfeld argues that the resolution isn't the most compelling part of a story in general. "When people go to see 'Romeo and Juliet,' they don't think 'Don't tell me how it ends!' 'All's Well That Ends Well'? That one ends well. So there isn't any thought that with these great works of fiction, knowing the ending is going to ruin them."
Indeed, when we go see a romcom, we know the couple will end up together in the end. Still, we watch the movie and enjoy it, and our enjoyment depends on how well the story is told, the plot points, and the characters more than just the ending alone. Christenfeld adds that people rewatch movies all the time, and often they experience more enjoyment with every subsequent watch.
A follow-up study by Christenfeld showed that people also find stories easier to understand when they know the ending. "If you know the ending as you watch it, you can understand what the filmmaker is doing. You get to see this broader view, and essentially understand the story more fluently," he explained. "There's lots of evidence that sort of this fluent processing of information is pleasurable; that is, some familiarity with a work of art enables you to enjoy it more."
There is also research that argues against spoilers. A 2014 Dutch study found that unspoiled stories elicit more emotional arousal in people. Although we might understand the story and the plot better, we might engage with it less and be more likely to feel indifferent to what happens to the characters.
Sometimes not knowing how a story ends can drive us crazy. If you watched the show Lost as it aired in the 2000s, you might remember how the twists and turns of the series may have given you whiplash. A 2007 study done with the fans of the show showed that the audience enjoyed a spoiled episode more because it relieved the pressure and stress of the unknown.
