Researchers Find Common Trends In Oscar Speeches

Researchers have found that over the 60 years of the Oscars, there are some common trends in all speeches.

In a research project that focused on gratitude, researchers found the answers to questions like who is likely to cry during giving his or her Oscar speech, how many people actually thank the Academy and how many people look like they're thanking the academy but are actually not.

Georgia Tech master's student, Rebecca Rolfe, studied more than 200 speeches that were given from 1953, the year the Oscars was first held to 2012 and found that there were some common trends and patterns in all speeches. Rolfe paid attention to five main categories in the awards - best actor and actress in a leading role, best actor and actress in a supporting role and best director. Since all videos of every speech were posted on YouTube, Rolfe was able to watch 207 speeches.

While most speeches were unique, Rolfe noted that there was a common pattern in all the winners' speeches.

"Winners tend to start their speeches broadly by thanking the Academy or fellow nominees, then gradually make it more personal," Rolfe said. "After reflecting on the win's significance, they typically thank their peers, colleagues and sometimes even their lawyer before mentioning family."

Rolfe also found that 79 percent of all the speeches ended with some form of "Thank You." "I thank the Academy" has been touted to be the most common phase in the Oscars, Rolfe found that only 40 percent of the winners actually use the phrase. It was also found that actresses who win the award are more likely to cry than actors who win. However, the researcher found that crying is a recent trend.

"Much like the movies, acceptance speeches are a type of performance," she said. "I believe the tears are real, but perhaps, maybe even subconsciously, actresses know what is expected of them when they accept the honor. Maybe the public has come to expect an emotional speech, so actresses are more emotional than they would be otherwise."

The research project was funded by the AP-Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship Program, which is overseen by the Online News Association.