Roller coasters and our search for thrill

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Rollercoaster rides are closely linked with the physical sensation we get from the world. The rides are successful because they can force an emotional experience.

On a ride, people's emotions change continually from extreme excitement, delight, joy, happiness to terror, horror, and even boredom. The thrill we get from the ride isn't an emotion itself. The thrill is in the change in emotions.

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The Science Behind Why We Love Risk

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There's a longstanding assumption behind most of the research on extreme athletes: "Clearly, something's wrong with them." That's what Eric Brymer, a researcher at Leeds Beckett in the UK, has seen for most of his career. Why else would anyone willingly participate in an activity that is quite literally defined by its high levels of perceived risk?

Key Ideas

The Motivation Behind Extreme Sports

One of the most powerful motivators is the satisfaction that comes from succeeding at a hard sport and from the grinding it requires. Although some are looking just for th...

Extreme Sports And Risk

Researchers found that extreme sports athletes often don’t consider their sports risky, and dedicate a lot of time studying and minimizing risks. They believe they have done all they can to mitigate risks through hard work and focus.

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A pleasure to burn: Why do people like spicy foods?

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Getting back to people, there are several vying theories as to how humans developed a taste for pain. One is that we simply enjoy the thrill of it. Dr. Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that people use spicy foods as a type of "constrained risk" or "benign masochism."Eating spicy foods triggers a mild defense response in us.

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Spicy foods and "constrained risks"

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Eating spicy foods triggers a mild defense response in us. Our heart rates rise, our breathing increases, and our adrenaline starts to flow. We feel alive. It's the same thrill-seeking behavior exhibi...

Spicy foods-an acquired taste

Spicy foods have antifungal and antibacterial properties. In this light, humans have culturally and genetically evolved a preference for spicy foods because they protect us from microscopic assailants. When our taste buds encounter pungency, it's a signal to our brains that the food is cleaner.

Preference for spicy foods, like all foods, is the result of a complex interplay of genes, culture, memory, and personality, a complex design that scientists are only now beginning to u...

Preference for spicy foods, like all foods, is the result of a complex interplay of genes, culture, memory, and personality, a complex design that scientists are only now beginning to understand

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Why Do We Like Watching Scary Films?

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Why do we love to watch scary horror films? Some psychologists claim people go to horror films because they want to be frightened or they wouldn't do it twice. You choose your entertainment because you want it to affect you. But what else does the literature tell us about the psychology of horror movies?

Key Ideas

Primary factors that make horror films alluring

Tension - Generated by suspense, mystery, terror, shock and gore.
Relevance - The horror film may relate to personal relevance, cultural meaningfulness, the fea...

Viewing motivators for horror movies

Gore watchers typically have low empathy, high sensation seeking, and a strong identification with the killer.
Thrill watchers typically have both high empathy and sensation seeking;they identify themselves more with the victims and like the suspense of the film.
Independent watchers typically have a high empathy for the victim along with a high positive effect for overcoming fear.
Problem watchers typically have high empathy for the victim but are characterized by negative effect (particularly a sense of helplessness).

Theories on why we love to watch horror films

Dr. Carl Jung believed horror films “tapped into primordial archetypes buried deep in our collective subconscious – images like shadow and mother play important role in the horror genre”.
Horror films are watched as a way of purging negative emotions and/or as a way to relieve pent-up aggression.
Horror movies are enjoyed because the people on screen getting killed deserve it.
Cultural historian David Skal has argued that horror films simply reflect our societal fears.