Recently in Leisure Category

My roommates love watching horror/suspense movies. It almost seems like every time we have a movie night, a horror flick is on the list to watch. For my roommates, their top favorites include the Saw movies, the recent hit Paranormal Activity, and the Haunting in Connecticut. Myself on the other hand, I'm not a super huge fan like my roommates. I would actually prefer a comedy over a horror flick, yet I still enjoy watching horror movies sometimes. I'm the wuss that covers my face though when something too scary comes on the screen. Thinking about all this, I was wondering what would motivate people to endure the feelings of fear and suspense, especially for the very popular horror flicks. I came across several different theories on reasons why people enjoy feeling fear and suspense.

On Psychology Today, Why are there Horror Movies?, this article talked about the reason behind it is the fact that because it is fiction we are able to enjoy it rather than it being reality where we have to make a choice. This article didn't satisfy me however, so I kept searching.

On ScienceDaily.com, Why do People Love Horror Movies?, it argued that people enjoy being scared because they feel both negative and positive emotions at the same time. The sense of relief is not the only positive of the outcome of watching a scary movie, its more the the happiness of being scared.

On Live Science, Horror Movies: Why People Love Them., it talks about severaly different topics. First it talks about how people don't watch movies just like the Saw movies for the blood and gore, but because they experience a thrill of assessing threat levels. Next it talks about how people have the ability to control what effects their emotions and what does not while watching horror films. Lastly it talks about fear being more than just an emotion, and that it is a biological factor that starts with our amygdala.

As far as these three articles go, I'm not sure if my question was answered as to why people enjoy fear while watching horror/suspense films. Why do you like or dislike these types of movies? What are other factors that could be involved in developing the liking of horror films?

I got a puppy last summer, and it has been the most fun, loving, and rewarding experience I have ever had!  My mom actually read this book (100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy: The Science Behind What Dog Lovers Already Know) and recommended I looked at it.  As I was glancing through the pages, it was really funny how much sense the book actually made.  Having a dog gives us a sense of belonging, love, companionship, and even achievement (when training and raising a dog).  Dogs also provide a constant motivator to get off the couch and play or go for a walk (for me at least).  I know that I also feel obligated to her to make sure that she is healthy and happy, which also fulfils my affiliation need. Although this is generally intended towards humans, I think that someone can definitely benefit from having a dog.  I have also learned in past classes that many therapists recommend getting a pet to their patients of depression or anxiety disorders.  Pets provide a sense of stability, and also can provide and endless amount of love and friendship. 

Having a dog can fulfill many of our psychological needs.  When training a dog, it presents a challenge to be overcome. Our desire to do well in training our dog can fulfill the need for achievement (Reeve, 175).  Succeeding in training your dog can be the most rewarding experience, creating a large amount of positive reinforcement and increasing the likelihood you will continue to train the dog.  Setting goals in training can also increase motivation to continue training (Reeve, 184). Having things in mind such as "I'll have my dog potty trained by the fall" can increase your motivation to work with your dog.  When your dog starts to understand the training techniques, it reinforces your behavior and increases the sense of achievement.

Another area were having a dog can fulfill psychological needs is affiliation and intimacy (Reeve, 192).  Establishing a good relationship with your dog can be very rewarding.  Dogs can provide constant, unconditional love when they have a strong bond with their owner.  Although affiliation is rooted within the fear of rejection, affiliation with your dog can start to calm those anxieties and create a more relationship oriented life style.  Dogs are also less likely to reject their owners, so someone with a high need for affiliation would likely have a good relationship with a dog.

The need for power may also be accomplished through owning a dog.  The leadership (Reeve, 196) that it takes to own a dog is crucial in training and maintaining a healthy pet.  Teaching the dog things that they can and cannot do is something that can create a very power-related relationship between the owner and the dog.  Dogs see everything as a power-related situation (this is why many times dogs can have problems with aggression if they feel they have power over the house or over other people, in the dog world it is referred to as "dominance") It is the responsibility of the owner to make sure that the power does not shift from the owner to the dog, or serious aggression and misbehavior problems can occur. With the power safely in the owner's hands, the relationship between dog and owner can be a very positive one.

The book also discusses how people with pets tend to live longer, happier lives than those who choose to live pet-free.  Here is a description of the book, which touches on many of the things that we have discussed in class (such as exercise to reduce stress, as well as communication).

From Harper Collins.com:

"Why do people who have dogs live happier, longer, and more fulfilling lives? Sociologists and veterinarians have spent years investigating the positive effects that dogs have on people's health and happiness yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts.

Now the international bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on the profound relationship between humans and our canine companions. These findings have been boiled down to the one hundred essential ways dogs positively impact our lives. Each fact is accompanied by a inspiring true story. If you love your dog, and science tells us that you do, this book will inspire and entertain.

