Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:22:37.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why frightening imaginary worlds? Morbid curiosity and the learning potential of horror

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Coltan Scrivner Open the ORCID record for Coltan Scrivner [Opens in a new window]  and
Mathias Clasen Open the ORCID record for Mathias Clasen [Opens in a new window]
Coltan Scrivner
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Human Development, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USAcscrivner@uchicago.edu; https://coltanscrivner.com Institute for Minds and Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Mathias Clasen
Affiliation:
Department of English, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark mc@cc.au.dk; https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/mathias-clasen(3c9b0961-b1e9-4084-867f-d8b959ba40e5).html
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In addition to satisfying a predisposition for exploration, fiction with imaginary worlds may also appeal to morbid curiosity, an adaptive motivation to seek out information about dangerous situations. Most imaginary worlds contain narrative elements of danger, and immersion in such worlds may provide people with information that would be costly to acquire in the real world.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e297
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blaine, T., & Boyer, P. (2018). Origins of sinister rumors: A preference for threat-related material in the supply and demand of information. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(1), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.10.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, P. (2021). Deriving features of religions in the wild. Human Nature, 32(3), 557–581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-021-09410-y.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bulley, A., Henry, J. D., & Suddendorf, T. (2017). Thinking about threats: Memory and prospection in human threat management. Consciousness and Cognition, 49, 53–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.005.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clasen, M. (2017). Why horror seduces. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clasen, M., Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, J., & Johnson, J. A. (2020). Horror, personality, and threat simulation: A survey on the psychology of scary media. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 14(3), 213–230. doi: 10.1037/ebs0000152CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mobbs, D., Hagan, C. C., Dalgleish, T., Silston, B., & Prévost, C. (2015). The ecology of human fear: Survival optimization and the nervous system. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 9, 55. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oosterwijk, S. (2017). Choosing the negative: A behavioral demonstration of morbid curiosity. PLoS ONE, 12(7), e0178399. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scalise-Sugiyama, M. (2021). The fiction that fiction is fiction. ASEBL Journal, 15, 8–12.Google Scholar
Scrivner, C. (2021a). The psychology of morbid curiosity: Development and initial validation of the morbid curiosity scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 183, 111139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scrivner, C. (2021b). An infectious curiosity: Morbid curiosity and media preferences during a pandemic. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 5(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.26613/esic.5.1.206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scrivner, C. (2022). Curiosity: A behavioral biology perspective. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/rqa5b.Google Scholar
Scrivner, C., & Christensen, K. A. (2021). Scaring away anxiety: Therapeutic avenues for horror fiction to enhance treatment for anxiety symptoms. https://psyarxiv.com/7uh6f/.Google Scholar
Scrivner, C., Andersen, M. M., Schjoedt, U., & Clasen, M. (2021). The psychological benefits of scary play in three types of horror fans. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/sdxe6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scrivner, C., Johnson, J. A., Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, J., & Clasen, M. (2021). Pandemic practice: Horror fans and morbidly curious individuals are more psychologically resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed