Capturing Students' Attention: Movie Clips Set the Stage for Learning in Abnormal Psychology

In this study I examined the effectiveness of popular movie clips in generating student enthusiasm on the first day of an abnormal psychology course. One class received a conventional course overview, and another class received the same course overview plus 7 brief film clips depicting psychological disorders. Students in both conditions rated their enjoyment of the first class, interest in the course, and perceived knowledge about abnormal psychology. The between-subjects MANOVA was significant, and follow-up analyses revealed significantly greater enjoyment and interest in the film, clip condition over the standard introduction. Self-perceived knowledge did not differ between conditions.