The law of apparent reality and aesthetic emotions.

Walters, Kerry S.

doi:10.1037/0003-066x.44.12.1545

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A similar mindset characterizes the viewing of fictional narratives, such as when we watch films. People are very good at getting absorbed in fictional worlds, both cognitively and emotionally (Harris, 2000;Walters, 1989;Walton, 1990). Religious systems, while not fictional, are imagined worlds full of deities, myths, mystical props, and stipulated behaviors.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Schjoedt

Sørensen

Nielbo

et al. 2013

Religion, Brain & Behavior

122

108

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We explore the cognitive effects of three common features of religious interactions: (1) demand for the expressive suppression of emotion; (2) exposure to goaldemoted and causally opaque actions; and (3) the presence of a charismatic authority. Using a cognitive resource model of executive function, we argue that these three features affect the executive system in ways that limit the capacity for individual processing of religious events. We frame our analysis in the context of a general assumption that collective rituals facilitate the transmission of cultural ideas. Building on recent experiments, we suggest that these three features increase participants' susceptibility to authoritative narratives and interpretations by preventing individuals from constructing their own accounts of the ritual event.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Schjoedt

Sørensen

Nielbo

et al. 2013

Religion, Brain & Behavior

122

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Further, films are cognitively complex stimuli that may prime cognitions in addition to those related to the emotion and that depict emotional situations happening to another person in a fictional setting. To be effective, such elicitations may require that participants be willing to engage in the fictional reality, and it is debatable whether emotions elicited by film viewing are similar to daily emotional experience (even the most devout horror buff would presumably not enjoy being chased by an axe-wielding maniac; e.g., Silvia, 2005; Walters, 1989). An additional issue with the use of video clips is that, although the presentation of each clip can be standardized, it is difficult to standardize across clips because films often differ from one another in multiple details that may impact outcomes (e.g., the number of people, colors used, background music).…”

Section: Major Types Of Elicitations and Related Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like films and pictures, music elicitations are attractive because the presentation can be standardized across participants, and there are selections that have been developed to reliably elicit particular states. The disadvantages to the use of music are similar to those for films and pictures, including the difficulty of standardizing music selections across emotional conditions and the potential need for participants to willingly engage with the stimuli (Scherer & Zentner, 2008; Silvia, 2005; Walters, 1989). Additional issues arise from the practice of including instructions to simulate the emotion, because these instructions may produce demand effects and participants may vary in strategies they employ to achieve the emotional state (Kenealy, 1988; Mayer, Gayle, Meehan, & Haarman, 1990; Västfjäll, 2002).…”

Section: Major Types Of Elicitations and Related Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrete emotions predict changes in cognition, judgment, experience, behavior, and physiology: A meta-analysis of experimental emotion elicitations.

Lench¹,

Flores²,

Bench³

2011

Psychological Bulletin

523

533

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Our purpose in the present meta-analysis was to examine the extent to which discrete emotions elicit changes in cognition, judgment, experience, behavior, and physiology; whether these changes are correlated as would be expected if emotions organize responses across these systems; and which factors moderate the magnitude of these effects. Studies (687; 4,946 effects, 49,473 participants) were included that elicited the discrete emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, and anxiety as independent variables with adults. Consistent with discrete emotion theory, there were (a) moderate differences among discrete emotions; (b) differences among discrete negative emotions; and (c) correlated changes in behavior, experience, and physiology (cognition and judgment were mostly not correlated with other changes). Valence, valence-arousal, and approach-avoidance models of emotion were not as clearly supported. There was evidence that these factors are likely important components of emotion but that they could not fully account for the pattern of results. Most emotion elicitations were effective, although the efficacy varied with the emotions being compared. Picture presentations were overall the most effective elicitor of discrete emotions. Stronger effects of emotion elicitations were associated with happiness versus negative emotions, self-reported experience, a greater proportion of women (for elicitations of happiness and sadness), omission of a cover story, and participants alone versus in groups. Conclusions are limited by the inclusion of only some discrete emotions, exclusion of studies that did not elicit discrete emotions, few available effect sizes for some contrasts and moderators, and the methodological rigor of included studies.

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“…Films and music have provided great insight into whether people can feel happy and sad at the same time, but their utility is limited somewhat by the fact that they involve aesthetic emotions (i.e., emotions elicited by works of art rather than real events). Some scholars have challenged the very idea that aesthetic emotions are actual emotions (see Walters, ). At the very least, the idea that art can elicit emotions is perplexing (e.g., Ellsworth & Scherer, ; Frijda, ; Walters, ).…”

Section: Beyond Aesthetic Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some scholars have challenged the very idea that aesthetic emotions are actual emotions (see Walters, ). At the very least, the idea that art can elicit emotions is perplexing (e.g., Ellsworth & Scherer, ; Frijda, ; Walters, ). All this raises the concern that mixed emotions of happiness and sadness can only co‐occur in the confines of the laboratory even though our real objective is to understand the emotions elicited by real events in the real world.…”

Section: Beyond Aesthetic Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Case for Mixed Emotions

Larsen

McGraw

2014

Social & Personality Psych

174

137

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How do people feel when they experience bittersweet events comprised of pleasant and unpleasant aspects (e.g., good news accompanied by bad)? Just as acids immediately neutralize bases, some have suggested that bittersweet events' pleasant aspects might neutralize their unpleasant aspects, thereby resulting in fairly neutral emotional reactions. Some contemporary theorists also contend that happiness and sadness are mutually exclusive. We review research on the alternative possibility that bittersweet events can elicit pairs of opposite-valence, mixed emotions, with particularly close attention to the growing body of evidence that people can feel happy and sad at the same time while watching films, listening to music, and experiencing meaningful endings. We also review evidence that people sometimes experience other types of mixed emotions, including disgust accompanied by amusement and fear by enjoyment. Taken together, these data indicate that positive and negative affect are separable in experience.On June 29, 2009, Kassim Bakari learned that the airliner carrying his daughter, Bahia, had plunged into the Indian Ocean. All aboard were believed to have perished. The next day, Bakari learned that Bahia had managed to survive by clinging to a piece of debris for 12 hours. The story, however, does not have an entirely happy ending for Bakari. His wife had also been aboard the flight and did not survive. A complete understanding of emotion must include an understanding of emotional reactions to events like those faced by Bakari, yet for centuries theorists have disagreed about how such bittersweet events make people feel.

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The law of apparent reality and aesthetic emotions.

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Discrete emotions predict changes in cognition, judgment, experience, behavior, and physiology: A meta-analysis of experimental emotion elicitations.

The Case for Mixed Emotions

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