Age differences in adults' emotional motivations for exposure to films

Marie Louise Mares; Mary Beth Oliver; Joanne Cantor

doi:10.1080/15213260802492026

Age differences in adults' emotional motivations for exposure to films

Marie Louise Mares, Mary Beth Oliver, Joanne Cantor

Film-Video and Media Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Participants in three age ranges (younger adults, 18-25, N = 188; middle adults, 26-49, N = 92; and older adults, 50 and over, N = 93) completed a questionnaire assessing motivations for everyday affective experiences as well as affective motivations for film viewing. In line with Arnett's (2000) view of emerging adulthood and Carstensen, Isaacowitz, and Charles's (1999) theory of socioemotional selectivity, younger adults expressed the greatest interest in experiencing negative emotions in their everyday lives, in viewing dark, creepy, or violent content, and in viewing media to escape boredom and for amusement; older adults were most interested in experiencing emotional stability and in viewing films with uplifting, heartwarming content. Results suggest that lifespan differences may help explain the allure of hedonically negative programming among some groups.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	488-511
Number of pages	24
Journal	Media Psychology
Volume	11
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260802492026
State	Published - Oct 2008

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Social Psychology
Communication
Applied Psychology

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abstract = "Participants in three age ranges (younger adults, 18-25, N = 188; middle adults, 26-49, N = 92; and older adults, 50 and over, N = 93) completed a questionnaire assessing motivations for everyday affective experiences as well as affective motivations for film viewing. In line with Arnett's (2000) view of emerging adulthood and Carstensen, Isaacowitz, and Charles's (1999) theory of socioemotional selectivity, younger adults expressed the greatest interest in experiencing negative emotions in their everyday lives, in viewing dark, creepy, or violent content, and in viewing media to escape boredom and for amusement; older adults were most interested in experiencing emotional stability and in viewing films with uplifting, heartwarming content. Results suggest that lifespan differences may help explain the allure of hedonically negative programming among some groups.",

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Age differences in adults' emotional motivations for exposure to films

Abstract

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