Paul Smith asked:
Is there any published research into "the psychology of shock" as
elicited
by scary films? (he asked idly...). Wouldn't this be an interesting area
for
student research?
I think many of these films offer a lot of possibilities for class
work, research, or at least discussion. Those tipsters doing classes on
the "Psychology of Film" or similar ones, certainly have a rich base.
I agree the "psych of shock" (maybe even schlock too) would be
interesting for a student project. Research on arousal, startle
responses, absorption, etc., might be relevant here. Psych discussions
of "feeling transported, moved," or losing time, etc., might also be
interesting. Another area I find of interest is probably not peculiar
to just the scary movies, but deals in the suspension of critical
judgment typical of the preparation we bring to such presentations. I
have in mind here work on "reality monitoring" and the ability/inability
of folks to distinguish between events as vividly imagined, believed,
and the actual occurrence of events (See Johnson & Raye, 1981). Gary
Peterson
G. Peterson
Saginaw Valley State Univ.
Saginaw, MI 48710
Johnson, M. K., & Raye, C. L. (1981). Reality monitoring.
_Psychological Review,__88, 67-85.
