CAN AN EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS DISSOLVE THE PARADOX OF … · 2018. 1. 28. · stimulation and challenge, and so they brave the initially aversive response to simulate (relevant) threats

JUNE 2, 2017

AARHUS

UNIVERSITY A U

JENS KJELDGAARD-CHRISTIANSEN, AARHUS UNIVERSITY MATHIAS CLASEN, AARHUS UNIVERSITY JOHN A. JOHNSON, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND EVOLUTION SOCIETY

CAN AN EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS DISSOLVE THE PARADOX OF

HORROR? A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES AND

HORROR MEDIA USE

JUNE 2, 2017

JENS KJELDGAARD-CHRISTIANSEN AARHUS

UNIVERSITY A U HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND EVOLUTION SOCIETY

JUNE 2, 2017



Formula te d by philosophe r of a rt Noë l Ca rroll (1990, p . 158): “The re is a the ore tica l que stion a bout horror which, a lthough not unique to horror, ne ve rthe le ss is not one tha t re a dily a rise s with re spe ct to othe r popula r ge nre s, such a s myste ry, roma nce , come dy, the thrille r, a dve nture storie s, a nd the we ste rn. The que stion is: why would anyone be interested in the genre to begin with?”

“THE PARADOX OF HORROR”

JUNE 2, 2017



JUNE 2, 2017



CLASSICAL (AND MORE RECENT) ACCOUNTS Aristotle : Ca tha rsis Sigmund Fre ud: Re pre ssion (surprise ) Dolf Zillma n: Excita tion tra nsfe r Noë l Ca rroll: Episte mophilia …

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Aristotle: Restates the problem Hume: Artistic virtuosity Freud: Repression Zillman: No happy ending Carroll: But you can have mystery without horror You have to explain attraction to horror ipso facto

JUNE 2, 2017



CAN WE DO BETTER? Ca n a n e volutiona ry a ccount dissolve the pa ra dox of horror? Ma thia s Cla se n (2012, p . 12): “If one me e ts a hungry pre da tor for the first time , it is de sira ble to ha ve a store of surroga te e xpe rie nce with pre da tor e va sion to dra w from, ra the r tha n proce e d by tria l-a nd-e rror. Thus, like pre te nd pla y, fiction is a kind of me nta l simula tion (Oa tle y, 1999) tha t give s us surroga te e xpe rie nce risk-fre e a nd a t low cost (Ca rroll, 1999; 2011; Tooby & Cosmide s, 2001). Sca ry storie s a bout da nge rous monste rs illustra te this principle we ll … On this vie w, the mode rn horror story is a kind of supe rnorma l stimulus, a hype rtrophie d va ria tion on cha se pla y: it is a te chnology tha t e nlists a ll ma nne r of monstrous a ge nts to ta p into a n a da ptive motiva tiona l syste m for le a rning a bout da nge r a nd to ca libra te our re sponse s to da nge r.”

Presenter

Presentation Notes

We tried to come at this question from a different angle than the thinkers I’ve just mentioned …

JUNE 2, 2017



AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE An e xpla na tion ba se d, ultima te ly, in the syndrome of benign masochism (e .g ., Rozin, 1999). Note Pinke r’s (2011, p . 611) functiona l unde rpinning: The se pa ra doxica l ple a sure s … a re a dult ta ste s in which a ne ophyte must ove rcome a first re a ction of pa in, disgust, or fe a r on the wa y to be coming a connoisse ur. And a ll a re a cquire d by controlling one ’s e xposure to the stre ssor in gra dua lly incre a sing dose s. Wha t the y ha ve in common is a coupling of high pote ntia l ga ins (nutrition, me dicina l be ne fits, spe e d, knowle dge of ne w e nvironme nts) with high pote ntia l da nge rs (poisoning, e xposure , a ccide nts). The ple a sure in a cquiring one of the se ta ste s is the ple a sure of pushing the outside of the e nve lope : of probing, in ca libra te d ste ps, how high, hot, strong, fa st, or fa r one ca n go without bringing on disa ste r. The ultimate advantage is to open up beneficial regions in the space of local experiences that are closed off by default by innate fears and cautions.”

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OUR APPROACH MTurk surve y (N=1072; 1187 be fore e limina tions) of Ame rica n use rs a nd nonuse rs of horror me dia . The surve y cove re d • Pe rsona l de ta ils (e .g ., se x, a ge , numbe r of childre n, le ve l of e duca tion) • Pa ra norma l Be lie f Sca le (Toba cyk, 2004; re vise d a ccording to Linde ma n a nd Sve dholm, 2012) • Brie f Se nsa tion Se e king Sca le (Hoyle e t a l., 2002) • Big 5 (50-ite m IPIP) • Ite ms on pa rticipa nts’ horror me dia use s (e .g ., “How ofte n do you use horror me dia ?”) • Ite ms on pa rticipa nts’ horror me dia pre fe re nce s (e .g ., “Do you pre fe r na tura l or supe rna tura l horror?”) • Ite ms on pa rticipa nts’ horror me dia e xpe rie nce s (e .g ., “Do you pre fe r horror me dia tha t sca re you

mildly/ mode ra te ly/ highly?”)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Stringent reliability cutoff

JUNE 2, 2017



RESULTS - AGE Age and Enjoyment of Horror Media

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

1 StronglyDisagree

2 SomewhatDisagree

3 Neither Agreenor Disagree

4 SomewhatAgree

5 Strongly Agree

I tend to enjoy horror media

Aver

age

Age

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Representativeness - restriction of range

JUNE 2, 2017



RESULTS – SEX

Preference for Horror Media Intensity by Males and Females

0

50

100

150

200

250

not at allfrightening

mildlyfrightening

moderatelyfrightening

highlyfrightening

extremelyfrightening

I generally prefer horror media that I find

Freq

uenc

y

MalesFemales

Enjoyment of Horror Media by Males and Females

0

50

100

150

200

1 StronglyDisagree

2 3 4 5 StronglyAgree


Frre

quen

cy

MalesFemales

Frequency of Horror Use by Males and Females

020406080

100120140160180

0 Never 1 Once 2 SeveralTimes

3 Once aMonth

4 SeveralTimes aMonth

5 Once aWeek

6 SeveralTimes aWeek

In the past year, about how often have you used horror media?

