In June 2024. several German scientists published an article on a neurobiological study, "How movies affect us - movie preferences are associated with differences in neural processing of the emotions of fear and anger: an fMRI study"
What was studied:
How the movies we choose correlate with how we process emotions. In particular, scientists studied anger and fear. But in the list of favorite genres of the subjects were also: thrillers, action, dramas, comedies, documentaries.
As studied:
Scientists tracked the response of the amygdala and the adjoining nucleus using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to watching certain movies. The team of scientists studied how those who like horror movies and those who prefer other movies react to horror movies.
Who was investigated:
There were 257 participants in this study. Mandatory condition of the study: participants were required to be mentally healthy, not to have any chronic or temporary psychological diseases, head injuries and contraindications to MRI, not to take psychotropic drugs.
What conclusions the scientists came to:
- We choose genres of movies that can satisfy our need for specific emotions. And if with comedies and dramas everything is clear, we want to laugh or cry, then there are questions about horror movies. And that's the most interesting part.
- Horror and thriller movies that evoke the most emotions like fear or anger get the highest user ratings.
- Yes, horror movies stimulate areas of the brain that are responsible for fear and anger. But why do people want to stimulate these areas?
It turns out that horror, thriller or crime movies are chosen by people with a high tolerance for fear or anger.
What other studies are there to read?
Study: why do we like to watch sad movies?
The role of excitement and pleasure in the subjective evaluation of horror movie scenes
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