Finding Easter eggs in entertainment boosts enjoyment and fan behavior, study finds

If you've watched popular movies or television shows in the last decade, there's a good chance you've found an Easter egg or two: not an actual brightly colored egg but a subtle reference to another movie or story in the form of a character in the background or object that also appears in other stories. While fan discussions abound online about what such clues might represent, little research has examined which types of fans are most likely to find them and whether they influence enjoyment.