Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol 19(3), Jun 2025, 411-425; doi:10.1037/aca0000564
Is linguistically complex entertainment preferred to linguistically simple entertainment? Current research seemingly shows inconsistent findings on this topic—complexity is associated with both perceptions of high- and low-quality entertainment. To help resolve this inconsistency, we performed a mini meta-analysis of prior work that accounted for individual mediums and corresponding individual metrics. We found that for mediums and metrics which likely require more effortful thought, increasing linguistic complexity is associated with higher quality judgments. However, for mediums and metrics which do not require as much effortful thought, linguistic simplicity is associated with higher quality judgments. The least linguistic medium (music) predictably showed no predictive effect of complexity on perceived quality. The present data provide the first meta-analytic look at factors that might moderate the effect of complex language on entertainment success and more broadly suggest evidence consistent with an emerging theory of the importance of complexity’s match with the surrounding context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)