Reference literature and academic sources indicate that scary media content and horror movies elicit fear and activate the physiological emergency fight-or-flight response.
Although it is generally held that gastrointestinal (GI) signals are related to emotions, direct evidence for such a link is currently lacking. One of the reasons why the internal milieu of the GI system is poorly investigated is because visceral organs are difficult to access and monitor. To directly measure the influence of endoluminal markers of GI activity on the emotional experience, we asked a group of healthy male participants to ingest a pill that measured pH, pressure, and temperature of their GI tract while they watched video clips that consistently induced disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or a control neutral state. In addition to the objective physiological markers of GI activity, subjective ratings of perceived emotions and visceral (i.e. gastric, respiratory and cardiac) sensations were recorded, as well as changes in heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and spontaneous eyes blinks as non-gastric behavioral and autonomic markers of the emotional experience. We found that when participants observed fearful and disgusting video clips, they reported to perceive not only cardiac and respiratory sensations but also gastric sensations, such as nausea. Moreover, we found that there was a clear relation between the physiology of the stomach and the perceived emotions. Specifically, when disgusting video clips were displayed, the more acidic the pH, the more participants reported feelings of disgust and fear; the less acidic the pH, the more they reported happiness. Complementing the results found in the deep gastric realm, we found that disgusting stimuli induced a significant increase in HRV compared to the neutral scenarios, and together with fearful video clips a decrease in HR. Our findings suggest that gastric signals contribute to unique emotional states and that ingestible pills may open new avenues for exploring the deep-body physiology of emotions.
On the surface, fear and humor seem like polar opposite states of mind, yet throughout our lives they continually interact. In this paper, we synthesize neurobiological, psychological, and evolutionary research on fear and humor, arguing that the two are deeply connected. The evolutionary origins of humor reside in play, a medium through which animals benignly explore situations and practice strategies, such as fight or flight, which would normally be accompanied by fear. Cognitively, humor retains the structure of play. Adopting a view of humor as requiring two appraisals, a violation appraisal and a benign appraisal, we describe how fear-inducing stimuli can be rendered benignly humorous through contextual cues, psychological distance, reframing, and cognitive reappraisal. The antagonistic relationship between humor and fear in terms of their neurochemistry and physiological effects in turn makes humor ideal for managing fear in many circumstances. We review five real-world examples of humor and fear intersecting, presenting new data in support of our account along the way. Finally, we discuss the possible therapeutic relevance of the deep connection between humor and fear.
Abstract
Some people may be concerned that the explosion in horror movie production is a symptom of a sick society, but that is not the case. Not only is movie production in general increasing, but horror movies specifically fulfill an important function of addressing widespread, topical anxieties. Horror movies work on two levels: a literal and a metaphorical level. On the literal level, the horror movie induces fear and anxiety through primitive cues that might frighten a monkey, but on the metaphorical level, it can address more abstract worries such as concerns over conformity or racism or other aspects of cultural context. Moreover, horror movies seem to thrive in periods of cultural and social unrest. Horror films are not just symptoms of cultural unrest, however, but may also be a cure for pervasive sociocultural anxieties—a means for people to cope with a scary world.
sad movies? 2 Do you enjoy being frightened by horror movies? 3 Do you enjoy movies that … world outside to a scary memory and sets off the fight- or-flight response. The person may … Chapter 3 Interpreting Emotions The fight -or-fLight response is our emergency reaction when
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