German researchers have found a link between your movie preferences and how your brain processes emotions, such as fear and anger.
- The amygdala is a part of the brain that is responsible for processing vital emotions. The nucleus accumbens is the reward center.
- Neural activity in both areas was higher in action and comedy movie fans, who reacted strongly to negative emotions.
- In contrast, fans of crime, thriller and documentary films had a significantly weaker reaction to negative emotional stimuli.
“As a source of audiovisual stimulation, films expose people to various emotions. Interestingly, several film genres are characterized by negative emotional content. Although theoretical approaches exist, little is known about preferences for specific film genres and the neural processing of negative emotions.” This is what scientists from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) wrote in their study published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Brain: Researchers focused on the amygdala and nucleus accumbens
As part of this work, the team wanted to examine the associations between preference for a film genre and limbic and cerebral reactivity linked to reward. To do this, they recruited 257 healthy people. During an interview, the participants had to provide information on their film preferences.
Additionally, their brain activity was analyzed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while the volunteers lay looking at scary or angry faces and geometric shapes. “This proven test allows us to measure how the brain processes emotional stimuli”specified Esther Zwikypsychologist and author of the research. Then, the researchers focused on two areas of the brain. First, the amygdala, which is responsible for processing vital emotions, especially negative ones (anger, fear). “The amygdala can trigger a fight-or-flight response in response to threats.” They also studied neural activity in the nucleus accumbens, known as the brain’s reward center.
Anger, fear: fans of action and comedy films reacted strongly to negative emotions
Action movie fans showed the strongest reactions in both areas. “We didn’t expect this, because action movies usually provide a lot of stimuli. So it would have made more sense that action movie fans would be less easy to stimulate,” explained Esther Zwiky. However, the data suggests that action movie fans are particularly sensitive to negative emotional stimuli and find this stimulation appealing. The team also found similar brain activity in the brains of people who prefer comedies.
In contrast, fans of crime films, thrillers and documentaries showed different results. In this case, both areas of the brain reacted significantly less to negative emotional stimuli than in the other groups of participants. “Interestingly, preferences for genres with similar emotional profiles (action, crime/thriller) were associated with oppositely directed neural activity,” concluded the researchers.
