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Why are we fascinated with true crime stories?
Pop Culture and The Fascination With Crime
- Several Top 20 podcasts, Netflix documentaries, books and TV shows point towards an obsession with crime stories that are based on reality.
- The charismatic appeal of a murderer and the insane popularity of the true-crime ‘genre’ has been noted by many experts.
- Serial killers like Ted Bunty are now the unlikely, strangely charismatic stars in various documentaries and podcasts, which cover their murderous adventures in detail.
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Pop Culture and The Fascination With Crime
- Several Top 20 podcasts, Netflix documentaries, books and TV shows point towards an obsession with crime stories that are based on reality.
- The charismatic appeal of a murderer and the insane popularity of the true-crime ‘genre’ has been noted by many experts.
- Serial killers like Ted Bunty are now the unlikely, strangely charismatic stars in various documentaries and podcasts, which cover their murderous adventures in detail.
The Psychology Of Danger
Things and people that are potentially threatening command attention. Our survival instincts form our fascination with the stories of true crime.
Upon hearing an incident of danger or disaster, our brain's part called the amygdala, that is responsible for emotions, memory and survival tactics is stimulated. It signals our frontal cortex region of the brain to evaluate and interpret the data, invoking the ‘fight or flight’ response.
Morbid Curiosity
As humans, we want to know the psychology of the bad people, who are also supposedly just as human as we are.
This creates a curiosity to know more about the deranged, criminal mind, and the other aspects of the scenario, like solving a jig-saw puzzle.
The Negative Bias
The tendency to automatically give more weightage, attention and meaning to the negative aspects of any event or situation is called Negative Bias.
A 2008 study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that we tend to react towards or be curious about the negative experiences and stories around us, considerably more than the positive ones.
Our Role-Playing Minds
Many people are fascinated by crime stories as they began to envision themselves as the person who is in that situation, and how they would plan their escape or face their biggest fears without risking themselves of any real danger.
They imagine themselves inside the disaster and try to understand if they would be able to endure the pain, and what decisions they would make, should an uncontrollable situation arise.
Crime Stories As Coping Mechanisms
Consuming stories of crime and destruction can be beneficial too, as it acts as a coping mechanism for the various hardships that life has to offer. But too much of the same can have a reverse effect, making us feel chronically worried and depressed.
The brain creates and pumps a dose of adrenaline every time one watches a true crime story, something that is common while watching breaking news. This rush of adrenaline can be addictive and unhealthy in the long run.
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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.
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Effects of ordinary medication
There’s emerging evidence that ordinary medications - from paracetamol to antihistamines, statins, asthma medications, and antidepressants - can change our brains. They can make us impulsive...
The crisis of over-medication
- The US buys an equivalent of 298 paracetamol tablets per person every year.
- The average American consumes $1,200 worth of prescription medications over the same period.
- In the UK, one in 10 people over the age of 65 takes eight medications every week.
Statins and personality changes
- People with lower cholesterol levels are more likely to die violent deaths.
- If you put primates on a low-cholesterol diet, they become more aggressive. Lowering animals’ cholesterol seems to affect their levels of serotonin. Even fruit flies start fighting if you interfere with their serotonin levels.
- Studies have linked serotonin levels in people to violence, impulsivity, suicide, and murder.
- In a randomized controlled trial, statins were found to increase aggression in post-menopausal women though, oddly, not in men. Giving statins to Nile tilapia made them more confrontational and altered the levels of serotonin in their brains.
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Sports Fans
Sports is a big deal across the world, with die-hard fans who are extremely emotional towards their home teams. It is hard to pinpoint the motivations of a sports fan, and why a win or a loss of a ...
Why We Love Sports
Sports psychologists have a list of why people love sports:
- Sports carry self-esteem benefits.
- Commercial reasons (money bets etc.).
- Peer pressure of being part of their group.
- Sports are exciting.
- Sports is an aesthetically pleasing activity.
- A venue for emotional expression.
- Sports is an escape from real-world problems.
- Sports provide a sense of connectedness and belonging.
Explaining Sports Appeal
- Talent-Luck Theory: Sports appeals to a lot of people due to its ability to balance skill with randomness.
- Mirror Neurons: Many fans are able to feel what the player is feeling, and experience the excitement first-hand in his mind, with no barrier between the self and the outside world.
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