Sure, you know very well what to choose a film for the evening, responsible not only mood, but also other parameters, including genre, country and actors among the main characters, can be very difficult. And the task becomes more complicated if we are talking about how to choose a film with a partner or – master’s level – a large company.
On the other hand, you probably have a set of movies and TV shows “at all times” that can be included at any place and see at any time, knowing that they will not disappoint. “Star wars” or “Friends,” “American pie” or “the notebook”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “In a jazz only girls” – no matter what kind of film was it, if he really loved and always helping out, you probably watched it dozens of times. Right?
But why are we doing this? Where is the logic, if we are well aware of not only the plot but also the smallest details? The answer to this question, may know scientists. It sounds a little more complicated than: “I just love this movie.”
A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, suggests that repeated consumption is a more complex thing than you might think. “People use familiar entertainment to measure how their lives have changed,” write the authors Christel Anthony Russell (Cristel Antonia Russell), Professor of marketing from the American University (American University) and Sidney levy (Sidney J. Levy), Professor of marketing at the University of Arizona (University of Arizona).
In the study, they conducted interviews with 23 volunteers, each of whom had recently watched the movie, read the book or been back to the place that he once liked. Scientists have intentionally used open-ended questions to get a long and descriptive answers in the first person. Then these responses were carefully studied on the subject of recurring themes and overlapping phrases.
So found out that study participants are doing something enjoyable over and over again for the simple reason that their brain knew exactly what type of reward to get a result (laughter, excitement, relaxation), and the type of reward that is important, it suited. The interview also allowed the scientists to say that thanks to these repetitions people get the opportunity to evaluate how a change in their life for some period of time, subconsciously using a movie, book, or location as the meter.
“One woman, for example, has repeatedly revised the romantic movie “Message in a bottle” with Kevin costner and Robin Wright. And it helped her to work on. How? The fact that every time she watched this movie, he reminded her about their failed relationship. And the reaction to the picture, in turn, helped to see how she copes with it,” says crystal Anthony Russell.
“We were surprised with the results – recognized by the authors of the study in a commentary for Scientific American. – We assumed that people come back to movies, books or something else with a nostalgic purpose, with the aim of returning to the past. But it turned out that it is, by contrast, is associated with a vision”.
