A team of researchers from the University of Utah conducted a study to determine if films using 3D technology elicit a stronger emotional response from viewers as compared to traditional or 2D movies, according to Tech Times.

Many people commonly believe that 3D technology enhance the overall movie-watching experience as it simulates real-life situations. However, from an emotional standpoint, psychologists have discovered that the effect of 3D films are almost the same those using the 2D format.

To conduct the study, researchers asked the help of over 400 volunteers. They then chose four films to elicit basic emotional responses from the participants.

For fear, they chose "My Bloody Valentine" while for sadness, they used "Tangled." To stimulate humor and excitement, the researchers respectively turned to "Despicable Me" and "The Polar Express."

The volunteers then viewed clips from the four films which were presented in both 3D and 2D formats. To measure their emotional response, the psychologists monitored the physical indicators such as heart rate, breathing and level of sweat produced in the palms, UNews reported.

After gathering their data from all of the participants, the researchers learned that both 2D and 3D films produced similar reactions from the viewers. This strongly proves that these two kinds of films generally have the same effect on people.

"We set out to learn whether technological advances like 3D enhance the study of emotion, especially for young patients who are routinely exposed to high-tech devices and mediums in their daily lives," said Sheila Crowell, an assistant professor at the university and author of the study.

"Both 2D and 3D are equally effective at eliciting emotional responses, which also may mean that the expense involved in producing 3D films is not creating much more than novelty," she added.

Crowell noted follow-up studies are needed in order to prove the true effect of 3D and 2D films to viewers.

But for now, with many production companies depending on 3D technology and theaters charging more for 3D films, Crowell believes her study will help regular consumers decide which format of film is more practical to watch, according to the Daily Mail.

"Further studies are of course warranted, but our findings should be encouraging to researchers who cannot now afford 3D technologies," she said.