A new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg shows that a person’s favorite film genre can reveal how their brain works. Researchers compared film preferences and brain activity in about 260 people.
Researchers found that fans of action movies and comedies had strong reactions to negative emotions. In contrast, those who liked documentaries or crime films had weaker reactions. The study was published in “Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.”
Films are interesting to psychologists because they show and evoke all human emotions. According to psychologist Esther Zwiky, anger and fear are central in many movies. Until now, the link between film preferences and how the brain processes negative emotions was poorly understood.
Researchers studied 257 people to see how their film preferences relate to brain activity. Participants’ brains were scanned using fMRI while they looked at images of fearful or angry faces and geometric shapes. This helped measure how their brains respond to emotional stimuli.
The study focused on two brain areas: the amygdala, which handles essential emotions and can trigger a fight-or-flight response, and the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward center.
The results were surprising. Fans of action films had the most vital reactions in the brain areas studied, even though action films have many stimuli. This suggests that action film fans are more sensitive to emotional stimuli and enjoy them.
People who liked comedies showed similar brain activity. However, fans of crime films, thrillers, and documentaries had much weaker reactions in those brain areas. Zwiky suggests that people may choose film genres that best stimulate their brains.
The study concludes that our favorite film genres can reveal how our brains respond to emotions. Action and comedy fans show stronger brain reactions to emotional stimuli. At the same time, those who prefer crime films, thrillers, or documentaries have weaker reactions. This suggests that people choose movies that match how their brains process emotions.
Journal reference :
- Esther Zwiky, Philine König, et al., How movies move us – movie preferences are linked to differences in neuronal emotion processing of fear and anger: an fMRI study. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1396811.