Why we like to watch sad films. The pleasure of being moved in aesthetic experiences
Hanich, Wagner, Shah, Jacobsen and Menninghaus: in a cinema, 76 participants watched 38 clips of a character or group learning of a death; sadness and enjoyment were strongly positively correlated, being moved almost fully mediated that link, and the authors conclude people enjoy sad films because they like being moved. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 8(2), 130-143, 2014.
Hanich, Wagner, Shah, Jacobsen and Menninghaus: in a cinema, 76 participants watched 38 clips of a character or group learning of a death; sadness and enjoyment were strongly positively correlated, being moved almost fully mediated that link, and the authors conclude people enjoy sad films because they like being moved. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 8(2), 130-143, 2014.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex, 2026-11-04; read at abstract level only.
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Creativity, and the Arts, 8(2), 130-143. doi:10.1037/a0035690 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035690