·  Communicate Better: It sounds odd to say a creature that communicates with barking and body language can have such a profound effect on human communication. But by providing a common point of reference and concern, dogs help us to feel a connection to other humans. That connection makes us feel more comfortable communicating with each other. When meeting a new person, the presence of a dog reduces the time before people feel comfortable while talking with each other by 45 percent.

·  Live Longer: There is perhaps no better gift that dogs offer us humans than this simple fact. People who care for a dog live longer, healthier lives than those who do not. On average, people who cared for dogs during their lives lived 3 years longer than people who never had a dog.

·  No Monkey Business: Primates are genetically more similar to humans than any other creature. But try to tell a chimpanzee something and you will be hard pressed to get your message across. Dogs are uniquely attuned to the messages we send. Dogs study humans and have evolved to build social skills that help them to function around us. Dogs are 52 percent more likely to follow human cues such as pointing toward a source of food than are primates.

·  Around the Block: Good habits are often misunderstood as difficult or unpleasant chores. But there is tremendous value in the simple act of taking a walk. Walking not only burns calories, it also decreases stress. Having a dog means regularly talking walks - it's something you do for your dog but in truth your dog is doing for you. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non-dog owners."

Are there other ways that dogs can help fulfill our needs?  Is it selfish to think this way? What are some other motivators that people may have to own a dog, or any pet?

For this post I wanted to find a really neat video to share. But instead I found a few and decided instead of sharing a video I wanted to share this whole site.  Maybe more people than I'm aware of know about TED but I just think it is a neat site to go to and learn and hear other opinions on various topics. So I want to encourage you all to go to this site and check out the different themes of videos and find one that is for YOU!

TED has the catch phrase "Ideas worth spreading".  They hold a few conferences each year where speakers will come and spread their idea.  They have some interesting topics that anyone could enjoy.  You should check it out!

I got carried away watching a few videos and decided to post one up anyway.  Do you remember the golden rule from when you were a kid?  "Treat others the way you want to be treated".  This stopped me in my tracks and made me really rethink how I was going about life now.  What would happen in this world if everyone started to live by that golden rule?  We should be sensitive to other's emotions by thinking of our own emotions.  I heard this analogy from someone else so I can't take all of the credit, (but just think about it).  Say you're driving and you realize you need to be over a lane, like NOW.  So you pull in front of someone and cut them off.  The way you react is most likely like, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" and you just feel bad and apologetic.  But then on the other side of that coin, when someone pulls in front of you or cuts you off you might blow up, curse at them, call them names...make assumptions.  We should just be empathetic of others (just think what the world would be like if we did.)
   
http://www.ted.com/talks/karen_armstrong_let_s_revive_the_golden_rule.html

Here is the link to the website:
www.ted.com
From there you can explore, and please, post a comment with a video you watched or liked.

I found an interesting article that looked at a study conducted that stated that people who used Facebook tended to be happier, however they missed one important variable with their participants, they were mostly all extroverts.  This article addresses the fact that most people who are more extroverted tend to use Facebook more and tend to be happier in general, not because of Facebook.  

http://www.themedguru.com/20100114/newsfeature/people-happiest-during-weekends-study-86131803.html

I found this article to be rather interesting, the study suggests that weekends have a significant effect on the body. Researchers suggest that, "simply being in charge of your own day, spending quality time with family, provides better mood, greater vitality and (fewer) physical ailments from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon."

 

While the results of this study are probably to be expected - most people are visibly happier on the weekends -  it is interesting to hear about what they believe specifically causes physiological changes, such as hormone release, and a more positive attitude overall.

 

They attribute some of these changes to higher feelings of autonomy. At first, I wondered if this effect was mainly seen in those with relatively low paying jobs (those with consistently low autonomy throughout the week), but the effect was found regardless of occupation, age, gender, or relationship status.

 

I actually found it very interesting that even those with high status jobs experience this effect on weekends. I have generally thought that workers with high status already tend to have significantly higher levels of autonomy and leisure, so the presence of the weekend would not make as much of a difference to them. According to this study, I may be wrong.

 

 I wonder if another reason for this affect is that people are often able to rest more on weekends. In BioPsychology I remember the author (John Pinel) mentioning that over time people can gradually reduce the amount of time they sleep to as little as two hours per night with only minor effects, but I have not yet looked at the studies on which he based those statements. I wonder how much of a role (perhaps 2 additional hours) additional sleep can play in improving one's mental and physical condition. I find studies involving sleep to be among the most interesting, and from what I have read it seems like much more research needs to be conducted in this area.   

 

Another question I have is, "Why don't the effects seem to carry past Sunday afternoon?" I suppose the answer may lie in their original report, but if it does it would be rather odd for them not to have included it in the article. I have often heard people say that they will be revitalized and refreshed for work after the weekend, but in my experience I'm not sure people tend to be any better or any worse at their jobs whether it is a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. In any case, I think some of the questions that arise from this article merit further research.

http://www.thefuntheory.com/

This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people's behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it's change for the better.