A new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg reveals that favorite film genres can indicate how the brain processes negative emotions, providing a deeper understanding of our emotional connection to movies.
Your favorite film genre may be saying more about your brain than you think. According to a recent study by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), our movie preferences are linked to how our brains process negative emotional stimuli.
Led by psychologist Esther Zwiky, the study analyzed the brain activity of approximately 260 participants while also gauging their film genre preferences.
The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, present fascinating revelations about how different types of films impact the amygdala and nucleus accumbens — two key areas in the brain responsible for emotional responses and reward, respectively.
“Films are so fascinating because they not only depict every human emotion, but they also evoke them. Negative emotions, such as anger or fear, play a central role in many films,” said Zwiky in a news release.
Participants were shown images of fearful or angry faces, as well as geometric shapes, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
“With this established test, we can measure how the brain processes emotional stimuli,” Zwiky added.
The research revealed that fans of action films and comedies exhibit strong reactive responses to negative stimuli. This was a surprising find to the research team.
“We hadn’t expected this, as action films typically provide many stimuli. Thus, it would have made more sense if action fans had been less easy to stimulate,” added Zwiky.
On the contrary, fans of crime films, thrillers and documentaries showed significantly weaker responses in both the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens. This might suggest that these film genres have a modulating effect on emotional processing, potentially desensitizing viewers to negative stimuli.
“The amygdala can trigger a fight-or-flight reaction in response to threats,” added Zwiky, shedding light on the vital role this brain structure plays in emotional processing.
The team pointed out that the pronounced activation in fans of action and comedy films might indicate a heightened sensitivity to emotional stimuli, which these viewers find stimulating and appealing.
In contrast, the attenuated response in fans of crime and documentary genres might indicate a selective preference that aligns with their neural processing capabilities.
“It appears that people choose the film genres that most optimally stimulate their brains,” Zwiky said.