Developing a scale to assess cognitive responses to frightening films

Abstract

This investigation was based on the premise that cognitive processes play a role in an individual's fear response to scary movies. One implication of this assumption is that past experiences stored in long‐term memory may be an important component of the fear response. The present research was undertaken to develop a reliable and valid measure of the nature of these past experiences. The result was a 10‐item scale that has evidence of reliability and validity. Implications for using this scale were discussed.