Moved by Observing the Love of Others: Kama Muta Evoked Through Media Fosters Humanization of Out-Groups

Abstract

People often view out-groups as less human than their in-group. Some media video content is heart-warming and leaves one feeling touched or moved . Recent research indicates that this reflects a positive social emotion, kama muta , which is evoked by a sudden increase in interpersonal closeness, specifically by the relational model of communal sharing. Because forming strong, close, and communal bonds exemplifies valued human qualities, and because other humans are our primary target partners of communal sharing, we predicted that feeling kama muta in response to observing communal sharing among out-group strangers would make people view out-groups as more human. In Study 1, we replicated a model obtained through a large exploratory preliminary study which indicated that videos depicting out-group members enacting communal sharing evoked kama muta and increased protagonist humanization. This, in turn, led to decreased blatant dehumanization of the entire out-group via perceived out-group warmth and motivation to develop a communal sharing relationship with the protagonist. The preregistered Study 2 further tested our model, demonstrating (1) that the relationship between protagonist humanization and kama muta is bidirectional such that baseline humanization of the protagonist also increases feelings of kama muta in response to acts of communal sharing; (2) that watching videos of communal sharing, as compared to funny videos, increased protagonist humanization; and (3) that kama muta videos, compared to funny videos, had an indirect effect on the reduction of out-group blatant dehumanization, which was mediated by protagonist humanization and out-group warmth.

What's Playing in Your Waiting Room? Patient and Provider Stress and the Impact of Waiting Room Media

“…In those studies, viewers experienced "elevation," which is a sense of relaxation while being uplifted, usually accompanied by physical sensations such as warmth (86). These and other studies showed that viewers felt a greater sense of feeling connected to others, including to members of other racial or cultural groups (84) and decreases in dehumanization of others (87).…”

Tears of joy, aesthetic chills and heartwarming feelings: Physiological correlates of Kama Muta

“…Future studies should explore the possibility of kama muta being able to decrease stress and if so, by what mechanism. Past studies have found evidence that kama muta increases social connectedness to other individuals, which could be an important mechanism (Blomster Lyshol et al, 2020;Zickfeld, 2015;Zickfeld, Schubert, Seibt, Blomster, et al, 2019).…”

“…In addition, kama muta is assumed to motivate communal action such as hugging, taking care, or helping others and it is often labeled with terms such as moved, touched, or heartwarming in English vernacular (Fiske et al, 2019). The kama muta framework has been supported by several empirical studies in various cultures (Blomster Lyshol, Seibt, & Thomsen, 2020;Seibt et al, 2018;Steinnes, Blomster, Seibt, Zickfeld, & Fiske, 2019;Zickfeld, Schubert, Seibt, Blomster, et al, 2019;.…”

The Bright and Dark Side of Eudaimonic Emotions: A Conceptual Framework

“…Kama muta is mainly studied in response to narratives in online videos (Schubert et al, 2018;Zickfeld et al, 2019) or in response to pictures and videos showing cute animals (Steinnes, Blomster, Seibt, Zickfeld, & Fiske, 2019). Situations that elicit kama muta can contribute to humanizing out-groups (Blomster Lyshol, Thomsen, & Seibt, 2020). These feelings and consequences of kama muta exhibit considerable overlap with the feelings and consequences of moral elevation and awe.…”