Emotional Gratification in Entertainment Experience. Why Viewers of Movies and Television Series Find it Rewarding to Experience Emotions

Abstract

Bartsch, A. (2012). Emotional gratification in entertainment experience: Why viewers of movies and television series find it rewarding to experience emotions. Media Psychology, 15(3), 267-302.

Morality Predicts Enjoyment But Not Appreciation of Morally Ambiguous Characters

“…Appreciation responses are characterized by self-reflection, self-acceptance, self-development, and personal growth as a result of observing characters' experiences (Bartsch, 2012;Bartsch & Oliver, 2011;Oliver, 2008;Oliver & Bartsch, 2010;Wirth, Hofer, & Schramm, 2012). For example, the negative affect generated by watching characters' misfortunes in a tragic film was shown to trigger reflection regarding one's own self, personal relationships, and life happiness, which then produced "tragedy enjoyment" (Knobloch-Westerwick, Gong, Hagner, & Kerbeykian, 2013).…”

Entertainment-Oriented Gratifications of Sports Media: Contributors to Suspense, Hedonic Enjoyment, and Appreciation

“…There is a substantive amount of research supporting this in relation to narratives. Genres that tend to evoke appreciation, such as dramas, tend to be associated with feeling sad or moved, whereas those associated with hedonic enjoyment, such as comedies, tend to be associated with positive emotions (Bartsch, 2012a;2012b). Furthermore, in a study of audiences' responses to movies, Oliver et al (2012) found that participants rating films they selected as ''meaningful'' were more likely to report feeling both negative affect and meaningful affect, as well as a combination of negative and positive emotions.…”

"It Was Sad But Still Good"

“…Accordingly, research in media psychology has already sought to understand why many people are drawn towards "sad media", such as drama films [1,11]. Bartsch [1], for instance, suggests that the appeal of these types of media lies in their potential to elicit strong emotions, which in turn foster intrinsically rewarding gratifications. These gratifications encompass rewarding feelings, such as being thrilled, as well as fulfilling social and cognitive needs, which further contributes to a person's wellbeing.…”

“…Most prominently, uses and gratification theory has been employed to study why people engage with different media, including digital games [12]. Accordingly, research in media psychology has already sought to understand why many people are drawn towards "sad media", such as drama films [1,11]. Bartsch [1], for instance, suggests that the appeal of these types of media lies in their potential to elicit strong emotions, which in turn foster intrinsically rewarding gratifications.…”