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!@#$%! · 07.14.2020, 07:27 AM

a bit of copypasta from new scientist:

Horror movie fans are better at coping with the coronavirus pandemic
Fans of horror films like Contagion seem to be coping better with the pandemic

Everyone is entitled to one good scare – and it may be good for us. People who watch a lot of horror films and those who are morbidly curious about unpleasant subjects seem to be more psychologically resilient to the covid-19 pandemic, a study reveals.

“Horror users tended to have less psychological distress,” says Coltan Scrivner at the University of Chicago.

The research was prompted by a question from New Scientist news editor Penny Sarchet. In a Twitter conversation with horror researcher Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark, Sarchet asked “if people who like apocalyptic/horror movies (which I’ve always hated!) will be more resilient to the trauma of this pandemic”.

Scrivner, Clasen and their colleagues decided to find out. They asked 310 US volunteers which film genres they liked, including horror and other “prepper” genres such as post-apocalyptic and alien invasion. They also asked whether people had seen pandemic-themed films such as Contagion. The volunteers then took personality tests and a questionnaire designed to measure their morbid curiosity: their motivation to seek out information about dangerous situations or phenomena.

Coping with covid-19
Alongside this, the volunteers were asked how well they were coping with the covid-19 pandemic, both whether they were still having positive experiences despite the crisis, and whether they were experiencing unusually severe negative states like anxiety. Participants were also asked how well-prepared they had been – for instance, whether the pandemic’s consequences took them by surprise.

Fans of horror movies were less prone to negative mental states. “Which suggested to us, maybe with horror it’s about emotion regulation,” says Scrivner. Watching scary movies “allows me to give myself the experience of being afraid and then conquering that fear”. This may be one of the underlying reasons for people’s fascination with scary stories.

The prepper genres, which all feature society’s institutions collapsing, had an additional benefit. “We find that same decrease in psychological distress, but you also find an increase in preparedness,” says Scrivner. The team found a similar pattern for pandemic-themed movies. “People who’ve seen none at all were much less prepared than people who said they’d seen many.”

Finally, people with high levels of morbid curiosity showed a different profile. “It really predicted positive resilience, enjoying things despite the pandemic,” says Scrivner. “People who scored high in morbid curiosity were no different in the psychological distress, they weren’t more or less prepared, but they did exhibit more positive resilience.”

This may be because morbidly curious people are doing a lot of fact-finding. “Presumably a pandemic presents a really interesting opportunity to gather lots of really cool information,” says Scrivner.

Margee Kerr of the University of Pittsburgh would like to see the work peer reviewed to be sure the results are secure. Assuming they are, though, she says it’s not clear why horror fans should show this resilience. “Is it a matter of having learned better emotional regulation through viewing horror movies, or are they somehow better at emotional regulation to begin with?”

It isn’t clear how useful the findings will be in practice, says Scrivner. “Do I think you could watch a bunch of horror movies and then you’d be fine for wave two of coronavirus? No. There’s so many other factors.” For instance, it may be that only the real gorehounds show a meaningful increase in resilience. However, Scrivner adds that cognitive behavioural therapy also includes techniques for regulating emotions. “It could be trainable in some ways,” he says.

Reference: PsyArXiv, DOI: https://psyarxiv.com/4c7af/

Michael Marshall

07.14.2020, 07:27 AM	#1153
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,464	a bit of copypasta from new scientist: Horror movie fans are better at coping with the coronavirus pandemic Fans of horror films like Contagion seem to be coping better with the pandemic Everyone is entitled to one good scare – and it may be good for us. People who watch a lot of horror films and those who are morbidly curious about unpleasant subjects seem to be more psychologically resilient to the covid-19 pandemic, a study reveals. “Horror users tended to have less psychological distress,” says Coltan Scrivner at the University of Chicago. The research was prompted by a question from New Scientist news editor Penny Sarchet. In a Twitter conversation with horror researcher Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark, Sarchet asked “if people who like apocalyptic/horror movies (which I’ve always hated!) will be more resilient to the trauma of this pandemic”. Scrivner, Clasen and their colleagues decided to find out. They asked 310 US volunteers which film genres they liked, including horror and other “prepper” genres such as post-apocalyptic and alien invasion. They also asked whether people had seen pandemic-themed films such as Contagion. The volunteers then took personality tests and a questionnaire designed to measure their morbid curiosity: their motivation to seek out information about dangerous situations or phenomena. Coping with covid-19 Alongside this, the volunteers were asked how well they were coping with the covid-19 pandemic, both whether they were still having positive experiences despite the crisis, and whether they were experiencing unusually severe negative states like anxiety. Participants were also asked how well-prepared they had been – for instance, whether the pandemic’s consequences took them by surprise. Fans of horror movies were less prone to negative mental states. “Which suggested to us, maybe with horror it’s about emotion regulation,” says Scrivner. Watching scary movies “allows me to give myself the experience of being afraid and then conquering that fear”. This may be one of the underlying reasons for people’s fascination with scary stories. The prepper genres, which all feature society’s institutions collapsing, had an additional benefit. “We find that same decrease in psychological distress, but you also find an increase in preparedness,” says Scrivner. The team found a similar pattern for pandemic-themed movies. “People who’ve seen none at all were much less prepared than people who said they’d seen many.” Finally, people with high levels of morbid curiosity showed a different profile. “It really predicted positive resilience, enjoying things despite the pandemic,” says Scrivner. “People who scored high in morbid curiosity were no different in the psychological distress, they weren’t more or less prepared, but they did exhibit more positive resilience.” This may be because morbidly curious people are doing a lot of fact-finding. “Presumably a pandemic presents a really interesting opportunity to gather lots of really cool information,” says Scrivner. Margee Kerr of the University of Pittsburgh would like to see the work peer reviewed to be sure the results are secure. Assuming they are, though, she says it’s not clear why horror fans should show this resilience. “Is it a matter of having learned better emotional regulation through viewing horror movies, or are they somehow better at emotional regulation to begin with?” It isn’t clear how useful the findings will be in practice, says Scrivner. “Do I think you could watch a bunch of horror movies and then you’d be fine for wave two of coronavirus? No. There’s so many other factors.” For instance, it may be that only the real gorehounds show a meaningful increase in resilience. However, Scrivner adds that cognitive behavioural therapy also includes techniques for regulating emotions. “It could be trainable in some ways,” he says. Reference: PsyArXiv, DOI: https://psyarxiv.com/4c7af/ Michael Marshall
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