Num

ber o

f Ind

ivid

uals

MaleFemale

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Mention age?

JUNE 2, 2017



RESULTS – SENSATION SEEKING

Predicting Horror Enjoyment with Sensation Seeking

15

20

25

1 Strongly Disagree 2 Somewhat Disagree 3 Neither Agree norDisagree

4 Somewhat Agree 5 Strongly Agree


Mea

n To

tal S

ensa

tion

Seek

ing

Predicting Preference for Horror Intensity with Sensation Seeking

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

1 not at all frightening 2 mildly frightening 3 moderately frightening 4 highly frightening 5 exremely frightening


Mea

n To

tal S

ensa

tion

Seek

ing

Predicting Frequency of Horror Use with Sensation Seeking

1516171819202122232425


3 Once aMonth

4 SeveralTimes a Month

5 Once aWeek

6 SeveralTimes a Week


Mea

n To

tal S

ensa

tion

Seek

ing

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RESULTS – PERSONALITY

Predicting Horror Enjoyment with Intellect/Imagination

3435363738394041

1 StronglyDisagree

2 SomewhatDisagree

3 Neither Agreenor Disagree

4 SomewhatAgree

5 Strongly Agree


Mea

n In

telle

ct/Im

agin

atio

n

Predicting Preference for Horror Intensity with Intellect/Imagination

35363738394041

1 not at allfrightening

2 mildlyfrightening

3 moderatelyfrightening

4 highlyfrightening

5 exremelyfrightening


Mea

n In

telle

ct/Im

agin

atio

n

Predicting Frequency of Horror Use with Intellect/Imagination

3233343536373839404142


3 Once aMonth

4 SeveralTimes aMonth

5 Once aWeek

6 SeveralTimes aWeek


Mea

n In

telle

ct/Im

agin

atio

n

JUNE 2, 2017



RESULTS – PARANORMAL BELIEFS Predicting Preference for Supernatural Horror with Paranormal

Beliefs

2.32.42.52.62.72.82.9

3

1 Natural 2 No difference 3 Supernatural

I generally prefer horror media that deal with

Mea

n To

tal P

aran

orm

al

Belie

fs

Prediting Fear of Supernatural Horror with Paranormal Beliefs

2.32.42.52.62.72.82.9

3

1 Natural 2 The Natural andSupernatural Equally

3 Supernatural

I am generally more easily scared by horror media that deal with

Mea

n To

tal P

aran

orm

al

Belie

fs

Presenter

Presentation Notes

A tendency to prefer horror media that deal with the kinds of threats you perceive the world to contain. Suggestive but circumstancial evidence.

JUNE 2, 2017



FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR SIMULATION / BM ACCOUNT

Eve ryone e xpe cts a high le ve l of fe a r from using horror me dia , but pe ople high on SS a nd Inte lle ct/ ima gina tion also e xpe ct to e xpe rie nce positive e motions, such a s joy a nd a nticipa tion. The y wa nt inte lle ctua l stimula tion. This e xpla ins the ‘kickstart problem.’ Eve ryone hope s to e xpe rie nce a high le ve l of fe a r from using horror me dia , but pe ople who conside r the mse lve s ha rde st to sca re like horror me dia most. The se pe ople use horror me dia more ofte n, a nd the y pre fe r more e xtre me forms of horror. This supports the benign masochism account.

JUNE 2, 2017



IN A NUTSHELL Horror is initially aversive. People high in Intellect/ imagination and SS, however, like intellectual stimulation and challenge, and so they brave the initially aversive response to simulate (relevant) threats (kickstart problem – why people initially choose to simulate horror). In doing this, they enter a positive feedback loop by which they attain adaptive mastery through coping with virtual simulated danger (benign masochism – what people get out of simulating horror). Clasen and Kjeldgaard-Christiansen (2017): “Horror across media generally facilitates perspective-taking with one or more characters in great peril and allows for mentally simulating dangerous events. The payoff is that we get to experience terrible situations with no real risk. Horror in video gaming, cinema, and literature works because we humans are constructed the way we are—and understanding why we are constructed that way requires an evolutionary perspective. That is why an evolutionary approach is indispensable in accounting for the forms and functions of horror.”

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Je ns Kje ldga a rd-Christia nse n, Aa rhus Unive rsity ([email protected] u.dk) Ma thia s Cla se n, Aa rhus Unive rsity ([email protected] u.dk) John A. Johnson, Pe nnsylva nia Sta te Unive rsity ([email protected] du) For more on the pa ra dox of horror, a nd on the e volutiona ry a pproa ch to horror ge ne ra lly, look for Ma thia s’s forthcoming bookWhy Horror Seduces, published this fall by OUP.

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AARHUS UNIVERSITY A U

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CAN AN EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS DISSOLVE THE PARADOX OF … · 2018. 1. 28. · stimulation and challenge, and so they brave the initially aversive response to simulate (relevant) threats