Would you fund this movie? A reply to Fox et al.
The original team's reply to Fox and colleagues. It accepts that some thinking is enjoyable and that many participants were curious about the shock, but argues that the studies examined directed, deliberate thought rather than spontaneous daydreaming. It reports that between 32 and 54 per cent of participants, depending on the study, admitted banned activities such as using phones, that giving time to prepare or choose topics did not make thinking much more enjoyable, and that the shock analysis included only those who said they would pay to avoid another shock.
The original team's reply to Fox and colleagues. It accepts that some thinking is enjoyable and that many participants were curious about the shock, but argues that the studies examined directed, deliberate thought rather than spontaneous daydreaming. It reports that between 32 and 54 per cent of participants, depending on the study, admitted banned activities such as using phones, that giving time to prepare or choose topics did not make thinking much more enjoyable, and that the shock analysis included only those who said they would pay to avoid another shock.
Written from the publisher page read on 8 October 2026.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
(2014).' Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1428. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01428. Read at the publisher, 2026-10-08: between 32 and 54 per cent admitted banned activities; time to prepare or choose topics did not make thinking much more enjoyable; the shock analysis included only those who said they would pay to avoid another shock.